The majority of consumers purchase products connected to a particular brand rather than checking their quality product. Therefore, most marketing strategies use the brand’s name in advertising and marketing.
The result of marketing actions can differ when similar processes are performed on a product that is not branded. Therefore, brand equity is a strong asset that can alter the effectiveness of communications in marketing campaigns.
Most consumers are willing to pay attention to messages that brands send out. They also process messages positively and have an increased recall capacity of any message from a brand. This indicates that the brand’s equity is the most important factor in every marketing effort.
What is brand equity?
Brand equity refers to the perceived value of the brand. It’s the sum of what consumers think about the brand, their experiences with the brand, and the worth of the products offered by that brand. Brands with positive equity (here, we’re talking about steady and growing equity) can offer quality products with easy-to-recognize names and consistent messages within their promotional campaigns.
For example, suppose you’re at the supermarket. In that case, Positive brand equity motivates consumers to buy products such as Band-Aids and Heinz Ketchup over other generic brands that could be as good or superior. They’re familiar names, you’re sure they’re top-quality products, and that’s why it’s enough to purchase their product over another one. This is the meaning of brand equity.
Why positive brand equity matters in eCommerce business
Brand equity is a significant source of importance for consumers, so your company must keep it. Josh Mendenhall, Pattern’s VP of Creative, says that positive brand equity lends your brand credibility and increases customer trust and loyalty. Here are the benefits of brand equity
Authenticity. Positive brand equity will show your customers that your company is aware of its identity, authenticity, and customers. This is what draws the most appropriate demographics for your business.
Recognition. Good equity makes brands more recognizable and accessible to the public. For example, brands such as Apple have established their quality of products and their marketing and messaging to such a degree that even if the consumers haven’t bought their products, they’re aware of them.
Trust and loyalty. Consumers can trust the product they’re considering is the one they receive when it comes from a company with positive equity. You can also be sure that the product doesn’t come from a seller who is a fraud.
How can you create brand equity in an eCommerce business?
Positive brand equity comes with obvious benefits for a DTC brand. From loyalty to customer service to competitive pricing, Let’s look at how you can build an image of trust for your eCommerce brand.
1. Have strong core values
These are the values you would like your brand to be recognized for.
Find out the core values that drive your company. Daring is a good example. It is committed to sustainability. Its aim to revolutionize our way of eating our chicken is clear on its website, which helps build positive brand recognition among those who have the same values, and, thus, are willing to pay a premium on its goods.
If you’re not sure of what the core values of your brand ought to be, begin by talking to your current customers:
- What are the words and phrases they use to describe their name?
- Why do they prefer your product over that of a competitor?
Coffee brand customers, For instance, might declare that they’re willing to pay premium prices for its products since they are confident that those who pick the beans are treated fairly and are paid.
Use that message wherever it is possible to create the seeds of a solid brand image.
2. Increase brand awareness
Once you’ve identified your primary values, it’s time to extend your reach and increase your brand’s recognition.
Remember that the aim is to create positive brand associations across the appropriate scale. Once people start to recognize your brand’s identity and name, do you reap the benefits of a higher perceived value that affects the price of your retail products?
A few ways for you to build your brand’s image are:
- The sponsorship of events. If it’s local to your community or on the internet, sponsoring events in the community exposes your brand’s image to people with similar characteristics such as values, beliefs, or even desires.
- Collaboration with influencers. Work with well-known social media influencers who share the same values as your company. With 90% of users being influenced by influencers, endorsements can go a significant way in establishing an image of your brand that is positive.
- User-generated Content (UGC). The most reliable source of reviews is through your clients, specifically when they’re not enticed to write one. A steady flow of UGC will build trust and, consequently, brand equity over time, such as this one of The TULA skincare line:
Do you have some spare cash? Spend just $5 per day on performance-based marketing campaigns through Facebook or TikTok; the latter has been highly praised for its ability to help DTC brands reach their targeted customers at only a fraction of the cost.
Make the goal of your campaign branding awareness. Plant seeds within the heads of potential customers. That’s the reason DTC Operator Nik Sharma advises to “use your working paid media dollars to build brand equity as a bi-product.”
3. Have a truly great product
It’s not possible to build brand loyalty if customers aren’t satisfied with the product that you’re selling. Marc Bromhall, a founder of Surf Gear Lab, says, “You have to start with your product to create trust in your brand. Make sure that you are offering only the top products available on marketplace.”
The ability to differentiate is crucial in an extremely crowded market. eCommerce allows companies to offer anything to anyone regardless of where they are. Customers have the option of choosing from the many options.
Find your distinctive selling points–reasons customers will choose your product over an identical alternative. Then, include these points everywhere on your site that will help you stand out.
Consider the most well-known company within the US, Apple, as an illustration. It gained massive market share because of its inventive and innovative iOS products that revolutionized the technology industry.
Apple created a positive customer perception. The result? The so-called ” Apple tax” where consumers regularly pay more than they should for iPhones or iPads. Macs. This is a clear indicator of the enormous brand’s value.
4. Deliver excellent customer experiences
When it comes to building a brand reputation, the customer experience is paramount.
You could have the most well-produced products on the planet and the set of fundamental values that you share with your intended market. However, it’s almost impossible to create if you’re making it simple for them to interact or buy brand equity.
Consumers are no longer able to follow linear paths to purchase. Research has shown that those who use multiple platforms and channels purchase more frequently.
An Omnichannel strategy allows customers to purchase goods wherever they want, from the internet, stores, and even on your website.
5. Master customer retention
Many DTC companies are caught in the trap of solely focusing on customers interested in joining. These customers generate revenue for your company, so why not?
But a crucial aspect of creating brand equity is having an audience of customers who are loyal to your brand to the extent that they’d even pay more to purchase your goods. So make sure you delight your customers to the point that they believe in your brand concept.
Your customers must be first regardless of what you do if you wish your business to achieve success. Establish relationships with them in person and on the internet.
Engage them on social media, create an online newsletter that is interactive, as well as solicit their opinions. Companies that engage with their customers in a one-to-one manner can build brand trust quickly.
6. Expand into selling in the marketplace
An E-commerce marketplace is a place where customers can purchase items from a range of brands.
Even though marketplaces such as Amazon and Facebook Marketplace account for 63 percent of all online transactions, the conventional DTC business model doesn’t include marketplace selling.
Sometimes, this is for an excellent reason: Marketplaces offer they will take a percentage of the sales you sell through their platforms; data collection is not as robust, and you have no control over the service customers receive when they purchase through one.
It’s not that marketplaces don’t aid in building brand recognition. You must meet the customers at their location. For the majority of customers who shop online, this is a marketplace.
How to Measure Brand Equity: brand equity measurements
Brand equity may seem like an abstract concept that is hard to quantify. However, based on the objectives of your branding initiatives, there are many methods you can use to determine equity using branding tracking efforts.
Brand tracking does not just provide the ability to understand a campaign’s performance, but it can also assist in measuring awareness, relationships, and much more. These studies are focused on business impact metrics like retention or conversions, price, or on consumer impact metrics like sentiment analysis, consumer research, and so on.
Here are a few methods to gauge goals from a branding standpoint:
Financial
If you are looking to give a numerical value to an item, take a look at the following.
In corporate value, to measure the brand’s equity, it is possible to think of the company as an asset. By subtracting the tangible assets of the firm from the total value of the firm, you will end up with equity in the brand.
Market Share What do you know about your business’s share of the market? Market leaders tend to have more brand equity.
Revenue potential: What does the revenue potential of your product? How does it compare to your current revenues?
Product Value
An effective way to gauge the quality of a product is by comparing an unbranded product to a brand-name product. For soaps, Unilever could determine whether women will likely buy Dove over the brand sold at the supermarket. You can also look at what consumers might prefer, for example, Coca-Cola compared to Pepsi or Pepsi.
Brand Audit
Conducting a brand audit could assist in gaining an understanding of how your company is performing. To begin an audit of your brand, look over comparison websites such as social channels and web analytics. Combine this information to find out what people are saying about your brand and whether this aligns with the goals of your brand.
Conclusion
Brand equity is essential for any modern-day enterprise. Establish a positive impression of your business among customers, and you’ll be much more likely to achieve success. Customers will come to you for more and encourage others to use your services. The brand’s reputation will be damaged, making it difficult to regain a positive image. Businesses with bad reps need to be twice as committed to winning over customers.
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