By Published On: October 24, 2017

“We have met the enemy and he is us.”

The phrase made famous by Walt Kelly in the 1970s comes to mind when considering a brand’s relevance to consumers in general. As much as businesses desire it to be true, brand value is not something a business can create, push forth to the consumer and just “make happen”. Even very large companies can struggle with relevance in consumers’ eyes. While creating a brand is a detailed discovery and unveiling process of the authentic business attributes, maintaining and growing that brand requires businesses to take actions that customers value. That’s what the Prophet Brand Relevance Index* explored in their 2017 report.

The 2017 Index surveyed consumers and identified the top 50 brands in the U.S. Through this, they found the most relevant brands had 4 attributes in common:

  1. Customer Obsessed – These brands focus on meeting an important need in people’s lives
  2. Ruthlessly Pragmatic – These brands have their products where and when customers need them, deliver a consistent experience and make life easier
  3. Distinctively Inspired – These brands inspire, make an emotional connection and often fulfill a larger purpose
  4. Pervasively Innovative – These brands push the status quo, engage with customers in new ways and address unmet needs

It’s never too late for a brand to work on its relevance index, but it does depend on making a commitment to understanding customer needs and solving problems. Some questions you can ask to get started: What unmet needs are in your marketplace or industry that you could help solve? How can you do a better job of customer communications and consistent brand experience across all customer channels? Small customer-centric changes can go a long way toward making the Brand Relevance list next year – or at least having higher customer engagement, which is a key to ongoing success. If you need help getting started contact us.

What do you think? Let us know here or on social media.

*For more information about the Profit Brand Relevance Index go to www.prophet.com

About the Author: cat-tonic

cat-tonic
Born of curiosity and enthusiasm, we’re a scrappy group of smart, passionate marketers who work hard and play hard. We show up every day and fight for our clients who are making the world a better place. We listen with curiosity, explore deeply, ask hard questions, and sometimes put forth ideas that might make you squirm. Because we believe the status quo is good for growing mold but not much else. The way we see it, change is the way forward and the magic happens when curiosity, math, science, instinct, and talent intersect.
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