A brand is not the product or service you buy, nor is it your relationship with the salesperson or the company. However, the product or service – as well as your interactions with the company – influence your expectations on the brand.
Strong brands promise what they can deliver. They always provide at least what you expected, which makes you a loyal customer and therefore a profitable one. Less strong brands try to keep their promises, but in practice they often fail to meet expectations. They may sell products or services in large volumes and even make money, but customers are generally disloyal and switch brands as soon as the opportunity arises.
The point is that our expectations rarely have much to do with the product itself. Our needs and desires are about what the product or service results in, not what it is. Our expectations of a brand like Apple are not just a powerful laptop or a phone with good sound quality and camera. What we expect is that Apple will always deliver a superior user experience compared to competing brands.
Moreover, the emotions tied to our expectations vary in strength depending on how important the product’s benefit or experience is to us. If I’m buying a new sports car, my expectations are filled with strong emotions connected to my expectations. If I’m buying toilet paper the brand matters less since my expectations of what it will deliver are far less emotionally charged.
This comparison is admittedly unfair, in the sense that a car is a much larger financial investment than a few rolls of toilet paper. The consequences of my choice are greater. But the fact is that a product’s price does not necessarily correspond directly to its emotional value to us.
The key point is that our feelings toward, our expectations of a brand can be influenced. The brand Nike, built on icons like Michael Jordan, managed to turn sneakers into something more than just sneakers by appealing to our desire to win. And Harley-Davidson has never sold motorcycles – they appeal instead to the 40-year plus businessman’s desire to put on a leather outfit, ride out into the wilderness, and for a moment feel a bit dangerous and rebellious.
The recipe for success is quite simple
- Focus on and refine what your brand results in, and what makes it different from competitors
- Increase the perceived importance of what your brand delivers
- Which means that you indirectly will decrease the perceived importance of what your strongest competitor’s brand delivers
You can also try to add an entirely new benefit and/or experience, which normally is a bit harder. During recent years sustainability argumentation has become more important. For many years we have discussed savings through energy efficiency, now we normally add “savings of CO2 emissions” to the argumentation even if it’s just the flip side of the same function.
And be persistent. Brands deteriorate quickly. From being the hero, Nike is today being overrun by Adidas that has made a great comeback.
And if you want to discuss how to build a strong brand, you are always welcome to contact ulf@sfinxagency.se
