Brand momentum is a key part of any brand tracker. Brand momentum refers to a brand’s market position. This is in terms of how well a brand is actually performing, and more importantly, how a brand is perceived to be doing. Sometimes this is performed in market research by simply asking consumers if they think a brand is on its way up or down. This may seem fairly simplistic. Yet public perceptions like these tend to inflate themselves, thus just a simple statement one way or the other, in turn, becomes a very strong indicator of strong public perception, one way or the other. Here are a few factors that can affect this score:
A brand’s promise is something that speaks directly to the consumer. If you are able to fulfil this promise time and time again, perhaps even expanding upon it, then consumers are going to see you as a brand on the way up, more likely to buy again and are more likely to recommend a product or service to friends and family
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Brand’s ability to save money
If a brand is able to save consumers money, then it is going to be popular. Sometimes this might be in a fairly obvious way, with monetary savings being made. It could also be in terms of a product or service saving consumers a large amount of time, which can directly correlate to saving money. The clearer the way in which a brand is able to save consumers money, the larger the brand momentum.
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Importance of brand category:
The category a brand is in can mean a lot or little to consumers. If your brand is in a category that means a lot to a large number of people, there is more chance of it being discussed, recommended, etc. This will always create a large amount of brand momentum. If the category is rather more niche, then the importance lies in correctly identifying the smaller number of consumers to whom a given category is still especially important.
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Management of market change:
Any market can rapidly change overnight. This might be due to new technologies entering the market, world events, consumer preferences etc. Whatever the reason for the market change, a way a business can adapt to protect their brand, and still meet consumer demands, is going to gain brand momentum. Either as a result of other companies not being able to do likewise, or through public recognition of efforts made to adapt to these market changes.