INSIGHTS FROM THE EXPERT
How Does Name Awareness Correlate with Market Share
What’s in a name? Name awareness is the degree to which customers are aware of your company or product name. If you are a business trying to capture your fair portion of market share, name awareness is an essential tool. Market share is simply the portion of the market that you have captured with advertising, by word of mouth or other means. How does name awareness correlate with market share? While name awareness is a piece of the puzzle it isn’t the big picture. Knowing is not identifying with or even liking the product. There is much more to grabbing a piece of the market share pie than name awareness and recognition. It’s vital that people know your name but there is much more to the equation.
Some advertisers make the mistake of advertising with commercials that market only their name. They surround the name with drivel that means nothing unless you already know or are familiar with the product. Statements like, ‘Bowers, for those who care,’ tell potential customers nothing about the product or why they need it. While this certainly creates name awareness, it will not acquire any market share. It may even have the opposite effect. People know your name, alright. They’re laughing at your inane commercial. Why? Because the customer has no idea what you are pitching to them. You have given them name awareness but no product awareness.
It isn’t enough for people to know your name. They must identify your name with what they are looking for. Gaining a share of the market can be accomplished through brand name awareness, but only if people have taken name awareness to the next level. They know the name, they know the product and they know what it can do for them. There is a certain aura attached to your brand name and that’s what reels them in. The way to your customer’s wallet comes through name awareness, combined with a clear idea of what you can do for them.
What if you already have a decent market share? Your name awareness presents a clear image of who your company is and what you stand for. Now you are adding a new product. How do you change your image without compromising market share? Well, quite simply, you don’t. When you first begin your marketing strategy, your name awareness and image should cover all products, past, present and future. In other words, your name awareness should be about quality and reputation, not about any single product. This carries your image into a bright future market share. In other words, there is no need to change name awareness, just because you have a new product line.
Name awareness is a key part of obtaining market share but it isn’t the whole package. It’s not enough for people to know your name. They must also know what your name stands for and what they can expect from your product. They have to like your product and like what it does for them as well. Your advertising should promote not only your name but identifying aspects of your business or product as well. Name awareness should also be flexible enough to represent all your products, including those yet to be developed. How does name awareness correlate with market share? It’s the slice of market share pizza with all the pepperoni on it, but you still need the cheese and sauce.