Brands Now Responsible for Providing Value, Meaningful Differentiation

Posted on | March 3, 2009 |

By Robert Passikoff

Brand Keys’ annual Customer Loyalty Engagement Index presents some interesting findings for the new economy, in particular that shopper-consciousness has shifted from one of personal responsibility to ferret out value, to a brand’s responsibility to provide it.

For the 441 brands surveyed in 62 categories in the 2009 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index (CLEI), aspects concerning “value perception” and the contribution they make to engagement, loyalty, and brand profitability have increased.

One only has to look back a few months to see the convergence of the US economic crisis with the holiday season evident in store windows across the nation. Gone were signs offering 15% off, replaced by 70%, 80% and even 90%. That was the event.

As we all know, events have consequences and ripple in the marketplace in ways that seem obvious only when looking back. This year’s leading- indicator CLEI data predicts a consumer shift away from price to the expectation of value in the form of real brand differentiation.

A few of the 69 brands that received the highest loyalty and engagement assessments from this year’s 26,000 loyalty constituents were: Avis, JetBlue, Bank of America, Zyrtec, Sam Adams, Cheerios, Allstate, J. Crew, Olive Garden, Dunkin’ Donuts, Mary Kay, Kohl’s Discover, Kodak, W Hotels, Scottrade, Iams, McDonald’s, Grey Goose, ABC TV, Nike, Apple, Samsung, Wal-Mart, the NFL and Tom’s of Maine.

The brands that won are the beneficiaries of consumers’ new expectations regarding the perception of brand value. The most significant shift is a neutralizing of the impact of price. And, believe it or not, this can actually turn out to be good news for brands.

While economic news hasn’t been good, these shifts provide opportunities for brands that pay attention to what the consumer really expects and offer meaningful differentiation, will tip the value scales in their direction, because value matters more than ever.

The bottom line: for brands that have something real to offer, this may just be the year they’ve been waiting for.

The complete listing of the 62 category rankings can be found at
www.brandkeys.com/awards