Why do consumers care about brand momentum? Why does momentum matter? Why should the "bandwagon" play a role in attracting -- or repelling -- customers? Because we all want to affirm the wisdom of our choices, if not with the world at large, at least with those whom we deem as relevant peers. We care about the apparent momentum of the brands that compete for our attention, and it obviously makes a difference whether this momentum is positive or negative.
Gazing into the future
Most companies, however, do not regularly monitor brand momentum.
Companies commonly gather evidence regarding a brand's current
perceptual position, contrast this current data with similar data
from a prior period, and then simply look for changes. Changes are
taken as evidence of momentum. Of course, one problem is that the
company cannot know about such changes until they actually take
place -- and then it may be too late to do much about it.
A brand's perceived "momentum," however, is not the same as some sort of demonstrated shift in image from Time 1 to Time 2. Perceived brand momentum is a direct measure of the "bandwagon" as seen by the consumer. It is, thus, a more sensitive indicator of how the consumer senses that her/his world may be shifting. Momentum is, very simply, an assessment of the consumer's forecast of the future. It is measurable before the event happens -- and thus may yield invaluable information about important marketplace changes before they actually emerge. It is the consumer's crystal ball, important because perceptual brand momentum represents the relative position of the brand. It represents where the brand seems to be headed, not as viewed by a marketing guru or a financial analyst, but by the people whose vision and opinions really count: the consumer.
Is this important? Consider the emphasis placed on indices of "Consumer Confidence." Regulators and market planners rely heavily on the consumer's view of what may lie ahead -- positively or negatively -- because consumers base their plans and behaviors on the future as they see it. For any marketer, looking only at past trends is like driving by using only the rearview mirror. While the past is important, it's what's coming that's crucial.
Positive momentum attracts customers as well as investors. Of equal importance, we know that negative momentum has negative business consequences. How can negative momentum be avoided? How can it be treated or managed?
First of all, it has to be measured. If a company is unaware of the positive or negative momentum associated with its brand, it's impossible to do much about it until the customer relationship has eroded to the extent that it is clearly manifested in a variety of business outcomes. And then it may well be too late.
What's hot and what's not
The Gallup Organization has been measuring the image momentum of
brands for some time, and for a wide range of products and brands.
What have we learned? A great deal about the impact of a perceived
deterioration in a brand's product and service quality -- for
brands of automobiles as well as airlines.
Recently, Gallup research and development efforts were directed to uncovering more about this important aspect of the customer's perceptual response to the brand, and its potential impact on brand loyalty. A survey of 3,611 customers of brands in six different industries included a variety of perceived brand momentum measures.
Customers were asked about their confidence in the brands they currently use or own. Compared to six months ago, is their confidence in the brand's ability to deliver quality increasing . . . or declining? They were also asked about the treatment they have been getting most recently as a customer. Is it getting better . . . or worse? And, finally, they were asked about how they feel now about being a customer of the company providing the product or service. Do they feel better . . . or worse?
What did we learn?
On the positive side, most customers are fairly happy with the
brands they use most. By and large, consumers are likely to state
that they feel increasingly confident about the quality of the
brands they use. And, they are more than twice as likely to say
that they are being better treated now than they are to say that
they're being treated more poorly.
The good news? Whether it's automobiles, banks or mass merchandisers, U.S. customers appear generally happy with the treatment they're getting.
The bad news? There are considerable differences between brands. Some are clearly getting better. Some, however, are not improving -- at least as judged by their most important critics, their customers.
And, worthy of special note, customers are more likely to feel increased confidence that product quality is strong than they are to feel that the level of service they receive as customers is getting better.
Looking at purchasers of new autos, almost half (46%) of all buyers said they were increasingly confident in the quality of the vehicle brand they purchased. A somewhat smaller number (41%), however, indicated that the treatment they get as customers is improving.
Airlines, which have been under attack for the quality of their services, are in a fairly similar situation, although the numbers somewhat lower than for autos. About a third of recent fliers (32%) stated that they are increasingly confident in the ability of "the airline they are most likely to fly" to deliver a quality "product." However, a lesser number (25%) felt that the treatment they've been getting has been improving.
These overall product category numbers, however, can mask important differences.
Among auto owners, there are considerable differences between major brands, with 48% of one brand's owners expressing increased confidence in their brand's ability to deliver quality, while only half as many (24%) of another brand's owners expressed that same level of confidence.
Among airline customers, the variation is also appreciable -- 45% of one brand's customers are increasingly positive about the company's product quality, a feeling that is shared by only 19% of another brand's flyers.
Clearly, there are differences.
Differences that make a difference
Our research noted similar findings for other product and service
categories, ranging from banks to mass merchandise retailers.
Customers appeared fairly bullish about the brands they prefer,
although product quality was judged more favorably than the quality
of the customer treatment that is received. And in all categories,
brand-versus-brand differences were both evident and important.
In what ways are these differences in perceived momentum important? In ways that directly impact the loyalty of these customers, and the strength of the bond they feel to the brands they use.
For example, customers who felt that the treatment they're now getting has been improving were anywhere from four to 10 times more likely to express strong levels of customer engagement to the brand they use or own. "Customer engagement," it should be noted, represents a level of brand relationship that combines both attitudinal loyalty and the customer's expressed emotional attachment to the brand. As we've found in other research, high levels of customer engagement pay off handsomely -- in sales and, importantly, in profits.
The impact of seemingly declining performance appears even more startling and compelling when customer engagement is considered. Customers who indicated they were losing confidence in their brand's commitment to product quality were as much as 80 (banking) to 90 (autos) times more likely to exhibit low customer engagement . Simply put, if a customer has lost confidence in brand quality, his or her vulnerability to competing brand promises increases sharply.
Is this important? Yes. Those 11% of airline customers (or the 6% of banking customers or the 9% of mass merchandise shoppers) who felt that they're being treated less well are far less likely to exhibit loyalty to the brand they currently use.
Does it have to be this way? No. While 11% of airline customers overall felt that their treatment as customers had recently gotten worse, this number ranges -- considering major brands only -- between 2% and 18%. For mass merchandise retailers, the observed range was 6% to 11%. For autos, the range between major brands was 1% to 10%. There will always be customers who are difficult to please, but it need not be 18%.
Managing momentum
What activities and initiatives enhance positive momentum, and
minimize negative momentum? Our most recent research, consistent
with our earlier learning, indicates that it is not simply a
challenge for communications. A new ad campaign is not the answer
-- far from it. Promise demands delivery.
Momentum management remains, first and foremost, a "people" challenge. It demands employees that are engaged and empowered, and who are as bonded to the brand as the customers they serve. If it's important that customers sense a company's commitment to quality improvement and its focus on enhancing the customer relationship -- and it very clearly is -- then marketers must pay special attention to the people who touch the customers, because they are often the cornerstone of the brand relationship.
Other articles in this series: Brand Momentum