MODULE-11

BRAND EQUITY MONITORING

PERCEIVED QUALITY BRAND LOYALTY BRAND EQUITY Name Symbol BRAND ASSOCIATIONS OTHER PROPRIETARY BRAND ASSETS

NAME AWARENESS Provides Value to Firm by enhancing: Efficiency and Effectiveness of Marketing Programs Brand Loyalty Prices/margins Brand Extensions Trade Leverage Competitive 18 Advantage

Provides Value to Customer By Enhancing Customers: Interpretation/process ing of Information Confidence In the Purchase Decision Use Satisfaction

WHAT IS BRAND EQUITY?

Brand equity is a set of brand assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its name and symbol that add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or that firms customers. For assets or liabilities to underlie brand equity they must be linked to the name and/or
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symbol of the brand. If the brands name or symbol should change, some or all of the assets or liabilities could be affected and even lost, although some might be shifted to a new name and symbol. The assets and liabilities on which brand equity is based will differ from context to context. However they can be usefully grouped into five categories: 1. Brand Loyalty 2. Name Awareness 3. Perceived Quality 4. Brand associations in addition to perceived quality 5. Other proprietary brand assets-patents, trademarks, channel relationships, etc.

BRAND LOYALTY
It is a measure of a customers attachment towards a brand. A highly brand loyal customer is unlikely to switch brands even when faced with competitive offers providing superior features at lower price or at greater convenience. Brand loyalty has different levels starting from a non committed buyer going up to a highly committed buyer .High loyalty among customers provides a sense of security to the brand by offering assured consumer base. Besides highly loyal customers are difficult to be wooed and act as deterrent to competitive action. Loyal customers create a pull effect by keeping the brand in demand, allowing the company to bargain with channel members for favorable terms and conditions.
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Brand Awareness
Customers prefer to buy a brand which is well known or at least familiar to them. Brand awareness is related to the ability of a potential buyer to recognize or recall that a brand belongs to a certain product category. Brand awareness levels range from being totally unaware to top of the mind recall. A high level of awareness signal a well established brand promising a degree of consistency in quality and performance which enhances customers confidence in the brand. Besides, if a potential customer is aware of a brand, there is a greater chance of the brand being included in his/her consideration set.

Perceived Quality
Perceived quality is the consumers perception of the overall quality or superiority of a product or service with respect to its intended purpose, relative to alternatives. Thus, it refers to its intended purpose, relative to alternatives. Thus it refers to quality as interpreted by the customers rather than what the brand actually delivers or is supposed to deliver. High perceived quality motivates the customer to purchase the brand. It enhances the prestige associated with the brand. Even channel member take pride in stocking the brand to build their quality image. Besides, it allows the company to adopt premium pricing
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and differentiate its offering. Further, a well regarded brand possess the ability to extend to new product categories.

Brand Association
Brand association is anything linked in memory, to a brand. With increase in number of exposures to a product / service, strong links or brand associations are formed. A set of associations result in formation of the brand image (that is, the brands perception in consumers mind). Brand associations are directly related to simplification of consumers data processing and provides a cogent reason for purchase. The brand image is used to position the brand in consumer brands and efforts are to generate positive attitude towards the brand. Associations are also provide a basis for extension into new product categories, especially those which are compatible with the existing brand image. Brand associations may be related to the country of origin (e.g. Coca-Cola and US), a celebrity or brand ambassador (e.g., Shahrukh Khan and Santro Xing), product class (Xerox with photo copiers) etc.

Other Proprietary Brand Assets

These include patents, trademarks and channel relationships associated with the brand. A trademark refers to name, symbol, logo, package design etc., which is registered with a company. Trademarks provide legal
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protection to a brand and safeguard it from counter. Patents can provide tangible basis of differentiation . e.g., L.Gs door cooling technology helps to differentiate it from other brands. A strong distribution network is an asset for any company. Formation of close relationship with channel members helps develops trust and provides a platform for building the brand.

Conclusion: Brand Equity monitoring is gaining

importance in the present day scenario because a lot of brands are going for acquisitions, mergers, trade-offs, rebranding, repositioning etc. So in this context brand valuation can create more impact and would be convenient for the companies in their marketing strategies.

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