mployer Branding
In the article "Which Employees' Values Matter Most in the Creation of Employer Branding?" Mukesh Biswas and Damodar Suar discuss the results of a study conducted to analyze companies' internal brand positioning and employee values. The study sought to understand which values were the most important to attracting and retaining top talent in competitive environments. While we all know that brands strive to create value externally to boost sales, brands must also create internal values to recruit and retain top talent.
Five values were identified as being important to current and potential employees. They are:
• Interest Value - Creating a challenging, exciting work environment using creativity to create innovative, high quality products and services.
• Social Value - Providing a fun and happy work environment with supportive teams.
• Economic Value - Providing a compensation package that is attractive and a salary that is above average with job security and opportunities for promotion.
• Developmental Value - Creating an environment that leads to career-enhancing experiences, recognition and opportunities for future employment.
• Application Value - Creating opportunities for employees to apply education and experience in the work environment and teach others.
The study found that current and potential employees rated social and interest values as the most important factors in choosing an organization, or choosing to stay with one. Employees wanted to feel valued, have good relationships with management and co-workers and enjoy their working environments. Somewhat surprisingly, economic values were not as important as interest, social and developmental values. Employees wanted to be happy and comfortable with their positions and environments more than they wanted higher compensation. The results of the study are very important to organizations as they seek to recruit new employees and realign internal branding to meet the needs of current and potential employees. Just as brands must understand what customers desire, brands must also understand what employees value and ensure they meet the needs and wishes of those employees.
Discussion Questions:
Which of the five values are most important to you when seeking an organization or deciding to stay with an organization and why?
Have you had any experiences at an organization that led you to stay or leave because of those values?
How can organizations better position the values most important to potential employees?
References
Biswas, M., & Suar, D. (2013). Which Employees' Values Matter Most in the Creation of Employer Branding?. Journal Of Marketing Development & Competitiveness, 7(1), 93-102.
-------? This is an article review. I need one page here. (double spaced)
Online Customer Reviews and Brand Strength/Weakness
In the age of ecommerce, online customer reviews (OCRs) can have a direct correlation on the performance of some brands. This article explores that as they use Blu-ray and DVD player categories to explore how brand equity moderates the relationship between OCRs and sales in both. Some would suggest that consumer rely on word of mouth from other consumers rather than advertising from the company as the information in OCRs does not originate with the company and is considered more reliable and significant. This theory stands to deliver the notion that consumers will use OCRs to select their products in light of the brand name even if the brand they are selecting is well known or hardly known at all. This article however, dispels that notion as it provides evidence on the importance of brand equity that suggests it is implausible that stronger brands will lose their value just because consumers provide a less than stellar OCR.
The article also explores how brand equity regulates the relationship between OCRs and sales and what type of effect, if any, does OCRs have on strong versus weak brands. Strong brands tend to be more protected from negative information and if consumers respond to OCRs as they do to advertising, strong brands will benefit more from positive OCRs and be less affected by negative OCRs. On the contrast, both positive and negative OCRs affect weak brands more as positive OCRs provide a certain level of credibility that weak brands cannot prompt through company-sponsored advertising, whereas negative reviews are evaluated alone without the draw that a strong brand can provide.
The findings of the two categories (Blu-ray and DVD player) showed that positive OCRs increase the sales of models of weak brands, while negative OCRs decrease the sales of models of weak brands. In contrast, neither positive nor negative OCRs have a considerable effect on the sales of the models of strong brands. They do, however, receive a major sales boost from having a strong brand.
Discussion Questions:
1. Brands seem to be a critical factor for companies competing in an online environment. As a consumer of online shopping, are you more likely to purchase a product that has strong brand equity regardless of the reviews (even negative ones) or are you more prone to purchase a product primarily based on OCRs? Why?
2. How do you think companies with weaker brands can leverage their online appeal in an effort to generate more positive OCRs?
Carson, S., Ho-Dac, N. & Moore, W. (2013). The effects of positive and negative online customer reviews: Do brand strength and category maturity matter? Journal of Marketing, 77(6), 37-53. Retrieved from https://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/ehost/detail?vid=3&sid=60089cd4-bdce-4fc4-b10a-cc2bd99d4e2b%40sessionmgr111&hid=126&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=bth&AN=91691731
Online Customer Reviews and Brand Strength-Weakness
Note # 392
by Lamorea Stanton
-?This is an article review. I need one page here (double spaced)
Consumer Packaged Goods in the United States: National Brands, Local Branding
This article looks at national brands verses local brands and their perceived quality and value in local markets. The general perception is that big national brands are the market leaders across the country, but the research finds that to be not necessarily true. In many areas of the country geographics, cultures and socioeconomic factors can paly a bigger role in the perception of a brand rather than its national strength. They go further by bringing into question the relevance of a "national brand" in local markets where there are perceptions of higher quality local brands. They conclude by opening up the idea that national brands benefit from the strength of their marketing efforts and not necessarily the perceived quality of the products. Ultimately the local markets play the biggest role in support of a brand whether it's local or national and it's up to marketers to take notice and expand efforts to touch those markets.
--?Discussion question: Do national brands really have the brand quality and value that is marketed, or are local brands just as good if not stronger brands? If so, name some local brands that you find to be stronger than big name "national brands".
Bronnenberg, B., Dhar, S., & Dub, J. (2007). Consumer Packaged Goods in the United
States: National Brands, Local Branding. Journal Of Marketing Research (JMR), 44(1), 4-13. doi:10.1509/jmkr.44.1.4
Re: Week 8: National Brands vs. Local Branding - Tony Kazzi
Note # 404
by Anthony Daher Kazzi