Post on 16-Nov-2014
description
Brand Equity for Strategic Advantage: Consumer Decision Making
Professor Chip Besio
Southern Methodist University
Marketing 3349
Why the Interest in Branding?
Brands are assets Pressure from Stockholders for
performance Pressure from competitors
– Most products in a mature marketplace– Price competition abounds
What is Brand Equity?
The “added value” endowed by the brand name
Key elements: Associations, Awareness, Perceived Quality, Loyalty
Intangible, but measurable
Benefits of Brand Equity
Asset management/leveraging Consumer franchise (facilitates loyalty) Lower communication costs Improved prices/margins/market share More power with the trade
More benefits of Brand Equity
Barrier to competitive entry Effect of financial valuation of the firm Value to your Consumer
– Recognition, consistency, confidence, image/status, etc.
Managing Brand Equity
It primarily involves managing the consumer’s mind (associations)
Firm must set objectives for the brand Brand equity measurement is a
management essential Marketing mix elements should be chosen
to build, not erode, brand equity
Overview
How Consum ersCope
Stage 1:Screening
Stage 2:Com paring
Im plications forBrand M anagem ent
Brand Equity andDecision M aking
What does awareness and image buy? Influences how consumers make
choices By changing how choices are made
we can change what is purchased
Overview
How Consum ersCope
Stage 1:Screening
Stage 2:Com paring
Im plications forBrand M anagem ent
Brand Equity andDecision M aking
Consumers are overloaded.
They have a vast array of alternatives
Each product has many attributes Everyone is under time pressure
The average supermarket consumer:
Does very little search: Average less than 12 second per item
42% spent 5 seconds or less 32% spent between 6 and 15 seconds Average number of brands handled:
1.21; 85% touched only one brand
Source: Pete Dickson and Stan Sawyer
Journal of Marketing
How Do Consumers Cope?
Choice has two phases
– Screening: Eliminate Alternatives
– Comparison: A small set of alternatives (2-3) get intense scrutiny
Overview
How Consum ersCope
Stage 1:Screening
Stage 2:Com paring
Im plications forBrand M anagem ent
Brand Equity andDecision M aking
Screening is important
Elimination occurs because:– The brand lacks a
feature (attribute)
– The brand does not meet some cutoff (price?)
Once eliminated a brand is not reconsidered.
How Does Brand Equity Effect Screening?
Awareness: Can I recall this brand?
Imagine that your sewer is backing up, and you are aboutto leave town on a business trip.
Who do you call?
(Services rarely purchased must have high Top-of-Mind)
How Does Brand Equity Effect Screening?
Awareness: Can I recall this brand?
More commonly, a harried or uncertain consumer will eliminate brands with which they are unaware.
How Does Brand Equity Effect Screening?
Image guides inference about the brand. Inference substitutes for search because:
– Search is expensive– Available information is irrelevant or tough to understand
What are your impressions of this watch?
What are your impressions of this watch?
How Does Brand Equity Affect Screening? A Strategic Advantage
Powerful brands can set the agenda:– Dictate the attributes used for screening
Examples:– Volvo and Safety– Crest with Tartar Control– American Express Travelers Checks
Screening: Summary
Large product classes are screened. Elimination = Death Brand Equity influences screening
– Recall for the consideration set– Inferences about product attributes– Setting the agenda for screening
What Attributes are used for screening in your product class?
Overview
How Consum ersCope
Stage 1:Screening
Stage 2:Com paring
Im plications forBrand M anagem ent
Brand Equity andDecision M aking
Screening simplifies choice, but does not do the whole job.
Even when screening consumers seem to examine 2-3 alternatives much more carefully.
Process involves intense comparisons on a small set of attributes.
How does this comparison process work?
How does this comparison work?
Consumers compare other brands to one brand
Often that brand serves as the reference brand.
Key concept: Loss aversion…when compared to the reference brand, losses loom large.
Consumers judge value by…
The observed price relative to reference price for the product, and
The observed price relative to the normal or ‘fair’ price of the product– Examples:
• Restaurants on Friday nights…• Super Bowl ticket prices.
This is Reference Dependence.
Implication If you are the reference brand…
– Improvements on price, quality, etc. help– But decreases hurt more…
If you are not the reference brand…– You are judged relative to the reference
brand– Any way you differ from the reference is
your loss
Implication
Reference brands have competitive advantages,
Particularly on features which are the most loss adverse
Q: What are the reference brands in your product category?
Pricing Implication
Price cuts will effect different brands differently
High quality brands can easily “steal” market share from low quality brands by cutting price.
But lower quality brands will not steal share from a high quality brands by cutting price
Responses to price cuts are asymmetric, high price brands can steal from the poor.
How do you become a reference brand?
‘Strong’ brands with great awareness (T.O.M.)
First Mover Advantage Brand most recently purchased Sampling, particularly for higher quality
brands
Comparison: Summary
Having high brand awareness can make you the reference brand which can be a significant advantage.
Overview
How Consum ersCope
Stage 1:Screening
Stage 2:Com paring
Im plications forBrand M anagem ent
Brand Equity andDecision M aking
To create value…
Brand must support a higher reference price…
Must maintain this over time, even in the face of stiff competition…
Applications:– To raise price…
• New Models• Price Bundling• Etc…
What Strategic Element cannot be duplicated?
You lower price, they can eventually lower price
You can add a feature, they can eventually ad that feature
But…
They cannot use your brand name!!