Branding in the digital age edelman

Branding In The Digital Age

will also respond to three classmates about this post after you complete this assignment!

Branding strategies are changing due to the popularity of the Internet and changing consumer behavior. There are various functions of branding. Branding is not only utilized to differentiate the focal brand from the competing ones, but also to increase brand/product awareness, change consumer attitudes, and encourage purchases. On the other hand, consumer brand experience and online consumer reviews are increasingly influencing branding strategies in the digital age.

Read the following articles:

Edelman, D. C. (2010). Branding in the digital age: You’re spending your money in all the wrong places. Harvard Business Review, December, retrieved from https://hbr.org/2010/12/branding-in-the-digital-age-youre-spending-your-money-in-all-the-wrong-places

Anderson, M. (2014, July 7). 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendation. Retrieved from http://searchengineland.com/88-consumers-trust-online-reviews-much-personal-recommendations-195803

Please address the following issues regarding online consumer reviews and brand management in the digital age.

Evaluate the pros and cons of online consumer reviews from the consumer’s perspective.

Discuss the use of online consumer reviews from the brand manager’s perspective.

Branding in the Digital Age

Branding strategies are changing due to the popularity of the Internet and changing consumer behavior. There are various functions of branding. Branding is not only utilized to differentiate the focal brand from the competing ones, but also to increase brand/product awareness, change consumer attitudes, and encourage purchases. On the other hand, consumer brand experience and online consumer reviews are increasingly influencing branding strategies in the digital age.

Read the following articles:

Edelman, D. C. (2010). Branding in the digital age: You’re spending your money in all the wrong places. Harvard Business Review, December, retrieved from https://hbr.org/2010/12/branding-in-the-digital-age-youre-spending-your-money-in-all-the-wrong-places

Anderson, M. (2014, July 7). 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendation. Retrieved from http://searchengineland.com/88-consumers-trust-online-reviews-much-personal-recommendations-195803

Please address the following issues regarding online consumer reviews and brand management in the digital age.

1. Evaluate the pros and cons of online consumer reviews from the consumer’s perspective.

2. Discuss the use of online consumer reviews from the brand manager’s perspective.

Student 1

James Venckus posted Jan 29, 2018 5:11 AM

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I enjoyed the articles attached to this discussion as I was not familiar with recent thoughts on branding in the digital age. I found it very interesting how the internet has made many of the traditional strategies of marketing outdated/obsolete (Edelman, 2010).

In evaluating the pros and cons of online consumer reviews from the consumer’s perspective, a large con is the potential for fake reviews. This topic has both received news coverage and is on the costumer’s consciousness (Anderson, 2014). Particularly, with the importance of customer online reviews rising, so too does the risk of fake reviews in my opinion {since positive reviews directly tie to the success of a brand/company}. Pro’s from the consumer’s perspective include the easy access to information/reviews {with a click of a button, one can sort the reviews into multiple categories for ease of viewing. One can see the most recent reviews, one star reviews, five star reviews, etc…. One of the positive aspects of this is the consumer can look at this product from multiple viewpoints and feel he can gain a more overall honest and general opinion by conducting this research {quickly and effectively}.

From the brand manager’s perspective, this is also an interesting discussion topic since consumer’s are now connecting to data “beyond manufacture’s and retailer’s control” (Edelman, 2010). One only needs to go to amazon {or multiple other online shopping venues} and a customer can immediately tap into a vast resource of reviews. I believe this must make some brand managers initially uneasy(con). However, for those brand managers who accept and work to improve their branding in the digital age; they seem to have a great potential for increased profits(pro). For from the brand manager’s perspective, these consumer reviews are a great source of free advertising in my opinion{as long as the reviews are positive}. Therefore, this seems to state to the brand manager to ensure to invest in product quality (versus the percentage of traditional funding that went toward resources to build brand awareness) {Edelman, 2010). For this has the potential to be rewarded with free advertising through positive customer reviews and a loyal fan/customer base. Again, from the branding manager’s perspective this can be seen as cyclical; with the more customers writing positive reviews, the greater potential to create additional new customers and then turn them into loyal customers {who continue this reviewing as a great positive for the company}.

References:

Edelman, D. C. (2010). Branding in the digital age: You’re spending your money in all the wrong places. Harvard Business Review, December, retrieved from https://hbr.org/2010/12/branding-in-the-digital-age-youre-spending-your-money-in-all-the-wrong-places

Anderson, M. (2014, July 7). 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendation. Retrieved from http://searchengineland.com/88-consumers-trust-online-reviews-much-personal-recommendations-195803

Student 2

Elia Castillo posted Jan 31, 2018 4:34 PM

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Class,

This week’s reading material was interesting to read. The fact of the matter is that in today’s day and age, people lean towards online purchases, that’s a fact. Quite frankly, it’s much easier, it definitely has its advantages: you don’t have to deal with people, traffic, long lines, crowds, and bottom line it’ super convenient. With that being said, how much do people read is the next question? Do people actually take a moment to read consumer reviews? the pros and the cons? Initially, when I read the question my instinct told me, people don’t read. But, for the people that do read online consumer reviews the feedback is extremely beneficial.

Let’s face it, when people are curious about an item the first thing they think about is whether the price is right and if the purchase is worth it. In this case, yes! Having the inside scoop of things is extremely beneficial. It gives the consumer the idea of what to expect. The downfall of reviews is that some people are not always100% truthful. Some companies offer incentives for people to place positive reviews. So at that point, what’s the truth? Who really benefits out consumer reviews? Agreeing with the reading, I definitely like the idea of companies emplacing, “journey product managers.” These individual’s purpose is to ensure that the consumer experiences a pleasurable experience throughout the purchase. (Edelman 2010) At that point the consumer has nothing to worry about. The purchase is bound to go well and the consumer is happy, shares the information, and the company is guaranteed to gain more profit. It’s a win/win situation.

Edelman, D. C. (2010). Branding in the digital age: You’re spending your money in all the wrong places. Harvard Business Review, December, retrieved from https://hbr.org/2010/12/branding-in-the-digital-age-youre-spending-your-money-in-all-the-wrong-places

Student 3

Cyril Kibet posted Jan 31, 2018 11:07 PM

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A brand reputation can be affected faster than a company's response due to an advanced customer to customer communication tools such as online reviews and search engine tools (Anderson, 2014; Smith,2015). Moreover, some online customer reviews may be selective based on who owns the website and can impact brand reputation through negative or positive recommendations(Edelman, 2010). There is a higher probability that other customers would proceed with caution in their evaluation stage based on bad reviews made by others (Fullerton,2017). Most customers in stage four can influence stage one and two decision stages based on their experience with the product. The reviews could affect consumer sentiment pre and post purchasing process and lowers the likelihood of being purchased (Anderson, 2014).

Companies reputation relies on satisfying customer expectations to boost sales. Hence, timing and quality of response to the reviews would influence the impact of customer sentiment. The sooner, brand managers respond to the review the better they get to handle negative reputation and build fan base with positive recommendations(Smith,2015). Also, stage three would be determined by how a brand manager proactively handles stage one, two and four when engaging customer reviews in major online sites(Edelman, 2010).

A brand manager needs tools that could analyze online reviews' authenticity as they could arise from customers or fake suggestions from competitors. The brand manager could weaken the negative response by offering facts, or directing the conversation offline(Smith,2015). Moreover, the brand manager could use the reviews in the implementation product development process to meet customer expectations(Edelman, 2010).Also, the brand manager could create programs that encourage customers to actively engage in post purchasing processes like product utilization program and online communities(Edelman, 2010). Thus, the management of online reviews is essential in the buildup of a reputable brand.

references

Anderson, M. (2014, July 7). 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendation. Retrieved from http://searchengineland.com/88-consumers-trust-online-reviews-much-personal-recommendations-195803

Edelman, D. C. (2010). Branding in the digital age: You’re spending your money in all the wrong places. Harvard Business Review, December, retrieved from https://hbr.org/2010/12/branding-in-the-digital-age-youre-spending-your-money-in-all-the-wrong-places

Fullerton,L.(2017). Online reviews impact purchasing decisions for over 93% of consumers, report suggests. Retrieved from http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/03/27/online-reviews-impact-purchasing-decisions-over-93-consumers-report-suggests

Smith,C.S .(2015).10 Ideas: How To Fix A Damning Business Review .Retrieved from https://searchengineland.com/10-ideas-fix-damning-business-review-222141

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