How to Build Brand Friendship :)
To create a truly powerful brand, you need to establish a sense of belonging, friendship, and dependability between product and customers
Why brand friendship matters?
Consider a brand has a high quality, appropriate price, and good service. Do you think it is enough to purchase products from certain brands without much hesitation? I think the strong brands consider more factors to keep their brand image and constant product purchase by consumers as well. The article talks about the extent to which you can create a sense of belonging, friendship, and dependability between your brand and customer is the extent to which you have a powerful brand asset.
Summary
Steve McKee explains four essential concepts of how to build brand friendship just as similar ideas that apply to human relationship: belonging, friendship, dependability, and awareness.
1.Belonging
Many auto brands such as Honda, BMW, and Saturn have done a good job from the past. When consumers think about these brands, they easily figure out the image of the brand just recognizing the name value of the brands or potential belief about certain brands. In addition, cosmetics also generate a strong sense of identification such as Avon. According to marketing principle, customers want to belong to a particular group where they can be shown or categorized by popular brand name that they could be look cool as a user of that brand. Also, the third level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is need of belonging.
2.Friendship
Think about Starbucks. As they argue and also our Professor Lee always mention about Starbucks’ strategy, Starbucks doesn’t sell coffee but its lifestyle. I even think that there is no specific taste difference among many coffee brands. What they focus on as marketing strategy is friendship between the brand and customers. They approach to customers with comfort and familiarity just like McKee points out the phenomenon of morning appointment with Starbucks is like visiting with a trusted old friend. This phenomenon delivers the significance of friendship established between the brand and customers.
3.Dependability
As human relationship requires some sense of dependability, brands have no exception. McKee indicates that ”brands that prove themselves dependable over time win consumers’ loyalty”. This is quite easy to understand when we think about IBM that consumers of IBM never complain about their purchase although it is expensive and boring in comparison with other brands. American Express, Hertz, and Honda are also great examples of brands which are well known for their dependability. They offer services and high quality products exactly what they promise to offer so that they establish credibility through dependability. In marketing class, companies must not promise services or products they cannot or will not offer. It is crucial in building relationship especially dependability between the brands and customers. It takes time for brands to develop strong bonds with their customers just like human relationship.
4.Awareness
The brands that you do not often purchase don’t leave a big impression to you. Brand relationships need consistent attention and upkeep in order to stay fresh and top of mind. Southwest Airlines, Apple, eBay, and Caterpillar are strong brands which marketing strategies on brand friendship lie on brands’ awareness.
Personal Suggestions on Each Concept
I personally consider few ways to develop these areas. Customer responsiveness can include all of these factors. 1) Regular contact with updated information about the brands by e-mail, SMS, phone calling might be a good way of building a friendship. 2) Besides, high quality offline services could be another good source. For the sense of belonging, I think 3) the brand image through memorable history, CEO, effective advertisement will motivate customers have a positive perception on particular brands. For the sense of dependability, I assume 4) positive WOM (Word Of Mouth) could be a great way to acquire the brand’s dependability. People tend to know whether the brands are dependable or not by using the products and having services for real. Thus, to create positive WOM, companies must guarantee what they promise for the brands officially.
Opinion
To be honest, this article reminds most of marketing principles that we talked about during the class. What professor Lee emphasizes in marketing are all included and perhaps these are somewhat the most significant and essential reminders to develop marketing strategy. Because these sense of belonging, friendship, dependability, and awareness of brands touch the consumers’ heart effectively. I recently read an article related to this topic from LG Economic Research Institute (LGERI). The article talks about consumers’ behavior. The point that made me think deeply was that consumers’ don’t care much about the product itself such as its quality, price, or other components if necessary because most of function-based products are hard to distinguish with these elements. Customers become generous about purchasing the products if the sense of belonging to certain brands fulfills customers. Whether customers are satisfied with its sense of belonging, friendship, dependability, and awareness of the brands or not determine the final purchase.
Annotation
Steve McKee, “How to Build Brand Friendship”, BusinessWeek, May 9, 2008
URL: http://www.businessweek.com (Small Biz – Marketing)
To create a truly powerful brand, you need to establish a sense of belonging, friendship, and dependability between product and customers
Why brand friendship matters?
Consider a brand has a high quality, appropriate price, and good service. Do you think it is enough to purchase products from certain brands without much hesitation? I think the strong brands consider more factors to keep their brand image and constant product purchase by consumers as well. The article talks about the extent to which you can create a sense of belonging, friendship, and dependability between your brand and customer is the extent to which you have a powerful brand asset.
Summary
Steve McKee explains four essential concepts of how to build brand friendship just as similar ideas that apply to human relationship: belonging, friendship, dependability, and awareness.
1.Belonging
Many auto brands such as Honda, BMW, and Saturn have done a good job from the past. When consumers think about these brands, they easily figure out the image of the brand just recognizing the name value of the brands or potential belief about certain brands. In addition, cosmetics also generate a strong sense of identification such as Avon. According to marketing principle, customers want to belong to a particular group where they can be shown or categorized by popular brand name that they could be look cool as a user of that brand. Also, the third level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is need of belonging.2.Friendship
Think about Starbucks. As they argue and also our Professor Lee always mention about Starbucks’ strategy, Starbucks doesn’t sell coffee but its lifestyle. I even think that there is no specific taste difference among many coffee brands. What they focus on as marketing strategy is friendship between the brand and customers. They approach to customers with comfort and familiarity just like McKee points out the phenomenon of morning appointment with Starbucks is like visiting with a trusted old friend. This phenomenon delivers the significance of friendship established between the brand and customers. 3.Dependability
As human relationship requires some sense of dependability, brands have no exception. McKee indicates that ”brands that prove themselves dependable over time win consumers’ loyalty”. This is quite easy to understand when we think about IBM that consumers of IBM never complain about their purchase although it is expensive and boring in comparison with other brands. American Express, Hertz, and Honda are also great examples of brands which are well known for their dependability. They offer services and high quality products exactly what they promise to offer so that they establish credibility through dependability. In marketing class, companies must not promise services or products they cannot or will not offer. It is crucial in building relationship especially dependability between the brands and customers. It takes time for brands to develop strong bonds with their customers just like human relationship.4.Awareness
The brands that you do not often purchase don’t leave a big impression to you. Brand relationships need consistent attention and upkeep in order to stay fresh and top of mind. Southwest Airlines, Apple, eBay, and Caterpillar are strong brands which marketing strategies on brand friendship lie on brands’ awareness.
Personal Suggestions on Each Concept
I personally consider few ways to develop these areas. Customer responsiveness can include all of these factors. 1) Regular contact with updated information about the brands by e-mail, SMS, phone calling might be a good way of building a friendship. 2) Besides, high quality offline services could be another good source. For the sense of belonging, I think 3) the brand image through memorable history, CEO, effective advertisement will motivate customers have a positive perception on particular brands. For the sense of dependability, I assume 4) positive WOM (Word Of Mouth) could be a great way to acquire the brand’s dependability. People tend to know whether the brands are dependable or not by using the products and having services for real. Thus, to create positive WOM, companies must guarantee what they promise for the brands officially.
Opinion
To be honest, this article reminds most of marketing principles that we talked about during the class. What professor Lee emphasizes in marketing are all included and perhaps these are somewhat the most significant and essential reminders to develop marketing strategy. Because these sense of belonging, friendship, dependability, and awareness of brands touch the consumers’ heart effectively. I recently read an article related to this topic from LG Economic Research Institute (LGERI). The article talks about consumers’ behavior. The point that made me think deeply was that consumers’ don’t care much about the product itself such as its quality, price, or other components if necessary because most of function-based products are hard to distinguish with these elements. Customers become generous about purchasing the products if the sense of belonging to certain brands fulfills customers. Whether customers are satisfied with its sense of belonging, friendship, dependability, and awareness of the brands or not determine the final purchase.
Annotation
Steve McKee, “How to Build Brand Friendship”, BusinessWeek, May 9, 2008
URL: http://www.businessweek.com (Small Biz – Marketing)
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