Brand Effectiveness – Want to know how to measure it?

Brand is often perceived as an intangible that can't be measured. It seems ambiguous and something that is often indescribable. Yet it is real and has a financially proven impact on the bottom line.

Before Starbucks we would have paid $0.50 for a coffee now we are buying a Starbucks Grande Latte for $3.65 in the U.S. And Dyson changed how we think about how much we pay for vacuum's.

 The evidence is clear; as a business, even a small business we must invest in brand. It's simply a more efficient way to get through the noise, sell things and develop sustainable relationships with our customers. We've already discussed that in our branding spotlight and launching a brand.

Now let's discuss how to measure brand effectiveness and ultimately how to make it a more tangible tool for your business. Jeremiah Gardner in his article on The Three Best Measures of Brand Success discusses the need to ensure your customers move through these three metrics to ensure brand effectiveness:

Interaction is often where businesses stop with their measurement; thinking that likes and clicks are enough. These kinds of numbers are definitely a measure and of course should be measured but they are often flirtatious and are not necessarily a indication of brand loyalty or an intention to purchase.

Engagement is useful because it's where customers or prospective customers give something of themselves e.g. an opinion in the form of a comment, an email address a pre-order, a one time sale. But will it last?

So it's participation we're after - this is where the customer comes to your events, brags about being a customer, wears your logo and spreads the word.

If you're looking for a conversion funnel; that's the one you want. Participation is where a deeper relationship has been developed with the customer and that, to be honest is rarely unintentional. It's something that's crafted and nurtured by the brand itself and of course it must be maintained. Like any relationship we move from first date, to going steady, to marriage or long term commitment and lastly you make sure nobody gets itchy and moves on.

But something deeper is required here to assess brand effectiveness. We need something that we can build a brand process around and measure as we go. Something that will challenge how we view brand and will challenge brand effectiveness and impact at any point.

When Brand Effectiveness becomes Brand Process
There's a very useful piece of academic research which was done by Kevin Lane Keller in 2000. In his research article he identified the ten characteristics that the world's strongest brands share and from that he constructed 'The Brand Report Card'.

The idea is you take these Top Ten Characteristics and you regularly score yourself against them. This report card is different in that it's not just about ticking boxes. It's not a one time thing. It's a report card where every time you look to score yourself on some criteria you will learn something more about your brand, where it is and in fact you'll think about where you are in terms of your entire marketing and business strategy. Do it twice a year and you'll soon become an expert in your own brand, in what it means to your customers and what your next steps must be.

The Brand Report Card - Measure yourself against these Top Ten.

1. The Brand Excels at Delivering the Benefits Customers Truly Desire
   Have you attempted to uncover unmet consumer needs and wants? By what methods? Do you focus relentlessly on maximising your customers' product and service experiences? Do you have a system in place for getting comments from customers to the people who can effect change?
2. The Brand Stays Relevant
   Have you invested in product improvements that provide better value for your customers? Are you in touch with your customers tastes? With the current market conditions? With new trends as they apply to your offering? Are your marketing decisions based on the above?
3. The Pricing Strategy is based on Consumers’ Perceptions of Value
   Have you optimised price, cost and quality to meet or exceed customers' expectations? Do you have a system in place to monitor customer's perceptions of your brand's value? Have you estimated how much value your customers believe the brand adds to your product?
4. The Brand is Properly Positioned
   Have you established necessary and competitive points of parity with competitors? Have you established desirable and deliverable points of difference?
5. The Brand is Consistent
   Are you sure that your marketing programmes are not sending conflicting messages and that they haven't done so over time? Conversely, are you adjusting your programmes to keep current?
6. The Brand Portfolio and Hierarchy Make Sense
   Can the corporate brand create a seamless umbrella for all the brands in your portfolio? Do the brands in that portfolio hold individual niches? How extensively do the brands overlap? In what areas? Conversely, do the brands maximise market coverage? Do you have a brand hierarchy that is well thought out and well understood?
7. The Brand Makes Use of and Coordinates a Full Range of Marketing Activities to Build Equity
   Have you chosen or designed your brand name, logo, symbol, slogan, packaging, signage and so forth to maximise brand awareness? Have you implemented integrated push and pull marketing activities that involve your brand? Are the people managing each activity aware of one another? Have you capitalised on the unique capabilities of each communication option while ensuring that the meaning of the brand is consistently represented?
8. The Brand’s Managers Understand what the Brand means to Consumers
   Do you know what customers like and don't like about a brand? Are you aware of all the core associations people make with your brand, whether intentionally created by your company or not? Have you created detailed, research driven portraits of your target customers? Have you outlined customer driven boundaries for brand extensions and guidelines for marketing programmes?
9. The Brand is given Proper Support and that Support is Sustained over the long run.
   Are the successes or failures of marketing programmes fully understood before they are changed? Is the brand given sufficient R&D support? Have you avoided the temptation to cut back marketing support for the brand in reaction to a downturn in the market or a slump in sales?
10. The Company Monitors Sources of Brand Equity
    Have you created a brand charter that defines the meaning and equity of the brand and how it should be treated? Do you conduct periodic brand audits to assess the health of your brand and to set strategic direction? Do you conduct routine tracking studies to evaluate current market performance? Do you regularly distribute brand equity reports that summarise all relevant research and information to assist marketers in making decisions? Have you assigned explicit responsibility for monitoring and preserving brand equity?

Yes, it's a lot to reflect on. But that's the point. A brand report card will teach you about branding even if the first step for your business, big or small, is to simply be able to tick each box.

Try it. It will transform how you think about your brand and so much more. Let me know how you get on or if you need help.

Finola Howard is a brand and marketing strategist who is passionate about the impact that great marketing can have on business success. She sees marketing in a broader more strategic sense and works with businesses and entrepreneurs who want to grow.