Marketing Management Assignment: Customer Value and Branding

This assignment solution addresses key concepts in marketing management, including customer-perceived value, total customer satisfaction, and the valuable functions brands perform for a firm. It explains how customer perceived value is determined by the difference between perceived benefits and costs, and how total customer satisfaction is achieved by exceeding customer expectations. The solution also details the different functions a brand can perform, such as providing legal protection and simplifying product handling, as well as the two approaches to measuring customer-based brand equity: direct and indirect. Finally, it examines how a loyal brand community supports the positioning and branding of a small business, particularly through positive word-of-mouth and repeat purchases. The solution incorporates references to relevant academic literature to support its arguments.

Running head- Marketing Management
Marketing management

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Marketing Management
1. Explain customer-perceived value.
Customer-perceived value is also known as a value in the market. It is the difference between
prospective customer's evaluation of the benefits and the costs of the product when compared
with others. It is related to marketing and branding concept, and this customer-perceived value
points out that success of the product largely depends on whether customers believe it can satisfy
their needs or not (Eggart et al., 2015). In a way to understand customer-perceived value, one
should know about the value proposition. It is a comparison of benefits offered by a company's
product to its customers relative to the price it asks customers to pay. The company mainly
influence the value proposition in one of the two ways and is company may use long-term brand
building advertising to emphasize key traits of the brand and products, or company may use to
offer a relatively low cost to enhance value (Eggart et al., 2015).
Customer perceived benefits minus Customer perceived cost is equal to Customer
perceived value.
The customer makes a purchase decision after evaluating its benefits and uses if the benefits and
value are higher than the cost which he is paying, then the customer will buy that product.
2. Explain total customer satisfaction.
Total customer satisfaction means when product or services supplied by the company meet or
exceed customer expectation; then customer becomes satisfied or delighted. In other words, it
can be said that the number of customers, or a percentage of total customers, whose reported
experience with a firm, exceed or surpass specified satisfaction goals (Waite, 2017).
Making customer as happy as possible with the brand leads customer satisfaction. If any
customer buys any product and if that product fulfills the requirement of the customer he or she

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needed than the customer will be satisfied. In a way to make the customer satisfied to provide the
product which is value for money and meet the requirements as per customer. For this knowing
who is your customer is a must. If we know who our customer is then only we can provide the
product according to their requirements which will fulfill their needs. If the product or services
offered by the company surpass the expectation of the customer, then the customer will be
satisfied (Waite, 2017).
3. What valuable functions can brands perform for a firm?
A brand can perform several functions for a firm such as it will give legal protection for unique
features of the product, helps the customer in making a purchase decision and simplify product
handling or tracking. The brand also helps firm in organizing inventory and accounting records.
The brand also differentiates its product from their competitors (Denizci et al., 2016). The brand
also serves as a functional device as a firm can use branding to communicate functional
capability.
4. Power or brand resides in the minds of consumers and how it changes their response to
marketing, there are two basic approaches to measuring brand equity. Briefly, describe each
of these approaches.
Basically, there are two approaches to measure customer-based brand equity.
1. Direct approach
2. Indirect approach
The direct approach attempts to measure brand equity more directly by assessing the impact of
brand knowledge on consumer response to different elements of the firm's marketing program

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(Keller, 2016). Customer responses towards marketing program are different according to their
level of knowledge about the brand.
The indirect approach attempts to assess potential sources of customer-based brand equity by
measuring brand knowledge that is brand awareness and brand image (Keller, 2016).
5. How does a loyal brand community support the positioning and branding of a small
business?
As small business lack finance so in a way to stay in the market it needs to create brand loyalty.
Brand loyalty is the situation where consumer fears of purchasing and consuming the product of
new brand.
For example, if the customer is, again and again, making a purchase decision to buy a particular
product or brand then it can be said that this particular customer is loyal towards the brand. Even
alternatives are available, and the customer is buying the same brand it means the customer is
loyal to the brand. So, brand loyalty positioning and branding can be done (Lee et al., 2015). As
the greater level of loyalty will reduce the marketing expenditure of the small companies to
position their offering because customers are loyal to the brand and they are repeating their
purchase decision. The loyal brand community also promotes a particular brand through positive
word of mouth. Promotion through positive words of mouth is one of the best promotional
strategies for the organization. And if any organization can make its customer so loyal to
promote its product it would be effective in positioning and branding of a small business (Lee et
al., 2015).

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References
Eggert, A., Ulaga, W., & Drapier, L. (2015). Customer-Perceived Value in Business
Relationships: A Cross-Sectional Survey Among Purchasing Managers in Germany.
In Proceedings of the 2000 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 395-
395). Springer, Cham.
Waite, A. (2017). A Practical Guide to Call Center Technology: Select the Right Systems for
Total Customer Satisfaction.
Denizci Guillet, B., Kucukusta, D., & Liu, L. (2016). An examination of social media marketing
in China: how do the top 133 hotel brands perform on the top four Chinese social media
sites?. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 33(6), 783-805.
Keller, K. L. (2016). Reflections on customer-based brand equity: perspectives, progress, and
priorities. AMS review, 6(1-2), 1-16.
Lee, D., Moon, J., Kim, Y. J., & Mun, Y. Y. (2015). Antecedents and consequences of mobile
phone usability: Linking simplicity and interactivity to satisfaction, trust, and brand
loyalty. Information & Management, 52(3), 295-304.