Without data, I'm not sure how you can actually measure the value of a brand. How do you put a tangible value on being able to understand your customers without it? Data, when used properly, provides the means by which truly valuable relationships are established. It will determine the type of contact, the channel and the frequency, and likely lifetime value, as well as leading to the all too illusive goal of having customers that trust your brand. That is something as a business you can’t put a price on. Without it, it will fail.

How is brand value created?

Brand value is created, maintained, and amplified when customers receive the experience they are seeking from a brand. For this value exchange to take place, organisations need to understand who their customers are, their wants and needs, where they spend their time and when they are likely to require, and potentially purchase, a certain product or service. Amazon is the much lauded poster child; a pioneer in terms of customer profiling with its ‘Other items you may like’ side panel, but things have moved on a long way since then. Profiling is far more comprehensive and, in turn, consumer expectation around how well their favourite brands understand them has increased. And once a brand has earned a customer’s trust, it must then deliver on its promise more than ever to maintain it.

Loyalty Schemes

Loyalty schemes are nothing new, but the principle of targeting the right person, at the right time, and with the most relevant proposition, is as true today as it ever was. Technology and necessity mean that, in effect, every organisation has (or at least needs to have) a loyalty strategy in some form, most commonly known as CRM or even as Engagement Pattern Analytics. This essentially translates into ‘understanding’ your customers and delivering to them what they want, when they want it and in a way that they want it. The biggest challenge in being able to deliver this is the new ‘always on’ culture that we live in. Technologically, this presents significant challenges for many businesses. Big data is one thing, but this is about meeting consumer demand for everything NOW!

Customer service

A recent survey conducted on REaD Group’s behalf established that customer service was the most important factor in gaining a customer’s trust, once again another reason why data is at the heart of customer relationships. The research also established that Government is the least trusted group and that the top two leading brands – Amazon and John Lewis – make rather interesting bedfellows.

When it comes to measuring brand value, whilst in accounting terms it does not exist; can you imagine selling John Lewis, or indeed Amazon, without their established brands? Clearly, the brand is what consumers form a relationship with and without it revenues would undoubtedly be significantly impacted.

 

By Mark Roy, Founder and Chairman of REaD Group.

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