What is Brand Equity?

“It’s just easier to buy from someone you’ve heard of.”

What is brand equity? It’s best explained through a simple exercise. What are the brands that come to mind when you see this list of needs?

• I need to blow my nose . . .
• I need to make a paper copy . . .
• I need to overnight this package . . .
• I need to catch a ride . . .

When you have a job to do or a problem to fix, our minds only have a few seconds to think of ideas. If your company has brand equity, it’ll be a solution that comes top of mind when the job or problem presents itself to your potential customer.

Did you think of these brands when you read the above list?

• I need to blow my nose . . . Kleenex
• I need to make a paper copy . . . Xerox
• I need to overnight this package . . . FedEx
• I need to catch a ride . . . Uber

Brand equity is one of the goals of any marketing strategy. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it is one of the primary long-term high-value returns you get from investing in marketing consistently over many years.

Brand equity concerning a single problem or job is extremely valuable. It applies to smaller, more local companies as well. You probably have your go-to-brands locally for different service needs, the best taco, or grocery store.

Achieving Brand Equity

Achieving brand equity for your unique offering requires a deep understanding of your customer’s journey. From the moment they start researching solutions to when they make their purchasing decision, you have an opportunity to market and put your brand in front of them, so when decision time comes, your brand is the only one that comes to mind.

Reach Your Customer with Consumer-Centric Messaging

Remember that growing your brand equity is more about your customer and what they want to hear more than what you want to say about yourself. In many cases, the approach to content, brand messaging, and campaigns are focused incorrectly on what the company thinks they need to say about themselves. Instead, think about what your customer needs to hear at different stages of their journey and adjust your message to address those thoughts.

Highly Targeted Campaigns Instead of Mass Marketing

Having a very clear idea of the persona you’re speaking to with your marketing can help you avoid high-budget ad buys. Larger brands can always outspend you, but you can be smarter about where and how you place your branding and brand message. When developing your persona, think about their lifestyle, their demographic, they’re social and emotional needs along with the specific dimension affecting their buyer’s journey. This will help you come up with creative targeting and messaging to help get your brand in front of them at the right moment.

Consider Growth Driven Design instead of Traditional Online Marketing

Growth Driven Design is a strategic and agile process for building an online presence. It’s the best fit for building brand equity online because it requires your team to examine your customer’s journey, consumer-centric brand positioning, and building a website that grows as you discover new information about your persona.

Growth Driven Design is also an excellent fit for companies that need to make this kind of pivot quickly and don’t want to wait a year for a traditional website project to wrap up. As you test your marketing on online audiences, you change and adapt your website to match your customer where they are.

Fast-growing companies know they need to have more than just stellar numbers; they need a brand that people stand behind. Building your brand equity starting today can make your company more valuable, sellable, and ease recruiting challenges down the road.

What need does your company fulfill? And do you think your customers think of you when it happens?

Jessica Scanlon

I’m a mom, a small business owner, and I’m a marketing professional with over a decade helping businesses with their branding and online presence. When I’m not spending time with my family or on my business, I love cooking (and eating) and snuggling with my dogs while I binge on TV shows. My favorite authors are Malcolm Gladwell and Steve Martin. My favorite movies are L.A. Story, Little Mermaid, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Trainspotting.