Branding Strategy Insider helps marketing oriented leaders and professionals like you build strong brands. BSI readers know, we regularly answer questions from marketers everywhere. Today we hear from Olusesan, a VP of Marketing in Nigeria who asks this on measuring brand equity…
I read your article on Measuring Brand Equity for B2B Brands and it was very meaningful. I am currently working on a Brand Strategy for my B2B company and the yardsticks you offer in your article make sense. However, I have a problem with kind of research tool that could be used. My Target market is mostly Nigerian mid to high managers/CEOs who will definitely not have time or will feel awkward to fill in surveys. I would like to know what kind of research tool is most appropriate for a market like Nigeria where people even hardly check their emails.
Thanks for your question Olusesan. There are a few ways to address the problem you anticipate encountering with Nigerian business executives. Busy high status people often respond better if they are provided with a monetary incentive. For instance, when we seek the input of physicians, we often have to pay them $250 apiece to participate in the research. Some companies will not allow the personal receipt of such incentives, so sometimes we donate the incentive in their name to one of a few pre-selected charities or to the charity of their choice. Another option is to schedule a time for them to take the survey with their secretary or personal assistant. Calling them on the telephone to invite their participation and to follow up on their participation also helps.
Another option is to reconfigure the survey from an online survey to a telephone survey. They might respond better to a telephone call. Finally, inviting them to be part of a qualitative discussion on the product/service category and its brands with peers from other companies is often appealing to some people. You would still have to pay them an incentive to participate, but you would get a more in-depth read on their perceptions of the category and the brand. Finally, playing to a person’s ego in inviting them to participate often helps. “We know how busy you are. We would be honored to receive your input. We would really value your insight. Your input will be of great use to us as we strive to improve our brand and its products and services. Thanks in advance for your help on this.”
And to reinforce what you should be measuring, it would include brand awareness, relevant differentiation, value, accessibility and emotional connection. Measuring brand loyalty and exploring brand personality are also useful.
I wish you great success with your brand equity measurement efforts.
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