Page 313 - Marketing Management

290 PART 4 BUILDING STRONG BRANDS

won new customers’ business, it mobilized an army of 12,000 claims adjusters who will speed right
to an accident scene—and often cut a check right on the spot. It has further enhanced its competi-
tiveness by adding innovative service features such as an “accident concierge,” who handles all
aspects of the claims and repair process for customers, and online policy management that enables
customers to make payments and change coverage any time. These customer advantages made
Progressive the 3rd largest auto insurer in the United States by 2006, up from 48th in 1980, with
12 million customers. 27

MEANS OF DIFFERENTIATION The obvious means of differentiation, and often the ones
most compelling to consumers, relate to aspects of the product and service (reviewed in
Chapters 12 and 13). Swatch offers colorful, fashionable watches; GEICO offers reliable
insurance at discount prices. In competitive markets, however, firms may need to go beyond
these. Consider these other dimensions, among the many that a company can use to differentiate
its market offerings:

• Employee differentiation. Companies can have better-trained employees who provide supe-
rior customer service. Singapore Airlines is well regarded in large part because of its flight at-
tendants. The sales forces of such companies as General Electric, Cisco, Frito-Lay,
Northwestern Mutual Life, and Pfizer enjoy an excellent reputation. 28
• Channel differentiation. Companies can more effectively and efficiently design their dis-
tribution channels’ coverage, expertise, and performance to make buying the product easier
and more enjoyable and rewarding. Back in 1946, pet food was cheap, not too nutritious,
and available exclusively in supermarkets and the occasional feed store. Dayton, Ohio–based
Iams found success selling premium pet food through regional veterinarians, breeders, and
pet stores.
• Image differentiation. Companies can craft powerful, compelling images that appeal to con-
sumers’ social and psychological needs. The primary explanation for Marlboro’s extraordinary
worldwide market share (around 30 percent) is that its “macho cowboy” image has struck a
responsive chord with much of the cigarette-smoking public. Wine and liquor companies also
work hard to develop distinctive images for their brands. Even a seller’s physical space can be a
powerful image generator. Hyatt Regency hotels developed a distinctive image through its
atrium lobbies.
• Services differentiation. A service company can differentiate itself by designing a better
and faster delivery system that provides more effective and efficient solutions to consumers.
29
There are three levels of differentiation. The first is reliability: Some suppliers are more re-
liable in their on-time delivery, order completeness, and order-cycle time. The second is
resilience: Some suppliers are better at handling emergencies, product recalls, and inquiries.
The third is innovativeness: Some suppliers create better information systems, introduce bar
coding and mixed pallets, and in other ways help the customer.

EMOTIONAL BRANDING Many marketing experts believe a brand positioning should
have both rational and emotional components. In other words, a good positioning should
contain points-of-difference and points-of-parity that appeal both to the head and to
the heart.
To do this, strong brands often seek to build on their performance advantages to strike an emo-
tional chord with their customers. When research on scar-treatment product Mederma found that
women were buying it not just for the physical treatment but also to increase their self-esteem, the
marketers of the brand added emotional messaging to what had traditionally been a practical
message that stressed physician recommendations: “What we have done is supplement the rational
with the emotional.” 30
A person’s emotional response to a brand and its marketing will depend on many factors. One
increasingly important factor is a brand’s authenticity. 31 Brands such as Hershey’s, Kraft,
Crayola, Kellogg’s, and Johnson & Johnson that are seen as authentic and genuine can evoke
trust, affection, and strong loyalty. 32 Guinness celebrated its heritage, quality, and authenticity
with a 250th anniversary marketing campaign whose ads depict consumers all over the world
toasting the brand. 33