Building a brand : The Customer - based Brand Equity model - CBBE

The Customer based Brand equity model is based on the 4 questions asked by the customer.

1. Who are you ? - Brand identity
2. What are you? - Brand meaning
3. What do I think or feel about you? - Brand responses
4.   What kind of association would I like to have with you? - Brand relationship

The above order is known as the Branding ladder, and the importance of the order lies in the fact that without the identity, we really cannot establish a meaning, responses won't occur unless the meaning has been established, and without the proper responses being elicited a relationship cannot be forged

A strong brand is one which utilizes the six “brand building blocks” below, assembled in the shape of a pyramid to reach to the top and enjoy a significant brand equity.

a)      Salience: It measures the awareness of the brand, how and when the brand is evoked in a customer’s mind

b)      Performance: Relates to the satisfaction of the customer’s primary needs, reliability, durability, service, price, etc.

c)      Imagery: Relates to the satisfaction of the customer’s psychological needs such as values, heritage, experiences, personality, etc.

d)     Judgements: Focuses on customer’s opinion based on credibility, performance and imagery.

e)      Feelings: Relates to the customer’s emotional responses (fun, warm, exciting, secure, etc.) to the brand.

f)       Resonance: Defines the loyalty, attachment and therefore the engagement with the brand

As can be seen from the pyramid, the customer-based brand equity model has two sides with four levels:

1)      The Rational route
2)      The Emotional route

A brand would need to utilize both the rational route and the emotional route to create a strong brand equity. After all, a strong brand equity will translate into higher sales numbers, which in turn translates into larger profits for the brand and company.

Source: Transcribed from "Strategic Brand Management" by Kevin Lane Keller