Brands And The Concept Of Value
Some time ago I paid around $50,000 for a used German car. My search got down to a BMW 3 series sedan and a Volkswagen station wagon.
NEW THINKING
Some time ago I paid around $50,000 for a used German car. My search got down to a BMW 3 series sedan and a Volkswagen station wagon.
Maybe it’s not our products that are getting commoditized. Maybe it’s the customer. Consider this great quote about customer commoditization from the Harvard Business Review:
Some searching questions recently from executives who seem to pride themselves on being brand skeptics prompted me to review the parameters of what brands can do, what they can’t and why I still believe that branding is a vital business activity.
There are five drivers of customer brand insistence – awareness, relevant differentiation, value, accessibility and emotional connection. To be competitive, brands must relentlessly pursue ways to strengthen each. Today, I will focus on the importance of brand value.
Brands send powerful messages through how they price. Price can be influential in portraying a brand as affordable and ‘on the side of the customer’, or exclusive and just for the few. It can generate responses ranging from the thrill of a bargain to the indignation of a price tag that seems far too steep.