Beyond Brand Preference

There’s a coveted place beyond brand preference. It’s called brand insistence. You’re there when your brand is perceived to be the only viable solution for the customer’s need. Put another way, the customer does not pursue substitutes if the brand is not available. The brand has established a consideration set of one.

Achieving brand insistence requires overcoming 6 of 7 steps in the ladder of the mind. The consideration set continuum looks like this:

  • I would never choose to buy this brand
  • I’ve never heard of this brand
  • I’ve heard of this brand but don’t know much about it
  • Not one of my preferred brands but I’d try it under certain circumstances
  • Not one of my preferred brands but from what I’ve heard about it recently I’d like to try it/try it again
  • This is one of my preferred brands
  • This is the only brand I would ever consider buying

Brand insistence is reserved for those brands that have been carefully designed to posses these characteristics: relevant differentiated benefits for their target customers, ability to build strong emotional connections, have a high degree of awareness, are perceived to deliver deep value for the price and are easily accessible.

These drivers work together to move customers from 1. being aware of your brand 2. purchasing your brand 3. preferring your brand 4. being loyal to your brand to 5. insisting on your brand.

Source: Transcript Proceedings:  “Tracking the Obvious: New Ways of Looking at Old Problems” by Martin Stolzenberg, President, Stolzenberg Consulting, and Peggy Lebenson, Senior Vice President, Data Development Corporation. “Advertising and Brand Tracking: The Power of Today’s Advertising and Brand Tracking Studies:  An Advertising Research Foundation Key Issues Workshop,” November 12-13, 1996, New York, Grand Hyatt Hotel, copyright 1997 by Advertising Research Foundation

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