{"id":49285,"date":"2021-01-11T16:36:35","date_gmt":"2021-01-11T21:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/?p=49285"},"modified":"2023-06-08T06:25:49","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T10:25:49","slug":"harnessing-brand-image-to-gain-a-competitive-advantage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/harnessing-brand-image-to-gain-a-competitive-advantage\/","title":{"rendered":"Harnessing Brand Image to Gain a Competitive Advantage"},"content":{"rendered":"

The new year offers the perfect opportunity for a fresh look in the mirror, and brand image deserves the same attention. If you’re not sure whether your brand image truly reflects your intentions — and if you’re not sure of your brand image at all! — you’ve come to the right place.<\/p>\n

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What is brand image in business?<\/h2>\n

The term “brand image<\/a>” generally converges on developing customer relations and gaining traction in the marketplace. Customers interact with the company, its products, services, and solutions through a complex touchpoint network. The latter collectively make up the customer experience<\/a> (CX) that beds itself down in functional, mental, and emotional connections. In combination, all these influences drive customers toward a net impression of the brand and the company behind it.<\/p>\n

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Essentially, marketing teams’ efforts are successful when the customer behaves strongly in favor of a brand. In other words, despite any hiccups in the customers’ journey to ultimately buying into the company’s offer, customers give the brand a thumbs up. It boils down to a positive brand perception<\/a> if you will. Conversely, a series of CX mishaps are likely to result in a negative brand image (or a corrupted brand perception) — just the opposite.<\/p>\n

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Why is brand image so important?<\/h2>\n

Brand image lies at the center of customer loyalty — the holy grail of professional marketers. It represents repetition-buying for relatively little cost. That’s because the loyalists regard the brand as part-and-parcel of their identity. They see it as an extension of their self-image in a way. Customer retention is a beacon of an entrenched positive brand image while customer churn indicates fuzzy or disintegrating brand image. Therefore, growing one’s revenue and registering a healthy ROI relies heavily on a consistently robust, glowing brand image in the company’s targeted markets.<\/p>\n

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\"Brand<\/p>\n

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How stable is a brand image?<\/h2>\n

Brand image depends on a unique combination of customer category thought patterns, driven by its members’ CX. Sometimes news of one key touchpoint coming off the rails goes viral, shattering brand image in an instant, and frightening the stalwart customer into the competitors’ camp.<\/p>\n

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Suppose a brand image resonates with a few opinion leaders in a group representing substantial buying power. The bulk of the group (i.e., the followers) frequently trips over themselves to make it their own as well. That’s where market momentum comes from. On the other side of the coin, if the market influencers’ sentiments toward a brand image turn sour, group buying activity will dissolve like air in a popped balloon.<\/p>\n

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To predict how customers may react to certain touchpoints, we can use market segmentation. Grouping prospects by demographic data<\/a> (e.g., age, religion, language, education, social affiliations, etc.) is a reliable marketing approach based on “sameness” in significant population sections. Used alongside psychographic data<\/a> (e.g., information on why customers behave the way they do), we can construct fairly accurate CX journeys and thought patterns of the people in the segments.<\/p>\n

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From yet another angle, brand image is the mental vision of a brand that evokes one of three reactions:<\/p>\n

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