Have you ever needed a product or service and didn’t have to think about what store or company you should go to? This is something most people don’t think about yet it almost becomes second nature to some. We all have a product we can never get enough of but why is that? Many companies offer the same product, so how come we prefer one over the other?
This is where the beauty of branding comes in, more specifically brand resonance. Brand resonance is the bond or emotional connection that one has with a brand. It’s not just about how well your product or service connects with consumers but how good of an emotional connection the brand has with them overall. Many times you’ll hear people say they will only drink coffee from Dunkin Donuts or something along those lines even though you could technically get the exact product from somewhere else. Yet individuals swear that the brand they like is the best. Various brand factors play a role in this kind of loyalty towards a brand. This loyalty is exactly what you want from your consumers as a company, but it’s not as easy to achieve as one might think.
The Brand Resonance Model
This model helps break down and illustrate how a brand develops itself towards its target audience. As illustrated above, the model is shaped like a pyramid with the beginning stages at the bottom and making its way to the more in-depth stages at the top. To best understand this, let's assume you own an eco-friendly clothing company named Earthly.
Stage 1: Salience/Identity
The identity stage is extremely important because this is how your target audience will perceive you and become aware that you exist. This is where you would focus on creating awareness of your company and the products you sell. This is when people will come across you for the first time through social media or in person when walking past a physical store.
Stage 2: Meaning - Performance/Imagery
During this stage, you are becoming memorable to consumers by giving them a clear understanding of the brand. Now people know Earthly exists but what will make them remember it the next time they look for eco-friendly products? This is where customers will look at your products and customer service as well as start forming thoughts and opinions about the brand. With Earthly, you could place an emphasis on being environmentally friendly and show how much you care about customers. You want people to have a positive experience and perception of you. Earthly could create campaigns where they showcase their efforts to help the environment. This creates a great perception as long as the brand is genuine, and yes consumers will go the extra mile to make sure of that. Your goal in this stage is to be the first company to come up in someone's mind when searching for eco-friendly clothing.
Stage 3: Response - Judgement/ feelings
In this stage, opinions have formed and now people will start to evaluate the brand and create an attachment to it. This is a valuable phase, almost like a make it or break it situation. People will look at the quality of the products and their credibility. If Earthly’s clothing has good quality and they have created a positive brand identity surrounding their green thumb then most people will start to form positive emotions towards the brand. On the other end, if it is not a positive perception, then it can really hurt your brand. Imagine this headline, “Earthly plants one million trees thanks to your help!” Not only have you done a great thing for the environment, but this will also create great publicity, and you are giving credit to those who have supported your brand. This creates those warm fuzzy feelings that make consumers feel like they were a part of planting those trees. Which leads you perfectly into the last and final phase of the resonance model.
Stage 4: Brand Resonance
Here consumers have a deep and emotional relationship with the brand. This creates brand loyalty and a continuous relationship with the brand. Consumers at this stage not only prefer the brand but also actively advocate for it. In a way, this stage provides some free marketing. Yes, it costs money to acquire the initial customer but this person is likely to refer their friends and family which generates more revenue for the company. In Earthly’s case, people have been a part of the journey, they see the efforts the company puts into its values and philosophy, and they are proud to share with people the wonderful company they came across.
A real example using the model
Now using the model, let's look at an existing company that had potential but unfortunately failed at creating a strong brand resonance. For this example, we will talk about what used to be a well known company, Kmart.
Kmart did a fantastic job creating its identity. They were known throughout the U.S. for groceries, toys, and anything you can find in a large retail store. They introduced themselves in the market and were doing well against their competitors. They managed to get popular in the retail industry but what went wrong? When you look at their meaning you start to realize why their customers didn’t feel so strongly about them. While some people say they are very memorable, others will say they are exactly that, nothing but a memory. Kmart did not do anything to stand out and be unique like its top competitors Walmart and Target. While they created new modern stores and brought in more products, Kmart stayed the same and became outdated quickly.
This put them in shaky waters which started to affect the way people felt about them. This ties into the response phase. There was no need to go to an old store when there were other better options. Normally, a company would look at this and implement new strategies to show their customers they still have something worth offering. Unfortunately, they didn’t, and with the rise of e-commerce stores like Amazon, it was already too late. Customers at this point were not making it to the fourth phase and anyone who was there was quickly falling out of it. This is a great example of what happens to a company that does not care about its own brand and its consumers.
Why Brand Resonance is important
Brand resonance creates a strong, positive, and emotional connection with consumers. Marketers use this model to develop strategies that guide consumers through these stages. Not only is it good for the branding side of things but if done correctly, it’s overall good for the whole business. The more resonance a brand has, the more likely people will hear about it, and the more likely they are to purchase from you and become loyal customers. This means more revenue for your company and opportunity for growth.
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