1. ECEW 22-23 May 2012
The Challenges of
Services Branding
Professor Alan Wilson
2. ECEW 22-23 May 2012
• To consider the concept of branding
• To understand who creates the brand
• To consider brand extensions
Objectives
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3. 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.
4. ECEW 22-23 May 2012
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.
5. 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
6. 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
7. 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
8. 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
9. ECEW 22-23 May 2012
The Brand Iceberg
Logo/ Name
Advertising
Operations
PersonnelComplaint
Handling
Brand Communications
Customer
Experience
10. ECEW 22-23 May 2012
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
12. ECEW 22-23 May 2012
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.
13. ECEW 22-23 May 2012
The Brand Cycle
Brand
Market
Perceptions
Organisation’s
Inputs
Brand
15. ECEW 22-23 May 2012
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?
16. 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
18. ECEW 22-23 May 2012
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
20. ECEW 22-23 May 2012
• Until consumers are brand aware they
use clues to evaluate brands:
– Price
– Location
– Menu
– Number of Customers
– Reviews
Clues to Evaluate Restaurant
Brands
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21. ECEW 22-23 May 2012
Ensuring Brand Consistency with
Customer Feedback
22. ECEW 22-23 May 2012
• 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
24. ECEW 22-23 May 2012
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
25. ECEW 22-23 May 2012
Other Sources of Feedback
– Review Sites
26. ECEW 22-23 May 2012
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
27. ECEW 22-23 May 2012
Remember:
It is consumers’
perceptions of your
service that determine
your true brand values
