[CAPTION] The COVID-19 crisis is an opportunity to
re-evaluate your organisation’s brand equity and reshape your brand in the mind
of your consumer. What is brand equity and how do you build it?
For many companies, the COVID-19 crisis has escalated into a
fight for survival. Those who make it through will emerge into a new world completely
changed by the crisis. It is a time to rethink strategy and operations.
In terms of brand and reputation, it may almost feel as if
someone hit the ‘Reset button’. Because of the massive impact of COVID-19 on
society’s psyche, people may have less recollection of your brand before the
pandemic hit, while the memory of how the company acted and treated them during
the pandemic will be much stronger. This is an opportunity to rebuild your
organisation’s brand to emphasise what it truly stands for. For those looking
at where to start, here’s a revision of the basic elements of brand equity.
“Brand equity consists of the value of your customers’
perceptions of your organisation,” says Nalene de Klerk, reputation manager at
Reputation Matters. It differs from ‘reputation’ in that brand equity mainly
focuses on your customers and your product or service offering; reputation is
built in the minds of all your stakeholders (internal and external) and covers
much more than just your value offering.
“We also find that it is often confused with ‘brand
valuation’, which is when the brand is converted into a monetary value,”
explains de Klerk. “The calculations used to calculate brand value are diverse,
with no single standard for how it is calculated. However, the elements of
brand equity are generally more subjective: you are painting a picture of your
brand in the mind of the consumer.”
When building your organisation’s brand equity, especially
in this time of renewal, there are six elements to consider. These all form
part of the Reputation Matters’ newly launched BrandUmeter research model,
where the brand equity of an organisation is quantified.
1. Brand visual identity
“Most people who think of the term ‘brand’ usually think of
a powerful logo and slogan, like Nike or Coca-Cola,” says de Klerk. “This
relates to the visual identity. The brand visual identity encompasses anything
by which people identify the organisation or its products.” The main focus is
usually on the visual aspects such as the logo, slogan, typography or colour
scheme. However, a brand can be recognised by any of the senses, including
auditory (as with a jingle or sonic) and olfactory (like perfume).
“However, you cannot just dream up a logo that people might
like and think your brand is in place,” cautions de Klerk. “It is important
that the brand’s visual identity align with the type of company or product that
it conveys, as well as the values of the brand.”
2. Brand personality
“One of the key characteristics of a strong brand is its
ability to connect emotionally with its target audience,” says de Klerk. The
brand’s unique voice allows it to do this by aligning to the personality of the
types of people that it wants to attract. For example, Nando’s has a very
unique personality, which makes them memorable and recognisable.
3. Brand positioning / promise
What makes this company different from its competitors? Why
does it exist, and what is its unique selling proposition? “In many ways, this
element is the foundation of all the others,” says de Klerk. “In today’s noisy
market, and especially in industries where there are several competitors, your
organisation must know what sets it apart and what types of customers it is
trying to attract. That will then flow into the brand personality and
communication.”
4. Brand communication
A brand needs communication to become powerful: the
communication is the glue that binds the other elements together. “The key here
is to communicate the brand effectively,” explains de Klerk. Before a brand can
become familiar in the mind of the target audience and start garnering customer
loyalty, it needs to be visible. Consistency is also critical: a brand is built
over time.
5. Brand awareness / familiarity
Different types of brands require different levels of
awareness and familiarity from the public. Consumer brands, for example,
require as wide a public presence as possible in order to survive, whilst
business-to-business brands tend to focus more on the awareness of the brand
within the business community. “Either way, if you are painting a picture in
the mind of your consumer, brand awareness speaks to the clarity of that
picture,” shares de Klerk.
6. Brand experience
You can put your brand out there, explain it, reinforce it,
but what happens when the customer uses your product or services? “The customer
experience forms part of the picture you are painting,” says de Klerk. “If they
have a great experience, you have a higher brand equity and you are a step
closer towards having a loyal customer, even an advocate for your business. If
that experience is bad, however, all your branding efforts will be tainted by
it and your logo might serve more as a warning sign than an attractive beacon.”
“Whether you are just starting out, whether COVID-19 reset
your entire strategy, or whether your brand equity was high enough to carry you
through the crisis without a hitch, take hold of the opportunity to build your
brand afresh,” concludes de Klerk.
If you would like to measure your brand equity and gain
greater insight into what it looks like, the Reputation Matters BrandUmeter can
help you to put a percentage to it. To find out more, feel free to contact research@reputationmatters.co.za.
For more information on Reputation Matters contact research@reputationmatters.co.za
or visit www.reputationmatters.co.za.
Follow Reputation Matters on Facebook (@yourreputationmatters)
or Twitter (@ReputationIsKey).
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