Glad it was useful Kofi.

Thanks Bryan (apologies for the misspelling before),

Thanks for sharing the article and your insight. Definetly food for thought that the brand is perhaps not always number 1 and lots of factors influence an organisation’s priorities and marketing potential.

Thanks again.
Andrew

Thanks Andrew,

I sometimes work with small business and one of the first things I do with the owners is role play the customer’s journey. From need recognition, search, evaluating alternatives, purchase, usage, post purchase and so on. I agree totally the brand can manifest itself in any of these touch points or stages.

However, in regard the budget airlines I would suggest price is at the core of the offering. Secondary to this (but still important) comes the brand.

But one thing is for sure market conditions are not static. And what works today may not work tomorrow. And what works for one customer segment may not work for another segment.

After your posting I did a bit of digging around and found this article which I found interesting.

The article was titled –
The Role of Branding in the Airline Industry
http://www.brandchannel.com/brand_speak.asp?bs_id=175

It highlights ideas you mentioned about the importance of touch points and the brand. It also looks at the importance of other factors like price, roots and schedule.

Thanks for your comments and article Andrew.

Brian,

Thanks for your feedback and I do see your point. A highly price driven market may make price the key factor for that business as you put across well in the low cost flight example. Other examples could of course be any element of the marketing mix. I would though like to make a key point as to why I feel “in general terms” brand is still number 1.

Brand is communicated through everything you do and all your marketing strategies can either strengthen or weaken it and should all be aligned of course to strengthen and support it. So in the low cost airline example the low price is maybe what gets the initial sale but will the brand experience ensure that the price is “value”? ; from the booking process, to the check in, to the promptness and the after sales communication. Okay they might not expect much from a bargain price, but that’s not to say the brand perception cannot be affected positively or negatively by the brand experience. Repeat custom, positive feedback through social media channels and other factors through an overall experience that matches the value proposition (in this case price) are all positive customer effects of good branding and price is only the catalyst for the initial sale. Of course negative experiences will deem the lowest price offer still poor value and the brand is tarnished meaning even rock bottom prices may not be taken. We’ve seen how Ryanair’s stock has risen and fallen in past years by not being transparent about pricing… More importantly in a digital world we can now see how brands can go from hero to zero and vice – versa with negativity and positivity spreading like wildfire and brands are no longer in control.

So with price, or place, promotion or product they can all be independently in the short term number one to an organisation, but brand is reflected throughout and their respective value only proves its worth if the brand supports its respective value proposition in how it delivers and communicates the experience.

Thanks Jamie

Brian,

Thanks for your feedback and I do see your point. A highly price driven market may make price the key factor for that business as you put across well in the low cost flight example. Other examples could of course be any element of the marketing mix. I would though like to make a key point as to why I feel “in general terms” brand is still number 1.

Brand is communicated through everything you do and all your marketing strategies can either strengthen or weaken it and should all be aligned of course to strengthen and support it. So in the low cost airline example the low price is maybe what gets the initial sale but will the brand experience ensure that the price is “value”? ; from the booking process, to the check in, to the promptness and the after sales communication. Okay they might not expect much but that’s not to say the brand perception cannot be affected positively or negatively by the brand experience. Repeat custom, positive feedback through social media channels and other factors through an overall experience that matches the value proposition (in this case price) are all positive customer effects of good branding and price is only the catalyst for the initial sale. Of course negative experiences will deem the lowest price offer still poor value and the brand is tarnished meaning even rock bottom prices may not be taken. We’ve seen how Ryanair’s stock has risen and fallen in past years by not being transparent about pricing… More importantly in a digital world we can now see how brands can go from hero to zero and vice – versa with negativity and positivity spreading like wildfire and brands are no longer in control.

So with price, or place, promotion or product they can all be independently in the short term number one to an organisation, but brand is reflected throughout and their respective value only proves its worth if the brand supports its respective value proposition in how it delivers and communicates the experience.