Five Steps To Build A Strong Brand

Five Steps to Build a Strong Brand
In today’s highly competitive world, companies are striving hard to beat

customer expectations - marketers are at work setting the right level of
expectations and shaping the customer experience.
A positive brand value is created if customer experience exceeds his

expectations. Over a period of time companies can build a strong brand -
one with high brand value. Intel, Cisco, Google, E-bay, Wal-Mart etc.,
are the classic examples of how companies built a strong brand through
customer experience.
Companies mentioned above started small but built a solid reputation

with the customer along the way and in the process the name of the
company evolved into a strong brands as well. Note that these
companies sell several products - and many of these products are also
branded, but the company brand is the strongest. For example - Intel’s
Pentium processor, Cisco’s Catalyst Router etc., these products are
market leaders in their respective segments, but customers remember the
company brand more than the product brand.
In this article, I want to highlight the five steps needed to create a strong
brand. This article builds on the theory of Customer relationship
management & sales, you may want to read the earlier article on Levels
of Customer Relationship before reading further.
1. Clearly articulate your brand identity
Brand Identity means what the brand means to the customer. Brand
identity sets the customer expectations. A classic example is from
Wal-Mart’s "Everyday Low prices".
This statement sets the customer expectation. Customers expect
bargain prices at Wal-Mart. Another classic example is ‘Starbucks’
- Starbuck coffee has a special meaning to its customers; to them
Starbucks means excellent coffee served in a warm, relaxing and
pleasing environment.
The key is to clearly articulate the brand identity, and that will help
you define how customers interpret it. A clear brand identity sets
right level of expectations by the customer.
2. Establish a customer value proposition
Customer value proposition is the natural outcome of the brand

identity. It is what the customers think of your brand. For example,
customers think of Wal-Mart as place to get great bargains. Then
that message must be communicated to the entire organization so
that each department and each individual understands what it
means to them. The actions of each department will then be
aligned with the customer value proposition.
For example only if all employees of Starbucks understand the

customer value proposition - then they will be able to deliver an
excellent cup of coffee in a warm, relaxing and pleasing
environment.
3. Define the optimal customer experience.
Identify all contact points where customers interact with your

company. To create a holistic brand experience, you need to create
a consistent and compelling experience at each of these touch
points.
For example, marketer must work as a mystery shopper and see if

the customer experience is consistent with the customer value
proposition and brand identity. For example, marketer must see if
he/she is getting the kind of coffee at Starbucks in the right
environment as expected by the customer. Take an outside-in
perspective when aligning each department with your customer
value proposition and brand identity.
Note that the marketer can only test the level of customer
experience based on his/her understanding of customer’s
expectations. There may be an understanding gap between what
the customer wanted and what the marketer understood.
4. Cultivate relationships with customers
Relationship with customers must be treated carefully. Never

assume anything about what the customer thinks of your company.
It pays to be an active listener to learn and respond to the customer
needs. Companies need to respond positively to customer feedback
and that will turn casual customers into loyal customers, loyal
customers into customer champions.In my earlier article I have
written in detail about the levels of relationship a firm can enjoy
with the customer. Improving the levels of relationship with
customer means enhancing customer experience - thus gaining
brand value & customer loyalty.
Here again a classic example will be Starbucks. Customers of

starbucks are so loyal that they are even promoting starbucks to
others. Starbucks has also responded in kind - by promoting
organic farming, ethical purchasing etc. These ideas were given to
Starbucks by their customers.
Another very good example is Intel. Intel sells microprocessors to

computer manufacturers, the company releases new products with
enhanced features/performance as per its pre-announced product
roadmap. The marketing team of Intel is always listening to
customer to learn what features are needed in the future products -
that information is passed on the R&D teams - so that the new
products will have the feature required by the customer. As a result
Intel enjoys the highest levels of relationships with its customers -
a level at which customers are willing to invest and co-develop
new products.
5. Strengthen your brand over time
Enhancing the level of customer-brand relationship will have a

direct impact on the brand. To build a strong brand, one needs
strong customer relationships. To begin with, the first time
customer starts at a low level of relationship( I call it level-1 ) and
over a period of time, through series of positive interactions with
the brand/company, the level of relationship can be increased to a
higher level ( Max of level-6) Marketer must have a time bound
plan to improve the levels of relationship which the customer
enjoys with the company/brand. This will have a direct correlation
with the brand value.
Closing thoughts
Customers don't buy products, customers buy relationships - This is a

popular phrase in marketing. To build a strong brand, organizations must
work on enhancing customer experiences and that results in a higher
level of customer relationship. All this will eventually result in a strong
brand. If you observe any popular brand today, you will see that
company promoting that brand has succeeded in building a strong
relationship with its customers.

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Five Steps to Build a Strong Brand

In today’s highly competitive world, companies are striving hard to beat

A positive brand value is created if customer experience exceeds his

Companies mentioned above started small but built a solid reputation

1. Clearly articulate your brand identity

Customer value proposition is the natural outcome of the brand

For example only if all employees of Starbucks understand the

Identify all contact points where customers interact with your

For example, marketer must work as a mystery shopper and see if

Relationship with customers must be treated carefully. Never

Here again a classic example will be Starbucks. Customers of

Another very good example is Intel. Intel sells microprocessors to

Enhancing the level of customer-brand relationship will have a

Customers don't buy products, customers buy relationships - This is a

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