Brand‐building: finding the touchpoints that count

Abstract

Purpose This paper examines how leading companies are building brands through comprehensive analysis and judicious improvement of the customer experience. Findings In the bid to build a world‐class brand, it's tempting for managers to invest everywhere that the brand touches customers. The “do everything’ approach rarely works well, however, because resources are spread too thinly to be cost‐effective. Our research shows that leading brand‐builders such as Citibank and Coach take a more selective, deliberate approach, adhering to several management principles that we have identified: they focus on the most important customers to their business enterprise; they concentrate investments on the customer touchpoints that will do most to increase brand equity and raise profitable demand; they set realistic goals for implementation and focus on changes that are easier to implement; they revisit their performance on a regular basis and make their brand program self‐sustaining and adaptive. Practical implications By using the right customer data and analytical tools, companies can identify and support the brand touchpoints with the highest ROI. Originality/value Of particular value to brand managers, marketing managers and financial strategists.