Our belief in Brand as a valuable tool is fairly well documented.
We've blathered over and over about it.
OK, sorry, but it's a fact that a strong brand begets brand loyalty which begets your customers not looking elsewhere for a lower price during a recession.
Right now, according to all kinds of feedback from clients and prospects and reports (one of which Karen downloaded from a hotel news site yesterday) consumers are looking at cheaper products, beating people up for a lower price and using whatever coupons and offers from previously unfamiliar companies are available.
And anybody who invested in themselves (as in building a strong brand position and cementing that position with their customers) a year or more ago, isn't getting hit as hard. If your customers and prospects know what you are and why they should do business with you, they aren't as price-sensitive as they might otherwise be. They're more likely to pay a "premium" - which might be simply full price these days - for that known quality.
But if they don't know any of that, well, in their minds, you're probably no better or worse than the next guy who may be undercutting your price in an attempt to stay afloat.
Then there's that whole continue-to-invest-in-yourself-during-a-recession-and-come-out-of-it-a-hell-of-a-lot-better-than-those-who-don't thing. But that's another discussion.
(Bet you're wondering about this picture, aren't you? Click it and see just how clever I am.)
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2 comments:
Ohhhhhhh YEAH!
Your post is EXACTLY what it's about: Why should anyone pay more for you? If you can't answer that question, you got nuttin. You will always work as hard as you've always worked to compete and survive. You will always butt your way through the exact same problems you've always had year after year after year. If you CAN answer that question but do nothing to promote it, same deal. Nuttin.
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