Brand relevance is one of the most difficult things for a company to keep up with. With a society that is always changing its hard to keep your brand relevant.
When it comes to keeping up with brand relevance there are two things companies need to do, adapt to the current needs of customers in the market and disrupt what people want to buy. Companies disrupt what people buy by creating new categories or subcategories. Their goal is to alter the usual way customers purchase items by pioneering a new category. To do this, some brands must change all together which is a very bold move. They must find a balance between innovation and adapting, while staying true to the core of their brand. To be able to have brand relevance your company has to change and expand with the times through new categories and subcategories. Having a whole new category be developed is very rare because for your company to do that they would have to come up with something very innovative. For example, Keurig did this when they introduced K-cups. Coffee was never made like that before Keurig sold them therefore, they made a new category.
Some rules to follow when keeping up with brand relevance
Be customer-centric! Everything your business does should be for your customers’ needs. This includes the needs that your customers aren’t even aware of. Figure out what your customers need before your competitors do and this will help a lot with brand relevance. By analyzing customer purchase patterns and figuring out what they need daily and providing that to them, you will have a brand known for keeping up with its customers. You have the advantage if you’re more current with your customers than your competitors.
Focus on experience! Customers should have a great experience when they think of your brand. Every little thing counts when making it a good experience for your customers. The experience needs to be relevant to your target market in every aspect.
Keep your brand different! Although it’s important to stay relevant it’s also important to stand out and be different from your competitors. So, don’t lose what makes your brand different trying to be relevant.
Don’t be afraid to try something new! To stay relevant, you must keep up with the changing times so that means trying new things. Engage in fresh new ways of meeting your customers’ needs. Always be creative and try different things. You may find more effective and sufficient ways as a result. So always make sure your workplace thrives off innovation and never fearing something new.
Stay authentic! It won’t matter if you are relevant if you’re not authentic about it. Always think about where you want your brand to go first and then think about how maintaining relevance helps with these goals.
Top relevant brands
Some brands that do a great job in staying relevant is Apple, Spotify, and Android. They are consistently staying ahead of customers’ needs and market trends. They use a lot of technology and data to keep them ahead of everyone else. Apple maintains its 1st place spot as the most relevant brand for the fifth year in a row! Brands like Google and Nike got pushed out of the top 10 list because they failed to stay relevant through the constant change.
These brands have a way of creating experiences for their customers. A brand that is great at making experiences is Disney. When you visit one of their properties everything about the experience is magical. From when you use their technology to unlock your hotel room, to when you hang out with a princess. They make their experience one to remember and as time goes on, they keep making the experience more memorable. When Samsung had the major recall of its Galaxy Note everyone expected sales to drop dramatically for Samsung. Instead, they came back stronger than ever. Samsung created an experience for their customers that they didn’t want to give up. They created the experience by linking all their devices together including watches, tablets, phones. Who is going to switch out of that brand when so many of their things link together? It would ruin the whole experience.
Relevant Brands = Successful Brands
Staying relevant is important for brands but it’s never a sure thing. You can be relevant today and not tomorrow. That’s why if you want to be relevant you must be able to keep up with the changes and not be afraid to reposition your brand.
