Brand Equity Essay

Brand equity is the manner in which the customers perceive the commodity in the market. When goods and services are branded in a way that impresses the client, the purchase power becomes high as opposed to the product that is not branded. Keller and Lehmann (2003), supports the fact that branding of the commodities is very important to the consumers because it increases the taste hence attract many clients. On the other hand, Kallapur and Kwan (2004), support the idea by analyzing that branding increase the value of the products sold.
Clients are more impressed when the goods are branded since it increases the level of trust to them. Interbrand (2011) in the United States was rated among the best because the turn up of the clients to buy goods and services was very high. Brand equity is a great relative measure that enables the company to give a comparison with its competitors, for this reason therefore, it has great impact on the financial value of the commodities branded.It gives a multi-reflection on the products on display, the firm that produces the goods and other related attributes.
Keller (1993) found the model used in brand equity.

From his point of view, he states that from the consumers, one is able to apprehend the value of the brand equity of the product. The brand of a particular product only sells widely if the consumers feel the taste, they have good experiences ion the brand and if there is long accumulation of that brand to them. In the dimension of brand equity, Keller (2001) gives an example with two items where one is branded and the other one is not branded. Due to the fact that one product is branded and the clients are well vast with it, it penetrates in the market faster as opposed to that which is not branded.
Another important aspect in brand equity is when it is customer based. Customer based brand equity in this case is to say that the customers themselves have the sole decision making about a particular products. Negative views and analysis on the product gives it a knock out in the market. In this regard, customer based brand equity is very instrumental in and an important tool for the loyalty of the consumers.
Kotler & Keller (2006) explains the customer loyalty is very precious; it provides security of particular product in the market. It also predicts the level of demand that the clients will eventually have on the very product. On the other hand, it can act as a barrier to other firms that may be having a similar interest in supplying the same goods in the market.
Brand Awareness
The concept of brand awareness has drawn attention to many academics practitioners. Awareness of a particular product depends on the way it is advertised. More advertised products create awareness to the clients than the product which are not advertised. When advertised, consumers become more popular with the products and they try them most of the time. For customer awareness to be created, the image of the product must be of high quality and likened by the clients. Clients play a very pivotal role in creating awareness on the product. Goods that are widely used by clients are branded with good image and the clients are motivated to use them.
While creating awareness on the product, it is important to point out the price that is friendly to the clients which makes them forgo other products to the newly branded. The awareness should be created on the importance of the very product and how it helps the community as opposed to other goods. In the increasingly competitive market place today, it is important for companies to create awareness on the products in time so as to compete other companies producing related products.
Reaching customers in time, allows them to organize for good market strategies that enable the goods to be sold within the shortest time possible. The image that the costumers get when awareness is created to them is very essential in determining whether the product will penetrate the market or not.
Keller (2010) argues that with the proliferation of brands and awareness of the goods in the market, the consumers make their purchase decisions depending on the price quoted during advertisement. When the price is too high, the goods are more likely to be bought by people living in high class. On the other hand, when the price quoted is too low, the low economic class will go for the products. For this matter therefore, it is inherent for the companies to quote the price that is friendly and can be managed by everyone. This makes the product to be supplied easily within the shortest time possible.
Also, the relationship of the satisfaction of the client and the image of the product is directly proportional. A lot of recent research has been carried in service industries to prove this. Good image of the product to the client makes the product to trend much in the market unlike the product that has bad image. Moreover, although positive impact of brand image on customers’ satisfaction and their loyalty can be testified, the brand image does not only affect the loyalty of the customers but also has an impact on other mediating factors.
Most importantly, the channel used to create awareness to the consumers is very essential. Using email and wozap, for example, which many local customers might not be having, exposes the product to have a lesser image to the clients. Only a few people will be reached hence created little awareness. Therefore, it is important to create awareness to customers through a channel that is easily accessed by many clients.
Brand Loyalty
Brand loyalty presents a well defined bibliography on the subject through various scopes. Loyalty of customers to a particular product depends on various factors. The factors herein are the behavioral approach that the company has towards the clients while creating awareness, the attitudinal approach of the consumers and the multi-domain approach that combines the two. The manner in which the company approaches the consumers and informs them about the product matters a lot in either them accepting or refusing to buy the product.
Here, there is a lot of aspect that should be considered. The choices of words matters a lot, using language that is friendly to the consumers makes the like the product itself. The reaction to the clients enables them to choose whether or not to buy from the company. A company that has friendly language to the consumers portrays a positive behavior as opposed to that company that has no choice of words. Also, good choices of words makes the consumers have a positive attitude and likeness towards the products on advertisement.
In this dictum, the company using a positive attitudinal approach is likely to bring more consumers to their attention as opposed to the one that does not care about the attitude. A combination of the two is very paramount for the growth and retention of the customers. In order to have long lasting customers, there should be conversant with the way they are addressed.
The business law states that a client is ever right even when wrong, for this reason, they should be treated with a lot of decorum and respect since without them; there is high possibility of goods not going through the market. Building a positive attitude on customers about the products makes them have confidence and trust on the company and the products.
The manner in which loyalty to clients was handled has greatly changed. Loyalty is increased through regulation of prices in the market. A fair and friendly price on commodities makes the clients more loyal to the company hence buying more goods. The tendency also states that it is very easy to attain new consumers than to retain the existing ones. This is so because knowing the behavior of new customers may require additional cost and this may affect the company if there is no loyalty.
For this reason companies have found it more prudent to increase the value of innovative products and increase the global competition for products too. This makes the clients to remain loyal to the companies. They are retained by ensuring that the products given to them are of high quality as opposed to the competing partners. A lot of studies have been done o increase the brand loyalty based on behavioral definitions.
Most importantly, Gounaris and Stathakopoulos (2004) gives explanation on the various types of loyalty depending on the price. No purchase is a case where the customer does no purchase totally since they have to interest on the brand. In covetous loyalty, the consumers are not purchasing yes but they are emotionally tied the products because of the social environment created to them during branding. For the case of inertia loyalty, the consumers have propensity towards the brand.
They only buy because they are advertised or any related person has bought. Lastly, premium loyalty, where there is emotional tie and social effect is extremely high and the customers are really motivated to buying the products. It is most important for the companies to convince their customers to have premium loyalty.
Perceived Quality
It is defined as the judgment that is made by the customer on the services that are provided in an organization Chen and Chang (2013). The judgment made by the client in this case depends on the durability of the product, attention that they are given, the worthiness of the commodity and the safety. The perception that the customers have on the products is very vital for the selling of the commodity in the market. Poor perception leads to low turnout in the market avenue while positive perception makes the goods be sold more.
Perceived quality affect the risk in which then customers have towards the product. The quality of the product enable the client to risk in taking it to try using even if he had never tried it before. But when the quality is low, one would not be motivated in using the product. Therefore, the companies that produce quality makes expose clients to a lot of risks since they are curious to know the taste of the products. Another factor that the research gives herein is that trust is also affected by perceived quality Chen and Chang (2013).
The results indicate that good quality has positive impact to the clients. When the costumers get the eminence of the products they need, they tend to build a lot of trust on the product and the company producing them. On the other hand, poor production tends to reduce the degree at which the consumers trust the suppliers. This makes lead to clients running away from the services and go to where the services are better.
Therefore, investment on green perception increases the level at which the customers perceive the quality of the product and the vice versa.
In marketing, customers’ satisfaction is the most important aspect. It occupies a bigger part in observation and theory on the products. Before organizations introduce new products in the market, they have to ask themselves whether the clients will be satisfied with the products or not. If the answer is no then they have to make good approaches to deal with it. Dealing with it means making good quality that will appeal to the eyes of the costumers.
Satisfaction differs from customer to customer. What satisfy one client may not be the same as what makes the other client happy. Satisfaction depends on fashion, texture, price among many other factors. Therefore, the organization should try at all cost to create satisfaction to the clients despite the factors. The quality of the product that satisfy customer should include different features as well as enhancing good performance of the product.
It should be liked by many clients as far as satisfaction of their needs is concerned. The research also point out that perceived quality also depends on both intrinsic and extrinsic cues. In this case, the physical quality of the products gives the customers to have more expectation of similar goods next time. Therefore, managers should be more vibrant in and interested in implementing the cues that increase the brand equity. On a similar note, they should also make necessary marketing and appropriate actions that enable these cues arrived at and implement them accordingly.
Brand Association
Brand association is nodes of information that has the real meaning of brands within the mind of the customer. Any thought that is linked to the mind of the customer about the brand is termed as brand association. Most of the marketers use brand association to help in creating good position of the products to be bought by the customer. They enact psychological preparation to the clients to enable them acquire the products.
Consumers on the other hand, use the brand association in making decision whether to acquire goods or not. For long, scholars have had varied opinions on the manner in which brand association should be categorized because there are several aspects that constitute to brand association. Because of this, there are three categories of brand association, attitude, attribute and the attitude. Keller (2013) divides attributes into two, product and non-product categories.
Products related are the ingredients that are very vital for the production of quality goods and services and they are mainly sought by the consumers. Contrary to this, the non-product attributes consist of the outer aspects of the products like the price and usage. These factors are determined by the company and through them; the customers can either be attracted or distracted from obtaining goods and services. Attitude in this case refers to the behavior that the customers develop on the products after usage.
Once they start using the goods and services, they are at a position of evaluating whether the products are impressing or not. The impression made on first experience carries the rest of the days. In addition, benefits are the special values that one gets by using the products. The client can get the benefit through the product`s functionality in the body, through experiential, where he feels the usage of the product. Good use of products enables the clients to like the goods and develop the intrinsic urge to use them always.
It is also important to note the symbolic benefit which is extrinsic. It refers to the external benefits associated with the buying of goods and services. They include the after sale services like delivery, social status, prestige, and augmentation made on the product. These factors attract clients by a great margin. Cheng-Hsui Chen (2001) points out that accompany that employ the principle are more like to excel as opposed to the company which does not.
The empirical study states that brand association is very important since it helps in examining on the brand equity (Fayrene & Lee, 2011). Brand equity can contribute to a positive impact to organization because it increases the customers’` ability and willingness to buy goods and services. Because of this reason, it stands a great motive of having a favorable association beside the consumers as the main objective in realizing high output.