ASSIGNMENT 04
BM350 M
Unless otherwise stated, answer in complete sentences, and be sure to use correct English, spelling, and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA format. Your response should be four (4) double-spaced pages
Explain customer-perceived value.
Customer-perceived value is a marketing and branding idea that relates the success of a product to whether or not the customer feels it can fulfill their needs. The first aspect of customer-perceived value can be found in value proposition, a comparison of a product’s benefits relative to the price customers are asked to pay(Kokemuller, 2015). Value proposition can be impacted in a couple of ways: first, brand building can highlight important qualities of the product and help customers see their worth. Conversely, companies can offer a low cost to boost value. “Ultimately, the key is that customers perceive that the product's merits exceedingly justify its price”(Kokemuller, 2015).
Companies utilize consistent marketing messages to influence customer-perceived value. These messages might concern the low cost of a product, or the best quality, best service, or interesting features. Whatever the message, they are delivered on a routine basis and through the best medium to reach the best customer base(Kokemuller, 2015).
.
Explain total customer satisfaction.
Total customer satisfaction refers to a business strategy geared toward making certain that the total consumer experience is satisfactory, over and beyond the quality of the product or service. Providing total customer satisfaction is particularly essential when competing companies offer similar or same products and/or services at similar prices. Business that are able to deliver the most favorable experience will be more successful overall(Liden & Walker, 2003).
In order to achieve total customer satisfaction, a business must first offer a quality good or service. Without this, even if the customer enjoys him/herself or is treated well, s/he is unlikely to return if the product is substandard. Second, sincere concern for customers will show that a business is focused on more than just the bottom line (Liden & Walker, 2003). This is an attitude that can be appealing to customers. Technical support following the purchase is one way a business can offer this kind of concern in a practical way.
What valuable functions can brands perform for a firm?
Brands can perform valuable functions for businesses. They can become synonymous with a perceived level of quality or a certain desired characteristic so consumers easily make the choice to purchase again (Admin, 2007). They can make product handling and tracing easier when a brand makes its way to other firms for sales. They can help with organizing inventory and accounting records, and provide a business with legal security for their more distinctive attributes. A brand name can be protected as a registered trademark, while manufacturing procedures can be protected through patents. Packaging can be shielded through copyrights. In these ways, a brand becomes a definitive strength for a firm. “To firms, brands thus represent enormously valuable pieces of legal property that can influence consumer behavior, be bought and sold, and provide the security of sustained future revenues to their owner” (Admin, 2007).
Given that the power of a brand resides in the minds of consumers and how it changes their response to marketing, there are two basic approaches to measuring brand equity. Briefly, describe each of these approaches.
There are two basic approaches to measuring brand equity, indirect and direct. The two approaches balance one another with their distinct approaches, and should be used together. With an indirect approach, brand knowledge, such as brand awareness and image, is assessed. This is helpful for identifying what facets of brand knowledge create a response that triggers perceived value and brand equity(Monger, 2012). This can be evaluated through a selection of memory tests that check brand recall and recognition. One test may check to see if the consumer recognizes the brand name, or some version of the name. Another test may attempt to ascertain, through a set of cues, how strongly the name is associated with the product (Monger, 2012).
With a direct approach, the impact of brand knowledge on a consumer’s response to various aspects of an organization’s marketing program is evaluated. This approach requires experimentation involving one group of consumers responding to a marketing element in conjunction with the product, and another group responds to a marketing element in conjunction with an anonymous product(Monger, 2012).
Incorporating the concepts discussed in this assignment, answer the following: How does a loyal brand community support the positioning and branding of a small business? Provide an example to support your explanation.
A loyal brand community is vital in supporting the positioning and branding of a small business. The essence of brand is the same regardless of the business: it is the personal connection, the vote of confidence. According to Global Brand senior manager at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, “…in a nutshell[, i]t’s not your company’s logo, tagline, or mission statement. . .It’s about perception; it’s about reputation. Why are you different from your competition?”(Inc., 2015). In other words, your brand becomes what people make it, in many instances.
An example of this might be the Savannah Beverage and Brinery, LLC. Through word of mouth and a Facebook social media presence, the small business acquired a strong local following in a relatively short period of time. The brand was built around other brands that had their own strong followings—a popular Savannah, Georgia restaurant, for example, various liquors that would be used in their blends, such as Absolut vodka and Guinness, and of course, the traditional Bloody Mary. These current popular brands helped them get started, but once established, the quality of the product itself, touted as the best bloody Mary around, justified the price the customer was asked to pay, therefore building customer-perceived value.
The owners positioned themselves as culinary artists among a loyal following, intent on raising the bar on an old classic and rendering perfection(Diehl, 2015). They have apparently been very successful in their quest, as in under a year their loyal following has garnered them glowing testimonials from SavannahFoodie.com and chefs and owners alike at various restaurants who are now purchasing the mix (Diehl, 2015). This has been a key step in providing total customer satisfaction, something that keeps customers returning time and again for this popular product.
This is the end of Assignment 4.
References
Admin. (2007, February 21). Brand equity and the role of brands. Retrieved from
Diehl, J. (2015). About Savannah Bloody Mary Mix. Retrieved from
Inc. (2015). Brand-building best practices. Retrieved from
Kokemuller, N. (2015). What is customer perceived value? Retrieved from
Liden, D., & Walker, J. (2003). What is total customer satisfaction? Retrieved from
Monger, B. (2012, October 04). Measuring customer-based brand equity. Retrieved from