In recent years, it has been possible to see a growing increase in the decision-making power of the purchase of different types of products by consumers, more selective in choosing brands that represent the desired item or commodity. Faced with this new market authority, is the power of companies in this relationship falling? Who defines the rules of this game now? And how can entrepreneurs prepare to try to have a little more authority over sales?
The purchase and sale relationship has been built in our society since ancient Egypt. In an article entitled “A Short Story of Branding”, the author highlights that the first commercial use of the brands was as a sign of ownership. By placing his name or symbol on an asset, such as cattle, the owner could mark his possession. The ancient Egyptians were the first to use marks as signs of ownership for at least 5,000 years. And it was from there, of course, that the word ‘brand’ came from (brand).
In its essence, brands currently serve to literally mark a type of product and declare that it belongs to an entity. Such a need arose when civilizations began to thrive, and in this idea, everyday items began to have several producers, which caused the need for a way to differentiate the origin of each one..
However, in the past, brands did not have the strength and message they began to present after the Industrial Revolution and the growing number of competitors for daily commodities and products. It took something more than just a name that could be synonymous with quality – after all, competitors could obtain the same machinery and use the same production methods – whether through a company history (storytelling), their points of view, solidarity activities or other strategies.
What was a single activity became a continuous process. Today, it is possible to see that most companies seek to reach an audience that, by the way, may even be the same niche for several of them, however, their strategies, values, histories, ways of assigning an added value to their products are different and, therefore, their approaches are also.
Currently, however, there are so many brands for specific niche markets that customers can choose from among ten, twenty, thirty competitors, just considering differential points that each one thinks is important. Basically, the consumer makes an assessment by comparing several points and analyzing if they talk to their ideals.
This has been leading, as an example, to make several companies start to care more about social causes, values, social responsibility, innovation, personalization, convenience and agility, after-sales and fair prices, entering the battlefield to try to differentiate themselves from their competitors and attract potential consumers with the intention to retain them.
Since the beginning of the use of brands and the creation of branding, the power, or consumer authority, has only grown along the technological evolutions, gaining more and more authority to select the desired products and, today, they have, more than ever, the power of choice.
In view of this panorama, it is clear that the authority in the purchase process has migrated considerably from brands to consumers, who now play an active and judicious role in the selection of what they consume. If before, a recognized name was enough to guarantee the sale, today it is necessary to go further: understand the desires and values of the public, establish authentic connections and build a presence that dialogues directly with your expectations.
Thus, the authority of the marks did not disappear, but was redistributed. Now, it needs to be constantly conquered, sustained and renewed through strategies that value not only the product, but also the experience, identification and purpose shared with the consumer.
