Building Brands

Brand Equity Brand Equity is defined as: –Financial “asset value” of a brand –Derived from goodwill and loyalty it has built among customers –Has high awareness and perceived quality –Better imagery and personality associations

Brand Equity High Brand Equity brands Can extract higher prices Customers repurchase the brands more often than they should Have loyal customer bases Preference and loyalty higher Not because the product is functionally superior But consumer perceptions of the brand is better

Brand Equity The associations of the brand in the consumers mind create –An intimacy and loyalty towards the brand. The associations do not vary much across segments The role of marketing is to Build awareness to communicate high quality Create or modify product associations Build higher loyalty Direct marketing useful for building brand equity when target segment is Narrower, and Difficult to reach

Building Quality Reputation through Direct Marketing Communicating Quality –Detailed claims about product features and benefits –Stronger communications about why a product is superior –Can provide customized messages to different customers –Maximize the perceived degree or value and quality communicated

Building Quality Reputation through Direct Marketing Achieving Credibility –Understand and refute customer objections –Cite testimonials from satisfied customers –Offer guarantee for satisfaction Frequency of post sale contact –Lower follow up costs to monitor and improve customer satisfaction

Building Associations Communications should be designed to –Convey product information –Overcome consumer inertia to buy –Build the linkage between the brand, and its symbols that possess “cultural meaning” Loyalty –Two types: behavioral and attitudinal –Attitudinal better for building brand loyalty

Customer Service and Database Marketing

Customer Service Department Historically functioned as complaint center. Today technology has allowed order processing and next day shipment. Companies who do not meet baseline service standards cannot survive. Service focus has shifted from product focused to customer focused.

Customer Service Department Customer service is the primary channel of contact between both prospects and customers Responses given by Customer Service Representatives are critical for maintaining and building relationships. Proper service provides opportunities for cross-selling, affinity selling, and upselling. Most overlooked aspect- easy data collection.

Information Needed by Customer Service Basic Name, address information about the customer Company to customer communications Bills, shipments, and promotions Customer to company transactions Payments, returns, and complaints Details about products, services, policies, and procedures. The information needs to be timely, accurate and complete.

Marketing Information Two types of information collected: Static and Dynamic Static Information –Basically Name, address information –Primary use is for mass mailings –Customer service can be used to fill in any missing customer details

Dynamic Marketing Information Information regarding expected and unexpected event. Expected event –Initiator could be company or customer. –Example: response from a customer regarding a promotion, or bill –Historical information regarding customer events needs to considered when contacting a customer

Dynamic Marketing Information Unexpected events –Example: customer complaints, returns or inquiries. Current systems provide only summary information as to whether the contact was an order or complaint. Systems need to capture information at a better detail. Information requirements: initial mode of contact, whether the problem was resolved or not, and how it was resolved Integration between all modes of communication required.

Survey Data Survey data normally collected by market research firms. Only summary data maintained. The detailed data regarding specific responses is also useful for database marketing. Customer service can: Obtain survey data when customer initiates contact Use historic survey data to initiate contact with customers in a timely fashion

Issues with survey data Surveys sent to only a sample of customers. Only a percentage of the original sample respond. Detailed information available only for a small percentage of the total customer base. Initial database design required to integrate survey data with marketing data already existing.

Information Required for Customer Service Service representatives require information about individual customers when initiating dialogs. Information provided by the marketing database includes Whether the customer is a gold/platinum member. Product/services customer should be made aware of. Information the representative can collect from a particular customer. The representative is in closest contact with the customer. Canned or broadcast oriented messages do not work here

Customer Service on the Internet Historically web sites gave out only 800 numbers. Currently web sites are more dynamic and provide: Product support and FAQs Provisions for complaint s Separate corporate intranet access for dedicated customer service

Customer Service on the Internet Pros: –Cost effective –Better reach –Faster service Cons: –Restricted currently to GenX –Internet has a Pull strategy Vs. Push strategy of traditional direct marketing –Capabilities restricted by customers’ computers

Customer Service on the Internet Future: –Common web sites serving both customers and service representatives –Access to information for customers restricted through intranets –Customer service representatives can have updated information in real time.

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