Keller’s Brand Equity Model — What It Is & How to Use It
There are several elements that may impact brands for better or for worse. Marketing has changed throughout the years, but one modern principle doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon — The customer comes first. Marketers and businesses hear this ALL the time. So much so, that it often becomes cliche.
It’s simple math though, right? A brand’s happy customer equals more dollars in the company’s pockets. It is imperative the brands today realize the importance of their loyalty base and not simply what keeps them happy, but how it keeps them happy as well.
In a noisy world full of voices constantly battling for individuals’ attention, giving them a brief moment of joy may is no longer be enough. Customer happiness must be translated as a long-term, well-nurtured relationship to retain their business.
What It Is
Keller’s Brand Equity Model, also known as the Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) Model, is a pyramid. Kevin Way Keller, the model’s author, is a promoting teacher at the Fold Institute of Business at Dartmouth School.
Keller’s logic behind the model is simple — to have a strong brand, one must create the right brand image, by constructing ideal brand encounters or experiences. Each experience with your brand should leave customers, or potential customers, with positive thoughts, emotions, and convictions. When you are able to prove that your brand can provide value, then you’ve built brand equity and the customer’s convictions will spread to others.
Keller’s pyramid is sectioned off with four levels. The levels of the Brand Equity pyramid are (Moving from base to top):
- Identity
2. Meaning
3. Response
4. Relationships
To create a solid brand, it will be vital to build customer relationships from the ground up.
How to Use the Keller Model
- Start with your brand identity.
The biggest question to answer here is “Who are you?”. Brand salience, or awareness, refers to how you are perceived by your customers. What do they think about your brand, and is that thinking even accurate?
Here are a few things to consider when trying to establish your brand identity.
2. Understand and communicate the meaning of your brand
The building blocks for step 3 are Performance and Imagery.
Performance indicates how well your product satisfies the needs of your customers. Does the product do as you advertise? Does it live up to the hype and get the job done?
To provide clarity, Keller’s model breaks down performance into 5 specific key performance indicator categories.
- primary characteristics and features
- product reliability, durability, and serviceability
- service effectiveness, efficiency, and empathy
- style and design
- price
Imagery refers to your brand’s social currency. How does your brand appear to customers/potential customers and how will they talk about you? Be careful with how you construct your messaging, where you target it, and how it is perceived.
For a great example of how to communicate your brand to your customers see Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk below.
3. What sort of response does your brand evoke from customers?
Look, we may not want to admit it but we are ALWAYS judging. Humans are constantly making assumptions based on what they observe. If someone drives past in a nice sports car, you’d assume they make good money. If you see someone decked out in Nike apparel you might assume they are an athlete or an avid sports fan.
What do people associate with your brand? How is perceived by the customer and how does it make them feel?
4. Understand the relationship you’ve built with your customers
There is a reason resonance sits atop Keller’s pyramid. It’s, more often than not, the most difficult level for a brand to reach.
Brand resonance is how a customer identifies themselves with the brand. This is the strong, lasting relationship your brand hopes to build with each and every customer you gain along your business journey. The idea is that your brand resonates with customers so much that not only do they keep coming back, but they become your brand’s advocates.
Loyalty programs, customer engagement via the internet and social media platforms, building emotional connections are great tactics that can be implemented to assist in building resonance.
