How to Develop Strong Brand Equity

Brand equity is valuable for companies of all sizes.

Brand equity is the value of your brand to customers; it creates loyalty and makes them choose your products over other brands. Brand equity is exceptionally valuable for companies and takes time to develop over a period of years. The value of your brand is the sum of many different activities, from marketing to manufacturing to brand identity. To develop strong brand equity, approach the process with a careful, strategic plan.

Instructions

1. Develop a clear brand promise and position that will help define, both internally and externally, what sets you apart from your competitors. As a team, identify the things that you can offer clients that other businesses cannot such as: lower prices, better customer service or more efficient products. Use that item as your brand promise, the central idea around which you orient all brand activities. It might be as simple as, "save our customers money." The brand promise can guide both large and small decisions, from new product ideas to how employees come up with customer service solutions.

2. Work your business story into your branding activities to create an emotional connection with the company. Depending on your business, focus on the elements that will resonate with the customer base: the history, environmental policy or the business philosophy, for example. Use parts of the story on your marketing materials: put pieces of it on packaging, use it as the inspiration for your website design, or select images that provide a visual representation.

3. Create a brand experience that is consistent across all entry points. Define a brand identity by choosing specific colors, fonts, graphic design, imagery and copy style. Implement it in all of the places a customer might interact with your brand, from business cards to the website to company t-shirts. Go a step further by integrating the visual elements into your physical office space.

4. Monitor the success of your branding efforts and make adjustments to improve weak areas. Gauge how recognizable your brand is by talking to customers directly; ask questions to make sure that customers have a strong sense of what you are as a company. Check your search engine optimization results and watch what people are saying about you on social media sites and in the news. When you spot a weakness or a misconception, adjust your branding and marketing efforts.

5. Maintain your efforts over time; a consistent record of quality and customer service is crucial to building brand equity. Put out great products and respond to complains quickly and publicly to establish a positive reputation. Aim for transparency to create trust among your customers. Conduct regular reviews to ensure that you are being efficient and effective.

References

• Marketing Profs: Five Steps to Building Brand Equity for the Small Business; Mike O'Toole; Sept. 2008
• Bloomberg Businessweek: Make Your Brand Pop; Gerry Khermouch; Spring 2005