How to Add Value to Your Brand Through Brand Equity

Brand equity drives consumer trust and increases sales, learn how to add value to your brand through brand equity in this post.

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If the concept of brand equity is new to you, this post is worth a quick read, because we’re going to talk about what it is and how it adds value to your marketing strategy.

There are multiple ways of measuring the success of a business. For most brands, the easiest way to do so is to evaluate the financials. For others, it’s calculating growth. And, for some, success is gauged by considering a brand’s market share.

However, in today’s world of high competition and low consumer loyalty, one of the best ways to contribute to a brand’s long-term success is to focus on brand equity.

Here’s everything you need to know about the concept of brand equity, its benefits for your business, and the main ways it can help you add value to your brand.

What Is Brand Equity?

The best way to define brand equity is to say that it denotes the value consumers assign to particular products, not based on the performance or characteristics of those products, but rather on the name of the brand that stands behind them.

In other words, brand equity is why people flock to purchase items from highly regarded brands like Samsung, why they prefer to use services developed by Google, and why they shop from online retailers like Amazon. It’s also why products like the Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 can sell out in a matter of minutes or why certain companies can allow themselves to sell a piece of 6-inch fabric for $19.

How Does Brand Equity Benefit Your Business?

Now, building brand equity may be the secret to successfully selling your products at a premium, acquiring a larger-than-average market share, or ensuring that your brand keeps on growing for decades to come. But that’s not all it has to offer to small and mid-size businesses.

For these, investing in brand equity results in several valuable benefits.

Trust

One of the most significant advantages of investing in brand equity is that it drives consumer trust.

According to The Current State of Consumer Trust report from 2021, 47% of global consumers said they trusted companies by default. And that may seem like a high rate. But if you look at the other side of the equation, you’ll discover that answering the same question, 37% of people said they distrusted brands by default and that companies had to work to earn their confidence.

The great thing about brand equity is that it can help brands shift these numbers to their own advantage.

Marketing & Advertising Costs

Another huge benefit of investing in brand value is that positive brand equity automatically lowers the need to have a generous marketing budget.

According to Nielsen, the most effective form of advertising in 2021 was word of mouth. In fact, 88% of global consumers trusted recommendations by people they knew. 

We already know people assign value to products based on the brands behind them. So, it’s safe to say that building brand equity makes for an excellent way to invest in marketing without actually having to spend large amounts of money on paid campaigns.

Cash Flow

Finally, as you look to identify the advantages of building brand equity, don’t forget that it has a great potential of benefiting your organization financially.

On the one hand, if your exit strategy consists of a plan to possibly sell your brand down the line, you have to understand that brand equity makes one of the foremost valuation drivers when selling a business.

On the other hand, the value provided by a positive consumer attitude towards your brand also brings short-term benefits: 

• For one, there’s the option to sell products at a premium. 
• Secondly, building brand equity is a direct path towards customer loyalty – a prerequisite of a high customer lifetime value. 
• Finally, don’t forget that a great business also means more business. And that is a surefire way to improve your cash flow and grow your brand without the financial constraints most startups face nowadays.

How to Add Value to Your Brand

So, now that you understand everything you stand to gain by focusing your attention on brand equity, it’s time to start thinking up strategies that will allow you to generate the value you’re after.

The following three strategies are a great start – and not just because they’re proven to work but because they focus on the pillars of branding. They enable you to set strong foundations that you can build on in the future.

Define & Communicate Your Mission & Values

The first step towards adding value to your brand is, without a doubt, defining your mission and values. You need this vital step so that you’ll always know who you’re targeting, how, and why. And on top of that, you need it because, in 2022, buyers make purchasing decisions based on the way their favorite brands approach issues they care about.

According to Forbes, sustainability will be one of the main drivers of purchasing decisions in 2022. 

And to expand on brand values and goals that will get buyers to support certain brands, it’s also essential to point out three key factors that will have an impact on how brands are seen by the public:

• brands’ approach to current issues
• commitment to providing an exceptional customer experience
• the way they’re internally organized 

So, if you’re looking to create a positive brand image around your company, consider the ways you can define and communicate your mission and values. Moreover, don’t forget to address consumer pain points and ensure that you’re paying attention to the topics your target audience cares about.

Raise Awareness

Once you’ve developed a branding strategy that allows your brand to connect with your target audience, it’s time to start working on establishing your business as an organization people can rely on to deliver value.

Develop your content strategy, social media marketing efforts, and paid advertising campaigns in a way that presents your company as one that brings value to your audience.

Instead of advertising product features, build brand messages around the value it brings to your ideal customers. 

For inspiration, consider how Coca-Cola never talks about the ingredients in its beverages. Instead, its marketing efforts focus on the happiness and connection those soft drinks seem to inspire.

Focus on the Customer Experience

Finally, don’t forget that the main driver of a positive company image will be the shopping experience your customers get when buying from you. So, you will need to develop and maintain a stellar customer experience. 

• Aim to solve pain points at every stage of the buyer’s journey (even if your target audience isn’t ready to convert yet).
• Do your best to underpromise and overdeliver. Especially when it comes to shipping, packaging, customer service, and returns processes.
• Listen to customer feedback and do your best to improve your products and services wherever you can.
• Practice consistency – it’s the absolute best way to position your brand as one that’s sure to deliver value.
• Encourage customer loyalty with well-developed rewards programs, personalization, building communities on social media, and, of course, ensuring that you provide the best products and services you can.

Final Thoughts

Sure, the concept of next-level brand equity that can help you differentiate your business may seem impossible to achieve. But remember: building up a strong brand synonymous with value doesn’t have to be a challenge.

Does it require time, effort, and a stellar branding strategy? Yes. But by following the steps we’ve talked about here, you can maximize all your branding tactics. With that, you’ll paint your business as a customer-driven organization whose reputation will drive its success far into the future.