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    BM Chap 3 and 4

    Uploaded by

    Usman Aziz

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    * Cae | | Creating Your Brand's Contract ‘A Brand Contract isa lst ofall promises the brand makes to cus- tomers. Such a contracts executed intemal, butitis defined and validated externally by the marketplace. Brand Contracts can and should change over time. New promises can be added, pther ‘promises can be updated, and irelevant promises can be deleted, ‘A.Brand Contracts a critical piece ofthe BrandPicture (see the illustration on the facing page) because it helps to further define marketplace perceptions and expectations and forces man ‘agers to be honest with themseles. In ation to positive promises tw customers, a Brand Contract can contain negative promises or attributes. It is important ro build on the strong brand promises and mitigate the negative ones. For example, one of our clients had a reputation for putting customers calling for information on old for what seemed an ete nity (as defined bythe marketplace), Whether the client believed ‘tor not, ths had become a “promite” that customers had come toexpect, ‘To develop a successful Brand Contract, a company has to frst understand its brand’s current set of promises as defined by the ‘marketplace. Next, it must determine f this contrat is the one it perceived the brand to have, Then it has to take action to ether {improve the Brand Contract or strengthen the positive promises already in place. Critical to the success of a Brand Contract is that, before the contracts made and its positive promises publi sated, your orga- nization determines how best make them a realy. For example, 5 jold problem by ont « cient just mentioned sdeessed dhe ori eee itso eal center. The att center Wowk Mae ei tgewer dhe phone and either find someone to talk to Jame dae uni thir seconds orgie a ime when a company “wo no longer Per fepresentative would call back. Thus “en hold” [thea to be a negative promise or expectation, Developing a Brand Contract should be aligned with the brand image research trom Step Two and be derived directly from it (see Figure 8.1) ‘The Importance of Upholding Contracts Ina recent Wall Stet Journal article, a writer told Of his experiences with AT&T's One Rate service. He talked about the brochure and its promises: No more roaming charges. No more peak hour extra Charges. One low rate, such as a thousand minutes for $119. Ifyou ‘cannot get a signal, ATRT promises to find a carrier that can. AT&T ‘Gaims you will ike the service 0 mauch that you will use your cel Islar phone to make all your long distance calls, both from home and on the road. ‘These wonderful promises (all laid out clearly in the brochure) definitely hit cellular phone users’ hot buttons. The future is here and One Rate is it Figure 3.1, The Brand Image and Customer Expectations + Consists ofthe End experience {orth by the brand. { + The expectations + Tear by saying, || andoreanieaton || Zest” wt Dut the writer went on to talk about his frustrations One Rate plan. The service was inconsistent and did moj nt be Conain arens within some of the biggest cities in the coun in times his calls came to a “screeching halt” because the pose!” con ee gether. He was disappointed in the service and frustrated bes” the promise he thought the brand was making was being bea ‘The implications of this for AT&T go beyond one cuss dissatisfaction with One Rate. The AT&T brand is on other et? ee service, among others, and a bad experience with one prods a a offerings. Implicit Brand Contracts A Brand Contract has to be market driven. That is, ic must reflee what customers really chink and what the company is realy pe- pared to do. By looking at a company’s current performance, ve fan sce the contract that the company implicitly offers today and ‘what it must do to improve the contract in the future. The Brand Contract is a set of promises that you believe will keep current cus Comers satisfied even as it attracts a new clientele ‘Here is the implicit Brand Contract that Starbucks would prob- ably develop, based on its current performance, ifit went dhrough this process of writing a contract. Starbucks" Implicit Brand Contract Starbucks promises to do the following: 1. Provide the highest quality coffee available on the market today 2. Offer customers a wide variety of coffee options as well as com plementary food and beverage items 3, Haye an atmosphere that is warm, appropriate for having a conversation wid reading a book 4, Recognize that visiting Starbucks is as much about the see" ence of drinking coffee as itis about the coffee itself friendly, homelike, and ch a good friend oF 78 Baw Asser Mawoeseer 6. Provide customers thes eral thousand Starbueks worldwide 17. Stay current with the times 9 Educate customers on the diferent types of coffee offered (A few ways that Starbucks currently supports such a contract include hiring people who have an outgoing personaly, cdecae ing consumers through brochures and literature about sre differ cnt pes of coffee; continuing to offer new products that add the experience (such as compact dses); and providing the seme ‘ype of employee training regardless of location, As another example, the evolution of Kinko's implicit Brand Contract over the last fifteen years has been interesting to follow, Jn the beginning, Kinko's strategy and positioning revolved pri, marily around serving the needs of university students, wth ‘Kinko's locations at or near most major universitc, ‘A Kinko's Brand Contract back then would probably have included the follossing: Kinko's “Ola” Implicit Brand Contract Kinko's promises to do the following: 2. Provide customers with friendly service 2 Be open twenty-four hours a day 5. Have convenient, sensible locations + Hire knowledgeable employees working ateach tore who can _ help students and others troubleshoot any problems Have a computer station waiting for customers who need one 6, Provide a variety of services, from copying to binding to pro- ducing business cards From a customer perspective, Kinko's contract probably also included a few negative promises such as these: csr Your Baa 's Commence 15 7. Charge premium prices for every piece of paper sold 8, Have long lines at the cash register and to get on a computer 9, Have some poorly trained employees Later Kinko's reached out o the athome and small business communities, Consequently it encountered many challenges us ‘ied to expand and develop a deeper and more meaningfal con ‘ract with its customers, Kinko's had to migrate from its positon a8 college campus copy shop to one asa small business partner ‘Todo that ithad to upgrade its implicit Brand Contract to meet the growing needs of smaller businesses as they become more sophisticated ‘Why? First, competitors such as Mailboxes, Ete, have come into the market and tried to replicate Kinko's unique points of eiffer- entiation, Therefore, Kinko's must be concemed with keeping its ‘current core business intact. Second, many customers have become more sophisticated than ‘Kinko's employees. This was not the ease ten years ago, but expec. tations of service and expertise are much higher than they used to bbe. Third, as Kinko's has grown the service provided by employees hhas declined and become less consistent. Kinko's also faces another problem. Strong franchises gain ‘their strength by having customers experience the same level of Service and satisfaction at any oftheir establishments regardless ‘of location, and a good Brand Contract must reflect this. This may not be the ease for Kinko's anymore. For instance, there are two Kinko's within a few blocks of each ther niear my office in downtown Chicago, One of them I would ‘rust with any client presentation; the other I would not, Four Principles for Developing a Brand Contract Sohow does one get started in developing a Brand Contract? Fore ‘tunately, your Brand Contract can be derived from the same esearch that you conduct in determining your brand's image ‘Again, be sure to conduct this research relative to a few key com ppetitors so that you can make comparisons between your brand and theirs. Beyond that, ifyou keep four guiding principtes in ‘mind the process should be straightforward. S) moo Ars 7 1. Understand the Brand Contract from Your Customers’ Perspective ‘The research questions you should ask when developing your ‘Brand Contract complemenc those you ask when determining your brand's image. These questions ean include the following: + In making a purchase inthis category, what were the benefits you expected to receive? *+ What are the mostimportant aspects of service that @ provider must be sure to offer? + Did Brand X meet your benefit expectations? Why? Why not? *+ What promises docs Brand X make? Positive promises? ‘Negative promises? What impact do these promises have ‘on your perceptions ofthe brand? + How did you arrive at your perceptions of promises? + Do other brands make different promises or set different expectations than Brand X? “ait with sigh Contract {bo not let me nave when * Once you purchased Brand X, how well did the actual brand experience match with your expectations? * What could have'been done differently to make your purchase and brand experience an even better one? + How well did Brand X match up to the promises you expected bbefore the purchase, during use of the actual product or service, and afterward? viliy’s Band 32.4 ——- ned proce sone na ete oc en ety com sore money + Help me mana ‘+ When you think about Brand X, what other promises could you imagine it making? Figure ‘The Key to making this process work isto have it be driven by customers and key purchase influencers, not internal managers ‘You need to expect negative promises and not think about this exercise defensively. Think of it asa critical Jong.-term brand satisfaction, mt Soni cleric ebay Prce te commod path to maximizing ‘Your Brand Contract can and should shift over time and most likely will have nuances that vary with the customer set. For exam ple, ifyou own a utility ora telecommunication brand the contract ‘vill be very different for commercial versus residential customers age ny ovetead by ansing%° ergy efiency elise gasand se eter understand ny energy SUC. “Basinesesreqlre nize wy (see Figure 8.2) C fe + Conduct an energy 3 | BD Boo Aer Muwcnant 2. Transat the Brand Contract into Standards ‘The etal tantation from rine whether you have in promise come true ‘When Fred Smith and his senior management tach trans formed the brand identity of Federal Expres to tavah eee few yeas ago, they had tao prima beeves Fit tney wanted wince thelr brand seommimene the dake ee promises that the company had perfected oes he on ses they wanted to update the look fhe company dre nee nes ‘and colors, mer a To ntroduce this initiate to FedEx employes ss th sath story s0cs Smith and hs eam rented out alge petoee emg a, plajet attend special meeting a packed wh rows emplog, agement eam sted he ee old Federal Expres silane and tal them way goodbye to forever asittove off he ee Feats airplane entered with ts new logo new colo and nek sn inovatie look After the unveiling, the management team talked about {he promises FedEx makes to its customers everyday and how those promises differentiate FedEx from its competition and keep it number one in customer satisfaction and loyalty, Management went on to explain that the redesign symbolized the company's commitment to continuous improvement and to meeting the demanding high-quality service needs of ts loyal and expanding Employees went back to their offices motivated and with enewed vigor. Upon arrival back at headquarters, they discovered, ‘hat everything had been changed to reflect the new brand. From, the signage outside to the business cards and stationery on each, desk to the screen saver on everyone's computer, everything that ‘had been Federal Express that morning was now FedEx. ‘The implicit message ofthis quick conversion was that FedEx ‘sina business in which speed and timeliness mean everything to «sstomers, FedEx’ ability to keep its promises to customers (your package will be there by 10:80 tomorrow morning”), and even, Promises to standards helps you deter: place what it takes to make the brand there ont morning. The hangar es. In dramatic fashion, the ma ing by showing employees the cammcYoun bee's Cosract delight osomers by delering» package eer han expected asbeen key to erpng the mane vo coal Ped as one of he ronges Brand Cantace he seen, Trporanty a promise means acon A promis of veright delivery mean developing a fives datbuion and transport: ton inasrserre fra baxinet that promises action "when i sol potnly has tobe tere overnight "Te MeDonalis Brand Contit promt customers that hey vil getthe ame experience in each ad very McDonalds estar fal That mean hat Over adn hare side 2 common tof guidelines, quality contol, and standares Thralow MeDenaiy to upholé eprom geal nsec MeDorali's promise ot hating the best rench is let nest in new yer eco thar ate tei es ase even beter TBM Consulting’ Brond Contract In the early to mig-1990s, “Solutions for a Small Planet" was born out ofan effort to reconnect all of IBM under one positioning ‘umbrella. Iallowed forthe (apparently) seamless introduction of IBM's cusines, which today i the fastest growing part of the com- ‘pany. Lou Gerstner, CEO atthe time, helped IBM recognize that it Sin aservice business as mach asa product business (in fact, one- third of revenues today comes from services) and that new service offerings would only help to build the TBM brand TBM Consulting was being tested as one of many new service offerings, aimed at helping IBM expand and become recognized asa global solution provider. Part of the project miy company con- ducted was aimed at helping IBM Consulting define the promises ‘twould have-to make in the marketplace to be successful Many inside TBM believed the marketplace would not find IBM. 10 be credible in offering consulting services; one early internal bypothesis was that the consulting services business should be called Watson & Associates (after founder Thomas Watson) to se arate “Big Blue” from the new offering, The marketplace rejected ‘Watson & Associates because it believed the power of the IBM ‘brand was too strong to not leverage in any new service offering, Many executives and ClOs in outside firms thought IBM Com. sulting could be a great success because ofthe inherent exper ‘However, this part of the marketplace believed that IBM Cor NRE eee a baw Ase Macrae ‘would need fo make and keep several brand promises to he cred ble, including these + Any recommendation made by the IBM Consulting Group vill Include two non-1BM recommendations or solutions to establish objecivig: (Many executives wondered if IBM would use the Consulting Group to sell more hardware and softwate; some said thac the firs time IBM Consulting recommended an IBMonly solution as the only solauon would be the last time they would use IBM Consulting} * IDM vill investin methodologies forts consultants to employ fon engagements. * IBM will hire some new people from proven and established ‘consulting firms forthe Consulting Group. (The market Dlace also needed evidence that retraining of current IBM. Employees, now to be called consultant, was taking place ) * The IM Consulting Group wall prove that the value it provides is above and beyond the free advice customers had been receiving for years * IBM will eam how to market its consulting sils to new buyers. (Potential clients generally learn about consulting firms through seminars, speeches, articles, books, and word. ‘oF mouth) The IBM Consulting Group activate is Brand Contract through ‘any new initiatives. Fist, ithired numerous outsiders fom other Consulting firms to lead projecs and bring the credibility needed. {launch this successfully. Second, it brought in an outsider from, tone of the top consulting firms in the world to run the business because the consulting business model was very different from that of the hardware business model Third, it spent months developing unique methodologies Fourth, it hired my company to train over 3,000 consultants work ‘wide on core consulting skills and to share findings from our slobal branding project. Fifth, itset up new career atks and com. pensation packages that more closely align with the consulting Industry, as opposed to traditional IBM career tacks. And sixth, tt spent. fot of time marketing its new offering and expertise in the way the market demanded, t cunmscYou Buses Cowmacr 85 at cng ane spor om nor sonngrene ene the organization aes fons oa Siig conung ect of isnt utomeregnents 2d ie aga poms Se mvc 0 tes hein Catlcngereups nor neo ey oa fein wor and brand ieeonynons ih ately Neal conulungand many ssid cen Ho ers thceecond ging pnp you mst be ab coat promises neato. You may have make changes Syournianestreivestia operons ad aw tne or tag cones mat pre sour prong bce the Selene of appre when ousy you re he Destin ws yathavetohnow tow dehoe sere rom a estomer pet tpeche and en nowhow oimpementitsod mesure youre “Rive tw easomer saisacon lel Figure 33 show an ex fleafbow brand sodas taunts Brand Conactand {henced opersionalie these promises. 3. Fulfill the “Good” Promises of Your Brand Contract or Risk Damaging the Brand ‘This principle is inuitive, but does deserve some attention. Star bbucks’ promises are in place every day. Itis important that cus- ‘tomers experiences are similar and sausjing each time they visita Starbucks. Such consistency leads to lol ct. ers. When Star ‘bucks announced a price increase in 1999, it had eninimal impact, fon sales and the brand overall because, as mentioned in Chapter ‘One, powerful brands are able to overcome negative news more readily Similarly, when Starbucks comes out with a new product, like frappuceino a few years ago, there is instant acceptance because the company has credibility and people assume that the {quality of the product will be high before they even ty it. Butas Starbucks increases its outlets and distribution channels, Itrisks losing control over the promises of its Brand Contract. I consistently hear complains about the taste of Starbucks coffee on, United Airlines. I's probably better than coffee on any other ai line, but because it's Starbucks the expectations are inherently higher isan ¥oun Bauso's Cosmet #7 Countless companies do not treat their brand and its contract asseriously as they should, For instance, Avon may be taking a risk by opening up aspa in Manhattan hecatse it undermines the foun: dation of what the company was built upon: one-on-one relation ships with each customer in her home, natn Avon's “home.” ‘As mentioned earlier Volvo's move from safety to performance afew years ago was not consistent with it Brand Contract, which resulted in a downturn in sales. And can ATA become an airline for business professionals after years of the jingle, "With ATA, you're on vacation”? ‘When my company helps develop @ Brand Contract, we always suk the client o think about a few contract stipulations that do not exis today but that they would like tose inthe future. This forces ‘an organization to think about the future and connect back to the Brand Vision. Obviously, future promises need to be worked on today if they are to come to life in afew years. fd te things that are important to them. + Mate all nen and features entertaining end jor Newspaper z Bran contact ins, an editorial on how nes, sitet reader + Make reporter columns and etal + Provide balanced perspective nates, ‘alfa to reader they haves Personal connection othe wer + Enhance swe sndinformatn to make ‘meaningful connections wo read depth than nigh broads ev + Cover local new not onl forte sate but for thought proveking + Provide competetive acute, a imely compe + Gary nteratonal and natonl ews in more 4. Uncover and Address the "Bad” Promises ofthe Brand ‘TOI, one of the largest cable providers in the country and a recent Acquisition by AT&T, underwent a major overhaul ofits identity and services a few years ago. The TCI brand had so many negative connotations that the company had to do something for fear of losing its business tothe satelite industry. ‘Three ofthe worst brand promises customers articulated about ‘Tet were there: | ia} ‘Connects me tothe wor * You will waita Tong time to get from TCI’ impersonal telephone automation system to a human being, + You will have to miss 2 day of work f you need to have a service cal; you never know when a service person will show up. ‘+ Someone will have to come out to your home to fix any problem you have with your cable Tnformation relevant tome Figure 3.3. Moving from Brand Associations to a Brand Contract ata Maj Wide coverage! local atonal, international ‘TCL improved its Brand Contract by directly addressing these three issues, as well asa fev others that had less of an impact on. the brand, TCI now answers phone ealls onthe first ring, has tec: nicians that can generally sole your problem over the phone, and 88. Brawn Asser MANAGEMENT m toa ¢ call dow is able to narrow the window of time for a servic couple of hours. Summary ses The Brand Contract concept is simple: understand the Lee your brand makes, identify those that ere important to y* ee tomers, and identify the promises that your brand can m: el well as shortcomings or areas for improvement. Then develop contract that states all of this. The result will be a customer-driven, operationally achievable contract and a valuable brand in the marketplace. ~ Developing a Brand Contract is Step Three in the brand asset management process and the second part of Phase 2, developing 2 BrandPicture. Once a Brand Contracts established, we can move on to defining a brand-based model of the customer, which is the subject of Step Four. f emuring E urRenuea ‘On Brand F Haag + q trandtased Investment Crafting a Brand-Based Customer Model Developing a customer model isthe third and final pat of the BrandPicture (se the illustration onthe facing page) The intent here isto provide a comprehensive understanding of customer beliefs and behaviors that bear on the brand, the product or ser vice, the category, and the competitors. The custemer model con- Siders former, present, and potential customers and encompasses the range of beliefs and behaviors that such customers hold, not just the prevalent opinion, Consider the following tale ofa company that knew its cus {omers well. and then lost touch with them Case Study The Sein Story Sv: an Areian onthe worl fins. Remember the Collet, he ‘ashe Stingray? Sehrion was among te ete brands fo sever deca, ‘Years gp ereyone new abut Scrnn, what tod fo and te igh qualiyoisbiglee But in 195, Scion fd fo Chapter 1 ant alms wen vay or od. hat gpd? Tn is early as, around shun esa, Sch so forthe fest mode of tarspraton mone could buy twas hh presi brand that cape the nations terion before the car as vented and ook ver thetranspoaton mae Back then, a Scovinn cst §127—more than sexe ey ca, aso the 140 and 19505, hen ater pation ket tafe chin dynasty The rand wa til pegs, buts lesure erates han made of wane Shs pata anon Ada "da mshi pic a aa eae inte 1 Soon mpd ea ain a aed a es raging won ais a. Tis hued sc se Sinn wath aby 197, ws nara ain Dios yea Attn, was et otha Ca ol aed vote al Anerin age Ine 1705S abt ure Sines ead atc orate Deethen tessi temat ale {nthe ea howe Sin sae ole fos on beth is Sea ane acts al mountable wees ‘etc masapert eens wee psig fala hat ie ‘any an woud dep lich rds Lag alia Seen ee st haps anda caying ant ncommending ater nde Seon sg septa song bul nas sis Maly and Tek, became rs he ehcad wi, Nos oie magnet the en pe es, thu ppl ws el ono sperm sae geen was wheat tthe enpany The alee Vary “or sig asmoura hs aa a con ty Seta cass nd ses raid hig, one ‘eds ul wan, juryedon tte, olsen ‘Te cangay renal, Grp, ahs nei ‘She ‘wai ihe wen efor was tae ‘cli having onan Tk an eal fib tess ie pe aha, haat bet ot, Nsbmune tea Selvin um qaupnand ahs, ra Gates Gans, al many ppt ct a “NG bsc The a neath eae lcd ha pawobasee Custonen Mooi, 93 tt tatu tothe pate ant le Pai ‘Srmjena ig cmt ree me ‘etc asin Sherecocme A Customer Model Answers Three Questions Developing a customer model is done to provide answers to three important questions relative 1 the brand: 1. How do customer choose one brand over another when mak: ings purchase 2, Hw does your rand sack. up guns compeding brands? 3. What opportunites ext for brand growth and expansion? Finding the answers enables a company to beter postion and extend is brand and to exer greater influence on tne purchase decision, thus leveraging she per ofthe brand more eorpletly, Table. shows an energy cusomer’ teedel Remeneak The answers aio provide might ior future management of the brand, including beter understanding of consussery nor ceptions of individual brands and brand categonen For mares, ‘Table 4.1, Energy Customer Model Framenock —_ SEE: Enerey Customer Model Framework Rocha precy Cmpeornas Nas and wu Pignonic proce Ree abou ee about danger Purehase drivers peer Beliefs about environ. and tei rte formeasurng ena mpet ‘Purchase process. Sort Beliefs about gas soem Keowledgeot dete cries Mme cheese ou ic bareislaa a earact of deregulation Management as Core sence cof pureliase criteria expectations Speci needs and ants Question 1: How Do Customers Choose a Brand? Addressing this one question shot : brad bling on nterercateren coe gan so your brand instead of a competitor’ sof the eaegen, : Petitors, regardless of the cate Thlsnvobes answering thre further queigng fe ESO ‘+ What bind of purchase do customers use? + How do they rate your brand, brands, by hose criteria? *+ Who at the customer decides Who else influences the deci important to each? Process and purchase criteria 85 opposed to competitors’ to make brand-based purchases? sions? Which criteria are Finding Out Your Customer's Purchase Criteria Regarles of indus, customers uly we pchae ctr such “sie ale etency comenines meee age omer sevice, personal selatonsha ie Lonsipsength,rlaonsip eng dependably payer credit polices, past experiences, pees recommendater cieee i beni ece,oaon ad wal fost customers donate brand es top eitetion, probably because the brand astames alot ofthe factorajust eed oh os depen consistency, and length of ne muses When wesurvoyed customers actos categorie they eted nine ater mostoien. In order, they are the folowing 1. High quality and reliability 2 Consistent performance Ccuarnns a Buse Basen Coonan Moo, 95 8. Familiariy 4, Availability and convenience 5, Pricesalue relationship 6. Fiewith customer personality 7. Abilityto solve a customer problem 8. Customer service 9. Advertsing Implicit i this lis t another characteristic: trust—which is ‘often synonymous with the definition of the brand. The essence of a good brand is that people trust it. Trust implies that customers know exactly what they are going to get when they make the pur chase, and thatitis on terms they are comfortable wit. Itmay also ‘imply experience with the brand. Especially on the top three pur- ‘chase criteria—high quality and reliably, consistent performance and familiaity—trust cuts across each. Rating Brand-Based Purchase Criteria Once you have determined the broad list of customer purchase decision-making criteria, the next step is to ask both your and com- petiton’ customers how your brand s performing relative to them. ‘Todo this, ask customers to rank the alternatives on a scale of 11405. This forces customers to think through the criteria relatively as opposed to absolutely, and to differentiate between brands, [At the end of this process, you will know how your brand stacks up against the competition. It will also tell you where to focus attention to improve your brand's performance and, ult rately, strengthen the impact the brand has on the overall pur- chase decision. : For example, Table 4.2 compares brand purchase criteria for 1 major retail catalogue brand whose top two competitors are Sears and Wal-Mart. The criteria ae listed in descending order of importance. ‘The catalogue retailer has scores of 4 or 5 on four ofthe seven attributes. Ithas the advantage of a major Internet retail busines, ‘which gave ita higher convenience score than WalMart and Sears, ‘who have not established major Internet service yet (although both Jhave recently announced theie respective Internet strategies) 36 Bee AsserAtawcient Purchase Giteron Dice Accessbiliy/convenicnce Brands available Customer service Paymentand cet policies Producelection Pas experience wih retailer Nae Becton > poor SS ‘The catalogue company’s strate fgranteasy credit to customers. I ‘volume will ead to high profits, ay is to charge higher prices but Is theory is thatthe resulting high ven if easy credit creates some bad Saini tahe future, though, if service stays poor the company may Eng more difculcojusiy higher prices, regardless of easy credit ‘The biggest advantage Products it sells and the numt rand can drive sales and influence the purchase decision. Learning customer purchase cri the areas companies should land more ‘tiportaatly, i allows senior management to idendf iy gaps be- cuarnnc a Beano Basen Gustosex Monet. 97 aknesses and tween the market's perceptions of strengths and weak theirs, Find Out Who Makes the Purchase Decision aio mportanio ecogoze the deen roles hat dion tmaersand desion influencers hav ia choosing one br “eet brand managers think bout everoneinvobed in the ‘rand decision, They understand who the players are and ty to Bure ost how o sell heir brand to each, For instance, most peo- Ble bring another person with them to choose new cat The Ereit ear you we probably the sme one our spouse uses, and whatever computer iin your offie is probably the same one In the office next don Belton celeading manufacturer of hearing iin the worl now that nany actos inhibit the sale of hearing td, nce Sng the signa of wearing one, vanity denial of having a probion, and denial of geting older. ln overcoming thew ifibors the number one enabler to sling a hearing aid may ber spouse, Chilo dose iend. Many potential purchaser wal ree ty the heasing aid han hear one more complaint fom slave oon Belione knows, dherefre, that be succenlul Rimes guai haa sells rand to bot the potent byerand de ea Similar inthe basinest busing world there are numerous influencers but usually only one decisi ion maker. IBM recognizes and the head of purchasing Hallmark unabashedly markets to the recipients as well a the ‘buyers of its catds, Ie tries to convince the Maang the recipient will ois tur it over to see fi iv'a Haan ‘Marketing or truth? Regardless, Hallmark's strategy shove thar ‘sone ofthe best at managing its brand as an ance Lngiating the key purchase ereria exercise with the decision: tmaking process enables you to better understand hey youcan Fears Yur brand to maximize is potential wo influcnee sete your category. purchaser that the first 58 Raw Ase Mawacauet Question 2: How Does Your Brand Against the Competition? Stack Up in our category? + Whatare the stren chs and weaknesses o ‘How does our brar nd comes f competitive brands? ind compare on specific values and hence Identify Your Competitors ‘ant to your customers This competitive asessment requires you to look at competitors and competitive brands from the customer's point of view One, ‘omers may define your competitive set much differently than you ‘would, Whether a customer cites a direct or indirect competion or branded or nonbranded competitor, itis in your best interest to think about your competitor set in the same way your customers de. In the Schwinn example, for instance, the competitive sets for sansportation, children’s recreation, adult exercise, and outdoor sportare very different. Nontraditional Competitors ‘ou are in the shipping business and assure FedEx, DEL, UPS, and the Post Office are your most important competitors, talk to your customers, They may mention, for example, e-mail. In other -ategories, nontraditional competitors might include these: * Por automobile manufacturers and dealers: AutoNation + For Xerox: Kinko's outsourcing copier service * For Endust, Pledge, Bounty, and Hoover: maid services * For the San Diego Zoo: Disneyland and Sea World corre a Bran Baste Grown Mose 9) Don’t forget the simpler alternatives to your offering. Note, for example, that Coca-Cola says ite number one competitor is tap ‘water, not Peps Compare Your Brand to Competing Brands - ‘The failure to understand one's competition is ultimately the fail lure to know one's customers: who they are, how they think, and hhow the brand can be adapted to meet their needs. Once you lunderstand that your brand faces bath traditional and nontradi tional competitors, you can study the benefits they provide, their strengths and weaknesses, and their future directions, Figures 4.1 and 4.2 are competition matrices that show how 2 brand can be compared to competitor brands. Your brand image, ‘Brand Contract, and the purchase criteria allow you to map your company’s brand against others. As the figures show, you can map the competition from a number of different perspectives, The ‘maps enable you to envision the strategies and approaches needed to maximize your brand’s potential. Competitor mapping helps when you are trying to do the following: + Prioritize segments to pursue * Determine how best to position your brand relative to competitive brands Figure. — ~~ L a cnn ei \ (sie) re) Financial Services Competitor Map Innovative — Desired tomorrow, |eompetiors/\ | companies | } \ 7 Cen otay \ 4 (awe SY ational competion) Tena = 1 2 Rae Aer Manse + Decermine the right messages to convey considering: the compenton, your chosen positoning. and the segment yea wl purmue {Question 5: What Opportunities Exist for wer potential oppor: sendibility for our are discussed x derail Asmverng these questions jumostars che efort to determine Seandanes of vour brand. This in rurn aliows you to offer a sctugos through rour brand, thus improving fs image, enhancing ‘Se Beazd Contac and farher inereasin a caurmmc a Buse Rasta Costosen Mone: ications Competitor Map Figure 4.2, Telecommunications eS ee companys oe 9 CompaavE | 5 O compass sss i i mS Comey | a OCompany D 1 1 Degas fcatoninon and concems about haggling, credit rerms, and the cost of new cars. Saturn was created (0 address these problem areas by inven’- ing “a diferent car, a different car company.” eToys also meets 2 need that no one had satisfactorily addressed before. Parents no longer have the time to shop in crowded stores with long lines and kids on their arms wanting everything they see. eToys helps. Itis convenient; it offers all the toys and books available at Toys ‘R’ Us through the Web. parking lots, no ines, no pressure from kids seeing a storefil of 6 tos. Similar for consumers who don't have the time to go grocery Peapod lets chem do it omline. This successhu! service "8 constumers to choose the desired color oftheir bananas ve their groceries delivered to their home for a premium, at Bell Telephone (CBT) knew the Interne: opporn ovring and lucrative and wanted to figure out a prot enter the category by leveraging its strong brand talking with small and at-home business owners, CBT I atone great Deing able to use the phone and the Internet same phone line. So CBT developed In h allows small business owners to decid coming call or not. This dev he same amie over ternet Call Manage: le if they want to take ice wses.acaller ID, which displars Ducat Band A) Bente se | mete) SC rand | Brande i # i

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