What's Behind Your Brand?

Contributed by Guest Blogger
Clare Price. Clare is a branding
expert who owns a California based
company called BrandVantage

"It's inevitable. Whenever I speak on branding, someone brings up cattle ranches and branding irons. Ouch! That hurts! Everybody laughs. But there is more to this analogy than meets the eye.

It's a well known fact that we as consumers "brand" ourselves with products from our favorite companies--companies like Starbucks, Ralph Lauren Polo and Coach purses. But it's what's behind that logo that really counts.

Cattle branding had two purposes in the Old West. First, the brand on the cattle identified the owner. You knew at a glance which steers belonged to you. Secondly, it identified the ranch. The size, importance and power of the ranch came from the size and quantity of its herd. Big ranch equaled big important brand. Little ranch equaled little brand. The respect that the cattle ranching community gave the brand came not from the brand symbol on the steer but from the size and power of the ranch behind it.

So what's behind your brand? What is the true size and power of your "ranch." Today when we talk about brand power, we mean brand equity. Your brand is your company's most important asset. Your brand is not just a logo or image; it is a capital asset with real net worth and financial power you can bank on. Brands have equity.

Brand equity is created by your company's ability to change market and customer perception into profits. To tap this brand equity, you must first understand what those perceptions are and how to harness their power so you can use your equity as capital to build your business.

Brand equity is measurable across five dimensions: Value and perceived quality of your product or service; market and customer awareness of your company, product or service; customer loyalty to your brand; market positioning, and competitive advantage...

For now, take a few minutes to think about how your company, product or service stacks up in each of these areas. Rate the following from 1-10 (10 high) for your business today:

1. Quality—How good are your products/services compared to:
   - Your ideal
   - Your competitors
2. Perceived value—How well do your customers value your product or service?
3. Loyalty—How strong is your customer's connection to your product or service?
4. Market recognition—How well known are you known in your product/service category?
5. Visibility—How much of your target market knows about you?
6. Image—How well does the average customer think of you?
7. Leadership—How much of the available market share have you captured?"

Thanks for the article Clare!