Brand Proposition in the Xerox Products - Essay Example

?Brand proposition in Xerox Corporation Introduction Xerox Corporation is a multinational company that manufactures and sells printers, multifunctional systems, photocopiers, digital printing press, scanners, and solid ink products and also involved in software solutions. Founded in 1906, it is a business organization with vast marketing experience of over a century hence having an advantage over the rest the competitors in the market. The Xerox Company has developed different brands in the market, done sales promotion and therefore has been able to win customer loyalty thus boosting its sales and revenues. Brand proposition in the Xerox products Brand proposition is a statement which clearly identifies the benefits of the products to consumers. It is a promise to the consumers and the buyers of the benefits they would achieve if they are to buy these products. The brand proposition should include a unique tag in the marketing strategy that would draw consumers to the product. The Xerox Corporation has used various brand proposition techniques in order to market its products. For example, the Fuji Xerox printers carry a statement “true colors”. This brand propositional method ensures that a customer associates this printing machine with production of high quality print out hence boosting its sales. The Xerox Company also adopted the statement “simplicity by the numbers”. By this catchy phrase, a potential buyer would therefore associate the Xerox products with product efficiency. Since consumers tend to buy high quality and efficient products, the statement assists to improve on the sales of the Xerox products. In addition, the brand proposition may also mean that the service delivery of Xerox Company is fast due to the large numbers of personnel. Hence, there fast delivery would attract customers to their stores. The brand propositioning of the Xerox Corporation has helped to convince new buyers that indeed Xerox offers cheap products. In the process of sales promotion, Xerox has frequently used the phrase “we offer a better pie” to mean cheaper prices. The customers would therefore prefer high quality products but of cheaper price hence they would consider visiting the Xerox stores. Just recently, Xerox Corporation has used the brand statement “environmental friendly” on some of their newly developed solid ink. Since the whole world is careful about the effects of environmental pollution, the customers are compelled to buy this newly developed ink for their printers hence the brand proposition has helped in improving of sales. Relationship between brand proposition, brand awareness and brand value in Xerox Corporation Brand awareness is the degree with which the consumers can relate precisely with a certain brand. It is a situation where the consumer is given necessary knowledge about the availability of the product, the advantages and benefits of using this product. The Xerox Corporation has achieved this by using effective methods of sales promotion so that the target groups are made aware of the product. Through brand awareness, the Xerox Company has been able to affect consumers’ decision-making, ensure customer loyalty hence saving the customer additional costs that could be used when looking for a similar product. Brand value is similar to brand equity and it is the present value of the estimated cash flow estimated to the brand (Lindstrom 2004). It is measured through customer loyalty, staff retention and recruitment. For example, the Xerox products have a higher value because the brand has been created for a longer time hence has customer loyalty. The success of the brand awareness technique and the brand value can be attributed to the effect of brand proposition. Through the brand proposition, the customer is able to associate the brand statement with the quality of the product hence able to consider it. This plays a big role in the brand awareness because the customer is advised of the product usage and its features. In addition, the brand propositional method is an effective way of creating awareness because it is mostly a single statement that easily attracts the attention of the suitable buyer. In addition, the brand proposition statement makes the product more appealing to the buyers hence adding value to the product. The brand value is achieved where the owner can generate more money when through having a good brand name. For example, a person would prefer buying a FUJI Xerox printer because of the statement “true colors”. Hence it is clear that the statement true colors add value to the product. Also, the Xerox environmental friendly phrase on the new solid inks adds value to the product because they have an advantage over the previously manufactured inks. Comparison between brand proposition of Xerox and brand position in the market Brand position involves targeting consumers’ minds relative to their preference, competition and prevailing market place. It focuses on convincing the consumers to buy the given goods as opposed to those of the competitors. The following are the similarities and differences of brand positioning and brand propositioning:- Similarities Both brand propositioning and brand positioning focus in how to increase the sales of the product. In brand propositioning approach, the descriptive statement used plays a key role in informing the public on the importance of the product. In brand positioning, the company has to identify the preference of the consumers so as to be able to brand the products correctly. This is done with the aim of increasing the sales of the product. Both methods involve getting into the psychology of the consumer. The Xerox Company uses catchy phrases like “true colors”; “simplicity by numbers” and “cheapest pie” all in a bid to play with the consumers’ psychology. Also, brand positioning ensures that the brand is perceived in the customers mind hence influencing his decision making. Differences The concept of brand positioning mainly focuses on how to outcompete the other stakeholders in the market as opposed to the concept of brand propositioning which mainly involves convincing new customers. The brand positioning targets the consumers’ preference and market situation hence the company is able to brand a product that would suit the consumer hence able to out shine the other stakeholders. However, the brand proposition states only the benefits that a new consumer would get if he/ she choose to use the Xerox product. The concept of brand proposition is a shallow marketing strategy as opposed to the more effective brand position approach (Cheverton 2006). This is because the brand proposition focuses on a statement that would make the Xerox product more appealing. This statement may therefore not fully capture the customers’ expectations. However, the brand position approach is keen on what the customers want hence the company is able to manufacture goods that suit the customer. Evaluation of the Xerox brand proposition Xerox Corporation has been able to come up with a sophisticated brand proposition that clearly states the benefits that a customer would get from buying the product. Though there are arguments about the effectiveness of their propositions, it has been proved that the brand proposition phrases are indeed the correct description of their products. The use of the brand propositional phrase for FUJI Xerox printer “true color” is indeed a correct. In a survey carried out in 2011, the FUJI Xerox printers were found to be one of the printers with good color quality. This is because the color resolution of these printers is high hence able to present real and distinctive colors. Therefore the use of the phrase “true color” is indeed a right description for this Xerox product. The Xerox Company in many instances has advertised its products by including the brand propositional phrase “simplicity by numbers”. This is normally used in reference in their quick service delivery the sale of their products and services. Being a company that was founded in 1906, and having a work force of about 170,000 qualified personnel, the Xerox company can indeed deliver their promise of simplicity by numbers. The description that Xerox as “a better pie” has been used in many Xerox brands as a phrase to imply cheap products. This brand proposition that was developed has been used to lure customers to the Xerox stores so that they can buy the products. The brand propositional phrase remains true when the company has decided to offer discounts as a way of sales promotion. However, due to the quality of Xerox products, most of them are far much expensive than the same products in the markets. Hence the brand propositional phrase developed can said to be misleading to the public. In the recent years, the company has developed an environmental friendly solid ink to be used in the printers. In this brand of ink, the brand propositional phrase “environmental friendly” has been embedded so as to convince the consumers to buy this ink. Indeed, tests have shown that the recently developed ink is biodegradable hence does not pollute the environment like the previously manufactured solid inks. Market research techniques used to test effectiveness of the brand proposition After the implementation of some brand proposition methods, the company needs to follow up and check if the intended goals of the brand proposition are reached. To achieve this, the following market research techniques are used:- Surveys Surveying is a detailed review or study of a certain market in a given location. It involves the use of questionnaires and interviews to gather enough data for the market research. Xerox Company can therefore recruit able and qualified personnel who would carry out the survey or it may contract a different company to carry out the job. In the questionnaire, information on the extent and knowledge of the product must be written so that consideration on the effectiveness of the brand propositional method can made (Van Gelder 2005). Apart from surveying the market, analysis of the sales can be made to determine the difference of values before implementation of the brand propositional method and after implementation. This would help the company to know the impact of the effect of the brand propositional method hence necessary corrections can be made. Use of focus groups Focus groups are a group of people selected from different regions and asked questions about their view of the products. The sessions of focus groups normally lasts about two hours so as to allow first hand and honest opinions about the product. By use of this method, the company is able to know the effectiveness of the brand propositional used and its impact on the sales. Observation This is a market research technique where the researches are able to go to the market and observe the trading activities in the market. Observation would allow the researchers to evaluate the impact of the brand propositional methods hence determine its effectiveness. Through observing the preference of the consumers, the company would be able to develop a new brand propositional phrase that would be able to influence the buyers to select the product hence boosting on the sales. Personal interview Interviews carried on a personal level would assist the company to connect with its customers. The exchange of information between the interviewer and the interviewee would provide the necessary first-hand information about the product. The company can therefore be able to assess the effectiveness of the brand propositional method. In addition, interviews can provide necessary information about the brand hence improvement and development of the brand can be made. Conclusion In conclusion, Xerox Corporation has used various instances of brand proposition to influence the sales of their products. The examples of brand proposition phrases used by Xerox include; “a better pie”; “environmental friendly ink”; “true colors Fuji printer” etc. The analysis of this method of brand proposition by Xerox Corporation has shown significant relationships with the final product hence are effective in the sales promotion of the Xerox product. Even though the brand proposition approach showed similar goals with the brand awareness approach, they have some disparity because the brand awareness mainly focuses on the competitors. In order to check on the effectiveness of the brand propositional method used; the company can effect marketing research techniques such as personal interviews, surveys, use of focus groups and observations. Therefore, brand propositional approach has played a significant role in influencing in improving the sales Xerox Corporation. Reference list Cheverton, P 2006, Understanding Brands, London, Kogan Page. Lindstrom, M 2004, Brand Child, London, Kogan Page. Van Gelder, S 2005, Global Brand Strategy: Unlocking Branding Potential across Countries, Cultures and Markets, London, Kogan Page. Read More