What is Brand Value? Why is it important? How to Increase?
In the world of commerce, there are many companies engaged in production, sales and marketing. However, when it comes to brand value, it is not possible to talk about all of them. Because brand value is not a phenomenon that can only be created by conducting commercial activities. To create brand value, all details must be considered, from product quality to customer relations. For example, selling online is not enough to create a brand in e-commerce. No matter how high the sales are, brand value cannot be created if every piece that creates value is not in place. So how to build brand value?
What is Brand Value?
Brand value basically refers to the financial value of a company. A brand’s sales figures, revenue, potential sales force and all financial inputs it may generate in the future are the factors that determine brand value. But financial items are not the only factors that make the relevant company have a high value. Communication with consumers, customer loyalty, user experience and similar details also play a role in determining value. Therefore, in order to become a brand in traditional or e-commerce, it is necessary to pay attention to these details. Brand value also shows a company’s investment-receiving power and reliability.
What is Brand Value?
Brand value refers to the elements that determine a company’s financial value, consumer relations and market share. High brand value increases the company’s investment power and reliability.
What Elements Make Up Brand Value?
Brand value components can actually be listed in a long list. Because almost every action of the brand can affect this value. While producing quality products or providing excellent service is important, any customer’s experience can have a huge impact on value, positive or negative. The factors that directly affect brand value can be examined under three main headings.
Brand Information
Brand information means much more than the definition level information of the relevant brand. Information from the customer side, not the information assigned by the brand to itself, affects this value. Brand information; It is possible to divide it into two parts: brand awareness and brand image.
Brand Information
Brand knowledge refers to how the brand is embedded in consumer memory. It is divided into two: brand awareness and brand image.
Brand Awareness
Brand awareness refers to the extent to which the brand has a place in the consumer’s memory. Consumer; Being aware of the relevant brand’s logo, slogan, color and similar identity elements and being able to compare it with its competitors based on these details are also indicators of awareness. If a consumer can recognize the brand based on the small details he sees during the shopping experience or advertising process, it can be said that the relevant brand is successful in awareness. Awareness is a phenomenon that includes the recognition and memorability of the brand.
Brand Image
Brand image can be defined as the whole of the beliefs that the consumer has about the relevant brand. Brand value increases or decreases depending on the positiveness of beliefs. The emotions felt by a consumer who sees the brand’s logo, advertisement or products and the associations in memory determine the degree of positivity of the image. Some situations that affect brand image are as follows:
Products produced by the brand; Durability, price and similar qualities come to life in the consumer’s mind
Consumers remember what benefits the brand’s products can provide
The brand carries and reflects the ethical and operational values of the company
The brand must have some human characteristics (young, old, serious, sincere, etc.) and make associations with this subject to the consumer.
The brand must have an identity that reflects its user base and gives an idea about which people may prefer the brand.
Consumer Attitude and Behavior Towards the Brand
How existing or potential customers behave towards a brand and what kind of attitude they have are among the elements of brand value. The consumer’s general attitude towards the brand is very important in the value determination process. Even if a brand makes a significant profit, it cannot increase its value if it cannot establish a correct relationship with the consumer.
Attitude towards the brand is related to how the relevant brand is evaluated in memory. Even a social project in which the company participates or does not participate can affect this attitude. Consumer behavior towards the brand refers to the commercial steps taken after the attitude. In other words, the extent to which the attitude towards the brand turns into an act of purchasing or not purchasing affects the brand value in line with consumer behavior.
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors Affecting Brand Value
Attitudes and behaviors towards the brand refer to the consumer’s general attitude and purchasing behavior towards the brand. Positive attitude and loyalty increase brand value.
Brand loyalty is a concept that reports the number and continuity of repeated purchases by a consumer. Consumers adopt some brands more than others and frequently prefer the products of those brands during the shopping process. This is an important sign of loyalty. Customer loyalty; It depends on communication with consumers, marketing language and quality of products/services. For this reason, brands with a large loyal customer base do not experience problems in the sales process despite their prices far above the market.
Brand Loyalty
Brand loyalty refers to the consumer’s tendency to make repeated purchases. A loyal customer base plays an important role in increasing brand value.
Market share
The definition of brand value, which is frequently used in the academic field, refers to the present value of the potential financial inputs of a brand or its creator that may arise in the future. This brings market share to the top among brand value calculation criteria. The value of brands that have a significant share in their market tends to increase. The high market and share value of the brand is also affected by its market share. Therefore, it is an important parameter for the total value.
Market share
A brand’s market share is an important measure of brand value. High market share increases the financial value and market power of the brand.
Why is Brand Value Important?
Among the details that affect company revenues, brand value is a major factor. When both material income and moral gain in the eyes of the consumer are taken into consideration, it can be clearly seen how important this concept is. In addition to developing technology, the globalization of information and capital has facilitated the production of goods and services. This situation allowed even small-scale enterprises to produce. E-commerce, on the other hand, has helped every brand, regardless of its scale, reach customers and even expand to the world.
The Importance of Brand Value
Brand value affects consumer preferences and the company’s competitiveness. High brand value increases the company’s prestige and revenues.
Considering these situations, creating a brand is actually not that difficult. However, it is not possible for every brand created to be valued. Especially in the e-commerce environment, the consumer can easily find a product that suits his budget. When choosing among many options, consumers prioritize not only the budget but also the value of the relevant brand. It is extremely important to increase brand value in order to be preferred by consumers, to have prestige and to gain an advantage in the competitive environment.
How to Increase Brand Value?
To increase the value of a brand, correct brand value management is required. The operational team that carries out the management in question should include people who have experience and competence in issues such as what brand value means, what is affected by it, and how it is built. So what can this team do to increase brand value?
How to Increase Brand Value?
In order to increase brand value, target audience analysis, corporate identity creation, use of social media, emphasis on customer service and effective advertising and marketing activities should be carried out.
Target Audience Analysis
Conducting target audience analysis is useful in many ways. From a brand value perspective, it is effective in building customer loyalty, positive attitudes and purchasing behavior. Thanks to target audience analysis, communication strategies along with product, sales and marketing can be created correctly. As a brand, communicating correctly with the consumer is a situation that increases value.
Creating a Corporate Brand Identity
Establishing a company, producing and writing a brand name on the products is not enough for brand identity. To create an identity, attention should be paid to every detail, from logo to advertisements, from packaging to communication language. Even brands that use a sincere communication language should not compromise on their corporate identity. When a corporate identity is created, logos, slogans and similar details about the brand remind the consumer of the brand. This is among the factors that form the basis of the increase in brand value.
Importance to Social Media Platforms
For many industries, most potential customers, regardless of age, gender or location, are active on social media platforms. Social media has significant power in both traditional and e-commerce. Social media platforms, which make a significant contribution to promotion, advertising and marketing processes, are also useful in communicating with consumers. Using an instant messaging application instead of official correspondence has a positive effect on consumer behavior, which increases brand value. The important thing is to use social media actively and correctly.Importance to Customer Service
Among the factors that directly affect the value of a brand in the eyes of consumers is the importance given to customer service. This element is important in the general market value as well as the brand value towards the consumer. Customer service must be easily accessible. Additionally, it is beneficial to provide support to customers not only before and during the sales process, but also after. The ability of customers who have a shopping experience to communicate easily and efficiently with the brand positively affects consumer attitudes and behaviors.
Advertising and Marketing Studies
In order to increase brand value and maintain its stability, importance should be given to advertising and marketing activities. The main purpose of these studies may be to make sales. But there should also be studies aimed at promotion, expression, identity and idea transfer. One of the simplest examples of this is the Ataturk-themed advertisements that brands publish on days such as November 10. Brands that do not sell a product related to Ataturk also publish such advertisements, and appealing to the moral values of the consumer can increase brand value. It is also important to determine brand value in order to carry out advertising and marketing activities effectively. Studies aimed at increasing or preserving the current value may be beneficial.
