What is Brand Equity?
Brand equity is the inherent value that a brand has, as opposed to the financial value of its goods, services, or other assets.
A brand’s equity goes much deeper than mere logos, typefaces, and colour palettes. It’s the public perception, esteem, and recognisability (or lack thereof) that gives a brand its equity.
For a great example, look at your average high street. Brands like Marks & Spencer and Primark have incredibly strong brand equity. You know how to recognise their shops, what to expect when you enter, what kind of quality you’re going to receive, and roughly what products are going to be available.
It’s that perception, that recognisability, that loyalty, and that household name status that all gets people to buy. This is the core of brand equity.
If you’re unfamiliar, Primark tends to be a more budget option and Marks & Spencer is often more pricey. So does that mean that Marks’s equity is stronger than Primark’s? Absolutely not! In terms of high street presence, brand awareness, and recognisability, I’d say they’re equal. They’re just targeted towards different audiences.
What Does Brand Equity Mean for B2Bs?
Let’s translate this very consumer-facing example into my own specialist corner of marketing: business to business SME professional services – sounds quite boring when you put it like that.
Say a small business needs cloud storage. Your mind is immediately drawn to the likes of Amazon, Google, or Microsoft. That’s because they have huge, wide-ranging brand awareness, established user buy-in, and ultimately swathes of brand equity. They’re household names.
But say the director of the company in question follows a smaller cloud provider on social media or receives email marketing from them. They have a decent online following, they share great advice, they publish unique and engaging content, and have lots of rave reviews and brand advocates.
The challenger brand’s equity may not be as big or valuable as Amazon’s, but they do have established brand reputation and loyalty within their niche. That’s exactly what small businesses need, especially when they’re competing with huge, international household names!
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