The art of branding takes patience, practice, empathy, and consistency. There are many components necessary to build a brand. However, the final determination of the consumer’s reaction is a mindset.
“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.” Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon.
To help create powerful relationships with customers, a Brand Resonance Model is beneficial to evaluate brand positioning. Validated in research, the Brand Resonance Model evaluates what consumers think, feel, and do and their engagement with a brand. The model includes four stages: identity “who are you?”, meaning “what are you?”, response “how I feel about you”, and relationship. Like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, brands strive to move from the top of the consumer’s mindset to the relationship stage where customers are thinking “what about you and me?”
Amazon’s 25-year exponential growth is likely attributed to Mr. Bezos's obsessive customer-centric focus. He has built a company culture that focuses on innovation, customer experience, empowered employees, innovation, and calculated risks. These factors have helped develop enormous brand equity, ranking consistently as a top online retailer for customer satisfaction and voted the best company in America in 2015.
Amazon adopted awareness, association, attitude, attachment, and activity to actualize advocates and achieve Brand Equity! How is that for a tongue twister!
There are five As that are helpful measures of the consumer mindset. Brand awareness happens when at the base of the Brand Resonance Model and is how your customers think about and remember your brand. After some exposure and experience, your customers begin to create associations with your brand. This results from the favorability & uniqueness of your perceived brand experiences. Their history with your brand will influence their attitude. As they move up the Brand Resonance Model, they will develop a degree of loyalty to your brand. The goal is to build activity, when customers begin to ask, “what about you and me?” Customers create conversations and search for brand information, promotions, and other interactions.
Building relationships takes time. Great brands are built through consistent, strong connections. Using the Brand Resonance Model as a framework to position your brand in your customer's mind can help you achieve ‘what about you and me.’