Understanding your brand's
values and how they are viewed compared to the competition is vital to
maintaining your position within the market place.
A recent study by Iris featured
in Marketing Week on the 4th March highlighted the simple fact that consumers
will place a premium on certain brands as opposed to other competitors. The key
is understanding why some brands are more worthy of this premium than others.
The study by Iris focussed on
how consumers rated brands against 23 criteria ranging from ‘expertise’ to
‘openness’ and the key question; which brand would you be prepared to pay more
for in a particular category?
The strength of brands such as
Innocent and Coca Cola shone through with 29% and 28% of consumers questioned
stating that they would pay more for these brands. Whereas there were surprises,
such as 31% of consumers stating that they would pay more for Magners and 29%
for Guinness compared to just 11% for Heineken or Becks.
Understanding how consumers
perceive your brand is vital; whether perceptions are based on trust, prestige,
health attributes, green credentials or simply value for money. Understanding
your brands position in the market will help you build your brands credentials
which will aid its long term evolution and success to maintaining its standing
amongst the competition.
The importance of brand relationships within food and drink is
much stronger than in other sectors. In TNS data launched last September 2009,
39% of those sampled were strongly attached to brands in this sector compared
to just 16% for financial brands.
However, a brand’s strength depends on maintaining a strong
relationship with the consumer and these days whilst marketing will play a key
role in building the brand, the consumer and social media also have an
important role to play. Nowadays consumers can easily (and very quickly) voice
their thoughts on a particular brand to a wide far reaching audience. If you upset
your consumers you will certainly hear about it and to maintain a brand’s
success it is imperative you don’t lose your relationship with the end user –
your consumers.
Focussing on core values
At The Oxford Research Agency and our qualitative agency Mimosa,
we use a fully integrated approach for screening, evaluating and optimising
products. Find out how we help you get ahead by contacting John Whittaker on
+44 (0)1865 72 82 72, or at john.whittaker@tora.co.uk
or by visiting our website at www.tora.co.uk
For qualitative understanding call Sunita, Emma or
John on +44 (0)1865 20 84 03 or contact info@mimosa-qual.com.
