Customer Decision Making and Brand Personality - Essay Example

Customer Decision Making and Brand Personality Introduction A brand is an important aspect of marketing and promotion for any good or service produced. Companies and organizations develop brands that they present to the potential customers and clients around the globe. A brand is a symbol, sign, name or a combination of all of the above used to identify a good or service in the market, branding enables the customer identifies the product as the only available solution to their problems as compared to other products in the market. Branding is done for particular objectives chief among them helping in the delivery of the message to the potential clients with clarity and precision. A great brand also confirms the viability of a product and the company that presents the brand and also connects the target market with the product emotionally. A good brand also motivates buyers and gives them more reasons to identify with the product has made specifically for them. Wanting cannot be done in isolation without understanding the needs and desires of the customers. A brand should therefore integrate the emotions and desires of potential clients with the identity of the product to increase the magnitude of the product (Schiffman et al, 2011). Brand Personality Brand personality is described as a set of human features that can be identified in a product, good or service that is available in the market; it is a feature that customers and potential clients can easily relate with due to its consistent traits and features. Brand personality is considered as a value added trait that makes a good more visible and imposed to the clients. A product with good brand personality has the ability to excite, is competent, sincere, rugged and sophisticated. A customer feels free to buy a product whose traits and characters can be related to their own behaviors and lifestyle. A carefree, youthful, elegant, rough, and thoughtful personality identifies easily with a product that has the same pool of features. The market is like a crowded room full of different products shouting to be seen and recognized by the buyers or potential clients. A good brand personality stands out in a crowded market and does this without standing or being more conspicuous. The brand trait and personality alone is enough to make all the customers recognize it and make an effort towards buying it. Great brands are believed to go beyond “transactional loyalty” which is the negotiated sales and frequency points to create a real connection that can create emotional royalty (Schiffman et al, 2011). Before a customer can understand and recognize a brand, there is need for the marketer to understand his/her brand personality. The marketer and the organization must put itself in the shoes of the customer by first analyzing the impact that the brand may create. An organization must therefore identify an object, personality or even animal that they feel suits their image or the image of their product. For example, which car brand or animal does an organization feel it can be associated with? Can the analogy of a convertible or a Volvo, or even a lion or a given sport or movie celebrity fit into the services they offer? (Sung, 2010) Understanding a brand personality is like taking a look at the mirror to see what your reflection looks like in your face and in the face of the customers. Clarity and confidence in a brand personality is also essential for organizations and marketers for it enable them to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the brand (Russell and Emily, 2011). Implementing a brand personality is an important aspect of marketing as it requires in depth analysis of the nature and impact of that the brand may create. Implementing a brand personality require the complete adopting of three steps which are attributed to the strength and ability of a brand to impress. As an image that is used to signify the existence, uses and importance of a product, there is need for proper research on the symbolic association that a product is currently known for (Sung, 2010). The image used on other competitive brands is also essential for an organization and the marketing team as it will influence the image of the product being sold. Decision based on the best brand personality to adopt should also be based on the market structure and the results derived from the research. Researching about brand personality enables a marketer to gain information on the brand personality that consumers are willing to be associated with. A number of approaches can be used to trying to gain information on brand preferences from consumer’s chief amongst them being direct and qualitative approaches (Jenni, 2013). In qualitative approaches, the consumers are given an opportunity to rate a brand or the users of the brand based personality adjectives. With this, a consumer can either rate a product as has an aggressive, competitive or any other personality. Thus, marketers are capable of generating personality adjective scales for their different brands which may be helpful in try to make any changes to the identity of the product before the eyes of the consumers. In executing a brand personality, marketers develop advertising which seeks to create, reinforce or change the target personality. A brands image must be able to be associated with a certain famous individual, object such as cars, animals and other powerful objects (Russell and Emily, 2011). Significance of brand personality to marketers and brand managers Picking a brand image that can be associated with a real person is important as it gives the product a natural mien as the image of the person is transferred to the brand. Animals have also been used extensively in creating brand personalities especially among the common members of the cat family. Such a product is given an image o strength, vigor and durability (Hazel and Mitchell, 2012). Brand personality is not only present in a good but also be feature of corporate. Corporate must develop their own brand personality traits that they want the public, their consumers and even investors to view them in. a good corporate brand personality establishes a number of associations in the minds of customers and other players in the industry that can contribute to its growth. Corporate image and brand is influenced by a number of factors chief amongst them being the product that the corporate manufactures, its actions in times of consumer concerns and their manner of communicating decisions and general information. Corporate brand personality is shaped by the perception of the low and middle level employees towards the organization. It is manifested in the values, actions, words and belief of both the corporation and its employees (Hazel and Mitchell, 2012). Two traits have been identified as the major determinants of a corporate brand personality and its image to the outside world. These have been identified as passion and compassion towards employees and customers. A corporate must thus be passionate about delivering great services to its customers and competing in the market while being compassionate towards its people, stakeholders and members of the community in the areas they operate. Personalities reveal a lot that the consumers desire about a product and this determines the response that the consumers shall post on that particular product. Great brand personalities are considered to be multidimensional as it brings out both the depth and the multiple facets of the product as manifested in the character of the personality; thus, a great brand personality demonstrates a brands passion and expertise. This leads to the provision of a clear definition of a brands ultimate purpose and acts a differentiating feature from similar competing products in the market. Affinity is important for advertisers who want their products to create significant impacts in the memory and faculties of their target consumers (Natalia and Magne, 2011). This therefore requires the use of a personality that can create a lasting impression and affinity on the targeted market segment. Brands posses core values and beliefs, most of which attract consumers to them. A personality that shall be used as the brand image of that particular product must be able to project the same core values and beliefs that the consumers see in the product. Advertisers must therefore work to avoid a conflict of personalities between the product being branded and the personality being used. The tone, style and attitude of communication of the product must also be congruent. Ads tones have been shown by marketing gurus to have significant impacts on the attitudes of consumers. This tone and attitude can only be brought out by the personality behind the product. A brand personality must also reflect the perceptions, motivations and values of the potential consumers and clients (Schiffman et al, 2011). The personality used in the brand thus becomes the eye and mind of the product upon which the consumers can see or read its value and significance. An example of perennial and traditional users of American express are said to view the brand personality as sophisticated, peaceful, educated and dignified. However, those who are yet to be convinced on the need to use the product view its personality as classy, snobbish and belonging to a particular group of people. A brand personality should thus strive to meet the expectations of the existing consumers and other potential consumers (Chieng, 2006). A personality brand also has glaring differences as compared to an object or the face value of a product. Identity basically refers to characteristics shared by others like race, religion and even country of origin. Brand personalities enables the bringing out of brands to life, the personification of an object to suit into a living object or one that is easy to be associated with. Nokia Inc, one of leading world designers and manufacturers of mobile phones has created a quite distinct brand personality that is attributed to its success. The use of the slogan, ‘we call this human technology’ makes a consumer believe that Nokia products are human technology and ‘connecting with people emphasizes the human aspects of their technology (Natalia and Magne, 2011). The use of animals is also quite common in major brands which have been recognized by consumers due to the fact it can be associated with real life situations. A dog is known as one of the most faithful human friends as compared to other domesticated animals. When Vodafone uses a dog that follows its owners everywhere to personify its network that follows you wherever you go, a great brand personality that fits into the normal lives of people is created (Jenni, 2013). Brand personalities in advertising must be able to create meaning that the consumer can easily relate with. The ad used must therefore be one that fully represents the product meaning and its claimed image. From the traditional definition of advertising, the real product must be represented in the ad and this can only be made possible through the identification of a product brand upon which the brand shall be presented to the consumers. Advertising enables the creating of product brands in both direct and indirect ways depending on the personality and the image created. Direct way enables the brand personality to be created by transferring the personality of a person used in the advert into the product direct (Jenni, 2013). Using a tiger to advertise a car brand demonstrates the ability of the car to move at a faster speed as the animal is associated with speed and stealth. Other celebrity personalities like David Beckham for example in a lotion or perfume advert make it easily for the fans of the footballer to associate his enigmatic ways and charisma with the product. The success of the personality is thus transferred to the product and this has been known to translate to more sales and consumer volumes. Advertisers and brand managers must therefore ensure that their product connects with the personality that they are intending to use while designing their products identity. It’s therefore upon the brand managers and advertisers to be creative enough to enable them come up with a brand personality that the consumers can easily connect with the product being advertised (Jillian and carol, 2006). Brands should not just connect with the personality that is used in the advert but the consumers too. Consumers feel safe using products and services that they can easily associate with and see their images and personalities in. it this important that advertisers understand the needs, taste and fashion trends of their target consumers when developing a brand personality. Conflict of personality has been shown to increase the rate of failure of a given product especially if the consumers feel that the product does not readily identify with their persona. A product being advertised for virility, strength and endurance like an energy drink must use a personality that is either an athlete or a sport icon. The target consumers for such a product are other athletes and sports individuals who find it more comforting if the brand personality is a fellow athlete and especially one from whom they draw inspiration. Such a product will fail if the brand managers use a musician or an actor as the brand personality for the target consumers cannot easily see themselves in that personality (Phau and Lau, 2001). As earlier indicated products are not meant for the general population but made for a specific group or part of the population. Such products must first seek to identify its target consumers before a personality brand can be developed. This is essential to prevent the development of a brand which may not reflect the values and behaviors of the target population. The question of ‘who is my brand’s core audience’ must be first answered adequately by marketers before they can introduce their product into the market with a specific brand personality (Audrey, 2003). A product intended for a young audience like teenagers, young mums, online gaming youths and even old members of the society who depend on their booms must be customized to meet the desires of such particular group. Marketers and brand managers must therefore conduct market surveys and research to gain essential knowledge on attitude of their potential clients and consumers before adopting a brand image (Jillian and carol, 2006). Brands and brand personalities have particular promises to their targeted consumers. Such a promised can only be visible if the brand manager adopts the best personality that suits their desirable promise and target. A brand promise provides the marketing team with an opportunity to define how special and unique a particular product is to the audience. Creation of brand promise should be given prominence by marketers and brand managers to help reduce confusion in the crowded market where each product is shouting for recognition. WalMart has a particular promise to its consumers when it says ‘save money live better’ such a promise reflects the desires of its consumers and thus makes it a stand tall product in the market (Chieng, 2006). Brand personalities are not just confined to the media and online adverts but the practices and behavior of the organization towards its clients and people. Marketers and brand managers should go to an extra mile of redesigning its website, company values, missions and visions to tally with the brand personality that they have created. This reduces conflicts of images that may have a negative effect on the product being marketed on the long run. Visual representations are significant areas that must be changed for the impact on the attitude and views of the consumers (Traci and Forbes, 2005). Conclusion Development of a brand personality determines the attitude that the consumers are going to develop on a particular product. A great brand personality that the targeted audience can easily relate to and feel represents their values and belief determines the success index of a particular product. Development of a brand personality is a process that involves a prior survey that seeks to gain information on the attitudes, desires, taste and styles of the consumers and blending these with the desires of the organizations. Poorly designed brand will fail to reflect on the desires and visions of the consumers and thus fails miserably to capture the attention of the consumers. An organization should also blend its own image and behavior before its employees, stakeholders and the community to tally with the brand personality that they have adopted. References Audrey, A. (2003). Do brand personality scales really measure brand personality? Journal of brand management, 11, 143-155. Chieng, M. (2006). Building consumer brand relationship: a cross cultural experiential view. Journal of psychology and marketing, 11, 927-959. Hazel, H and Mitchell, V. (2012). Are consumer and brand personalities the same? Journal of psychology and marketing, 29, 334-349. Jenni, R. (2013). The qualitative dimension of brand equity. The journal of advertising research, 35, 131-133. Jillian, C and carol, B. (2006). Brand personality: exploring the potential to move from factor analytical to circumflex models. Journal of psychology and research, 8, 639-663. Natalia, M and Magne, S. (2011). Consumer’s perceptions of dimensions of brand personality. Journal of consumer behavior, 5, (10), 290-303. Phau, I and Lau, C. (2001). Brand personality and consumer self expression: sing or dual carriageway. Journal of brand management, 8, 428-444. Russell, B and Emily, H. (2011). Brand personality, self congruity, and preference: A knowledge structure approach. Journal of consumer behavior, 10, 304-312. Schiffman, L., O’Cass, A, Paladino, A., D’Alessandro, S. and Bednall, D. (2011). 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