ECEW 22-23 May 2012

The Challenges of

Services Branding

Professor Alan Wilson

ECEW 22-23 May 2012

• To consider the concept of branding

• To understand who creates the brand

• To consider brand extensions

Objectives

2

ECEW 22-23 May 2012

A strong brand is an identifiable

product or service augmented in

such a way that potential buyers or

users perceive it to have relevant,

unique added values which match

their needs and aspirations.

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The goal of Rolex’s branding and advertising is

not only to sell Rolex products, but also to

make those who have the means to buy a

Rolex happy that others, who do not have the

means to do so, know what Rolex means.

ECEW 22-23 May 2012

• On average, companies with strong brand identities

consistently outperform their key stock market indices ( particularly in service industries)

• A strong brand generates revenues and sustains

earnings by giving customers reasons, emotional and

rational, to purchase from that company again and

again.

• A strong brand ensures a level of security, premium

pricing and greater market share

Value of Brands

ECEW 22-23 May 2012

• The specific meaning that a brand creates and communicates:

The Target Market

Functional Needs ( quality, convenience,

ease of use)

Symbolic/ Emotional (friendly, serious,

professional)

Experiential needs (I am important, trendy,

young)

The Brand Concept

ECEW 22-23 May 2012

Brand Equity

• The value of the goodwill that an

established brand has built up over the

period of its existence

• loyalty, awareness, positive attitudes

ECEW 22-23 May 2012

The World’s Most Valuable Brands

• Apple

• Google

• Coca Cola

• IBM

• Microsoft

• GE

• Samsung

• Toyota

• McDonalds

• Mercedes

source: Interbrand 2014

Why?

Deliver what’s promised to

their target markets

Consistency in everything

they do

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The Brand Iceberg

Logo/ Name

Advertising

Operations

Personnel Complaint Handling

Brand Communications

Customer Experience

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Consistency through all

Brand Touchpoints

• Advertising

• Word of Mouth

• Employees

• Social Media

• Review Sites

• Web-site

• News Stories

• Signage

• Product

• People build brands as birds

build nests, from scraps and

straws they chance upon. Jeremy Bullmore

ECEW 22-23 May 2012

Consistency and Integration

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Who creates a brand?

• Branding is not simply something that is done

to consumers - consumers place a perceived

meaning on a brand.

• The company may try to influence these

perceptions but they cannot control them.

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The Brand Cycle

Brand

Market

Perceptions

Organisation’s

Inputs

Brand

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Positioning - Designing the brand’s

offering and image to occupy a distinctive

place in the minds of the target market

• What categories of service should we compete

against?

• Who is active in these categories?

• How do customers evaluate services in this

market?

• What are the unique points of difference that

are important to the target market?

ECEW 22-23 May 2012

Brand Essence / Core Values

• An abstract idea or sentence summarising

what is the heart and soul of the brand.

• Should stay the same over time

• No marketing actions should compromise the

brand essence

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Core Brand Values

• IKEA

– Common Sense and Simplicity

– Dare to be Different

– Work together

• Virgin

– Quality

– Innovation

– Value for Money

– Fun

– Sense of Challenge

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Are the Core Values?

• Relevant

• Distinctive

• Believable

• Communicable

• Sustainable

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Relevance of Core Values:

Lifestyle Brands?

• McDonalds Hotel Zurich

• Cheval Blanc Hotel with Givenchy Spa in

Courcheval

• Swatch Beijing

• Giorgio Armani Hotel, Dubai

• Bvlgari Milan

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• Until consumers are brand aware they

use clues to evaluate brands:

– Price

– Location

– Menu

– Number of Customers

– Reviews

Clues to Evaluate Restaurant

Brands

20

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Ensuring Brand Consistency with

Customer Feedback

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• Customer Satisfaction Surveys

• Focus Groups/ Depth Interviews with

Customers and Staff

• Storytelling/Critical Incident Technique

• Mystery Shopping

• Customer Effort Score

• Net Promoter Score

Listen to Feedback

ECEW 22-23 May 2012

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

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Net Promoter Score

• Good for keeping score

• May identify problem areas/ touchpoints

• Doesn’t really identify potential improvements and

how to address touchpoints

• To maintain response rates must demonstrate

resultant changes/ improvements

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Other Sources of Feedback

– Review Sites

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IN SUMMARY

• Branding is more than logos and

names

• Consistency needed in

communication and delivery

• Branding a service experience

• Awareness of the components of

the experience, setting

standards, training and

communicating internally

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Remember:

It is consumers’

perceptions of your

service that determine

your true brand values

ECEW 22-23 May 2012

Best Western