Why now’s the time to spend money on your brand

Right now, the majority of you are really busy and have work booked out for months in advance. But what happens when this boom starts to slow down? Will your business stand out from your competitors? Will homeowners be attracted to your business in the future?

We’re all attracted to brands we know. It’s easier to pick a brand we recognise and have seen around before, versus a brand we’re not familiar with. Now’s the time to ensure your brand stands out from the rest.

So, what is a brand?

A brand represents the sum of people’s perception of a company’s customer service, reputation, and advertising – including the logo. All of these things determine the value of a brand. Homeowners are constantly looking for connections when hunting for a builder, which is why it’s important to offer them something they can relate to. This goes beyond an attractive website or a beautiful logo. Although the external elements of your brand, like your name and signwriting, can help to create brand awareness, it is your brand value that will deliver real engagement and help you create a relationship with a homeowner.

What is brand value?

Brand value is the ‘perceived value’ of your business and how often people will choose one brand over others. Brand value is important because when people perceive that a brand is distinct and aligns with their personal values, it’s a really powerful competitive advantage.

Is brand value the same as brand equity?

When homeowners know and love your brand, they are willing to pay more. This is known as brand equity. In other words, brand equity is the price above the product’s market value that a homeowner is willing to pay. Brand equity and brand value are linked, but they are not the same thing.

Why is brand value important?

Imagine you’re wanting to sell your business to another builder. The builder looking to buy your business will benefit from your company name, logo, and other brand elements that homeowners instantly recognise and trust. With marketing and social media, you can create positive characteristics to align with your brand such as stylish/modern, trustworthiness, security, and reliability. This is essentially building a brand; a key element of any marketing strategy today. Most people agree a strong brand is valuable – the tricky part is figuring out how to measure the value.

How is brand value calculated?

Your brand is a valuable asset. With other assets in life, such as your house or your car, you can easily do some research and figure out the going rate. Calculating the value of a brand, however, is more complex. We consider a brand’s value to be a measurable concept encompassing the total net worth of your brand. Key factors include brand recognition (have homeowners heard of you?), brand image (how do homeowners perceive you?), brand usage (are customers actively buying from you and using your product?), and brand loyalty (do homeowners stick with you over the competition?).

What makes a brand valuable?

Valuable brands have a few things in common, including: • Highly recognisable (homeowners know who they are) • Positively perceived (homeowners have a good view of them) • Popular (homeowners actually buy and use the products or services) • Have a loyal following (homeowners will refer you to family and friends).

So, how do you build your brand?

1. Know what your business stands for and what characteristics you want homeowners to know about you 2. Make sure you understand who you are selling to 3. Invest in a good name and get a professional designer to create your logo – then trademark it! 4. Align yourself with stronger brands – e.g. NZCB 5. Deliver on your promises. If you make a mistake, fix it 6. Delivery consistency – think McDonald’s. Deliver consistency with your customer service. Answer your phone calls, respond to your emails in a timely manner etc. 7. Build perception – make sure your business name matches your domain name, email address etc.. Having something like gonefishing@hotmail.com doesn’t look professional and gives the perception you care more about fishing that the homeowner’s property 8. Create the WOW factor – do something the homeowner isn’t expecting e.g. turn up with coffees when you are delivering their quotation/contract. At the end of the day, a strong brand is something you can sell – so it’s worth the investment.

Karla Farrar, NZCB Communications & Group Services Manager. With 20+ years’ experience in marketing and communications, Karla has a breadth of knowledge across large and small New Zealand organisations, including owning and managing her own boutique advertising and communication agency. She specialises in acquisition, digital development, branding, communications and marketing.