Ways to enhance "Brand Equity"

A brand encompasses the set of expectations associated with a product or service in the minds of the consumers. The branding process is the most complicated process. Marketers have tried various strategies to brand particular items and some of them have succeeded in branding their items to perfection. The more associations a customer is able to make with the brand, the higher the Brand Equity of the product.

Brand Equity can be viewed from different perspectives including financial perspective, extensions, & consumer attitude perspective.
With regard to the financial perspective, we can measure the Brand equity by comparing the price premium with a generic product. However, it has to be remembered that there are 4 Ps of marketing and Price is just one of them. Promotion is fast dominating the other Ps in influencing the sale of the product. However, it is the judicial mix of all the 4Ps that is essential to successfully market a product.

The MORE factor is catching up. People are asking for more of everything. Gone are the days when people are satisfied with what they have. They want more for little ever they want to pay. Marketers have begun this concept of using a successful brand to launch another product. In the Indian market, a yet to be released product is given free-of-cost in the form of sample sachets along with a successful brand.

To influence the consumer attitude, marketers are aiming at glorifying the experience of the product. It is the trial samples mentioned earlier that are more effective in giving an experience than the colorful advertising commercials featuring hot models and top film stars. Consumer's experience adds to the perceived quality and ensures brand loyalty. If a consumer is happy and delighted with a product, there are many chances that the information is soon spread through an effective word-of-mouth. It is the most effective promotional tool always overtaking the advertising commercials and newer marketing collaterals.

Some ways to increase brand equity include:
1. Associating the brand with the right brand ambassadors. Recently, there have been many ads with ambassadors with no relation to the product or no use of the product. We need to come out of the days when beautiful models are used to advertise men's shaving cream without any man in the commercial. Creativity should not sideline the target audience.

2. Newer needs are to be created. The needs here refer to the psychological needs for the consumer. The flaunting episodes have come to an end. The brand attitude should reflect a particular ago state common to most of the people and effectively portray in the promotional mix.

3. Even brands should be treated like human beings. The way a successful celebrity is treated and the response generated from the audience is always a lesson to the marketers. Managers and marketers should learn to respect their brands and let the consumer do the same. In this way, a brand culture can be established. The company should continue the product quality and always strive to delight the customers to ensure that the brand does not disappoint the consumer like a top star's flop film.