Marketing lingo that might help you better understand the power your brand holds.
Every industry has its own lingo. I love learning new things, especially terminology as it relates to a business or industry. At TealHaus, we work with a variety of clients and are always learning new terms, especially with some of our AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction) clients.
One of the most recent terms I discovered is the function of a digester at a waste treatment plant. That is certainly not a word I use in my everyday language…I will leave the meaning of this term to your imagination.
Marketing is no different.
We have lingo unique to our industry and try to help our clients understand the importance of terms, especially as they relate to their brands. Ultimately, we want the companies we serve to grow their brand equity, a fancy phrase to describe the value of a brand.
How do we help our clients accomplish this?
Well, we start with studying the company–their history, values, customers, employees, and culture. Once we learn the overall story behind what a company does, we build on that story by creating a marketing strategy that will eventually layer onto this foundation. This strategy is full of tactical steps that will grow brand awareness over time and increase brand loyalty, both of which will increase brand equity.
So what do these terms actually mean?
Brand Awareness
Do your customers recognize you? Do they recognize your logo? Your tagline? Can your customers recall your branding purely from memory or do they need to be prompted?
If I asked you to name five brands you have seen today, what would you say? Take 30 seconds to list these. Whatever brands you listed, you did this mostly from memory.
However, if I asked you to name five apparel brands you have seen today, I prompted you more specifically. For the first answer, you listed everything from memory. The brands in your first list typically have a stronger awareness for you than the brands in your second list since I prompted you with a more specific category. We want our clients to be memorable, which will organically grow their brand awareness.
The extent to which an audience is familiar with a brand’s identity and its products and services is the foundation to a strong sales funnel. Who is this company and what do they do?
When you shop at a big box store, you see brands side by side. The more familiar ones have a stronger brand awareness. It takes time to build this awareness which happens through repetition.
Your branding is your shorthand communication to an audience. To take this one step further, an audience must be able to recognize a brand and trust what they see before they will ever purchase anything associated with this brand.
So, does your audience recognize your brand?
Brand Loyalty
Do you have a brand you love—a brand that you would purchase over and over again despite a competitor’s offerings? Think for a moment and write down a brand that you love and would purchase time and time again. Is this because this particular brand has performed well for you?
Over time, you have learned to trust this brand. Not only do you rely on this brand to perform adequately, but using this brand often elicits positive feelings for you. As a result, you have developed a sense of loyalty and commitment.
I am a runner. Eight years ago, I was having some trouble with my feet. After doing some research, I came to the conclusion that this discomfort was because I had never been properly fitted for shoes. So, I went to a local running shop and was introduced to a new brand (Innovate) after a proper fitting. Today, this is the only brand of running shoes I will wear.
About every six to eight months, I religiously go back to purchase a new pair of Innovate running shoes. I am loyal! I have found something that works.
Are your customers loyal to your brand? Do they come back time and time again?
Brand Equity
I love watching SharkTank. I am amazed at the boldness and wit of the candidates seeking an investment from the sharks. I shriek when they state a crazy valuation for their company and am fascinated by both their responses and the sharks’ questions about how this valuation was formulated. The most fascinating part is that the sharks have often never heard of these brands.
In other words, brand awareness nor brand loyalty are present, thus giving a very inaccurate valuation of brand equity. To have brand equity, you must first have metrics that prove brand awareness and brand loyalty are present.
Brand equity is measured, in part by brand awareness and brand loyalty, amongst other metrics like perceived quality and other brand associations.
Brand equity is the monetary valuation of what your brand is worth. Think about it–a recognizable brand that is firmly established and holds a high reputation (such as Coca-Cola) will be more successful than a generic equivalent (the generic cola at your local grocery store-gross!). This is because the brand has worked diligently and consistently over time to increase its awareness to an audience. This awareness, in time, increases brand loyalty. When you put the two together, amongst other metrics, the value of the brand is guaranteed to increase.
So, what is the application?
I have one more question: What is your company doing to increase brand awareness and brand loyalty for your customers? Both must be present to have and maintain a strong brand, which leads to equity in the brand.
This does not happen overnight; rather, it is a process that takes both intentionality and time, but is worth the effort. The more time and energy you invest, the better the chances of a positive return on investment.
