Understanding Brand Equity and Smart Ways to Strengthen It in 2025

TL;DR

Brand equity is the trust and value buyers attach to your brand, and it directly impacts your sales! When people trust your business, 35% are willing to pay more for it. Building a strong brand reputation through steady quality, great customer service, quick supplies, and staying involved on social media. Measure success through return sales, good reviews, and growing market share. Avoid damaging brand value by maintaining quality, being transparent, and responding to customer feedback. Remember: your brand isn’t just an image – it’s the full customer experience. Invest in brand value to build ongoing customer trust and grow your business!

Introduction

The market is highly competitive today, and standing out in the crowd is not just about having a good and reliable product but also about how your customers remember your brand and product. Your customers need to recognise and trust your brand. According to a study, 35% of customers worldwide reported being willing to pay more for a brand they trust. And this is where you can see brand equity playing an important role.

Whether you’re selling clothes, handmade items, electronics, or other products, your brand’s image can directly impact your sales, customers’ trust, and long-term success. If you want to expand your reach, understanding brand equity can help you build a stronger business.

This blog discusses brand equity, its importance, and related topics. By the end, you will know how to create a brand that not just sells more but also has long-term customer loyalty.

The Core Concept Behind Brand Equity

Brand equity is the value that your brand holds in the minds of customers. It’s about how customers feel about your brand, how much they trust you, and how likely they are to buy from you again. With strong equity, buyers trust you more, remember you more, and are more likely to choose your product over others.

For instance, if you see two similar products while shopping, but recognise one of the brands because you have had a good experience with it, you’re likely to buy from it even if it costs more than the other brand.

Strong brand equity doesn’t happen overnight; it is built through consistent quality, customer trust, good service, and clear communication.

Key Components of Brand Equity

To build a strong brand equity, you must focus on some key components. These components shape how customers see or remember your product. Some of these significant components/elements are:

1. Brand awareness: This refers to how well people know about your brand. If more customers have heard or seen of you in-store or online, they will feel more comfortable and confident buying from you.
2. Customer experience and loyalty: A smooth delivery, high-quality products, and helpful customer service can all contribute to a better customer experience. Happy customers are more likely to come back and recommend your brand to others.
3. Brand loyalty: Brand loyalty is measured by checking whether your customers keep coming back to shop from you again, online or offline. It’s one of the best signs to know that people trust your brand.
4. Brand associations: These are the thoughts, ideas, or emotions that people link to your brand. For example, your brand’s eco-friendliness, great customer service, and fast shipping etc. These associations can also stem from your product’s tone, service, packaging, and other elements.
5. Perception: This is what customers think about your brand, like whether your brand is affordable, premium, quick to deliver, reliable, etc. Also perceptions related to brand purpose shape customers’ buying decisions.

Measuring Brand Equity: Metrics That Matter

Knowing your brand’s strengths is important to help you grow faster and make smarter decisions. Some of the key ways to measure brand equity are:

1. Financial metrics: This shows how your brand is performing in terms of business results.

• Revenue growth: If your brand is strong, sales will probably grow over time, even without running discounts.
• Profit margins: Your brand can charge a fair price and still keep healthy profits.
• Transaction value: Customers who trust your brand can buy more at a time while increasing the average transaction value.
• Market share: It means that in your product category, more people are buying from you than from others. A growing market share means your brand is becoming more popular.

2. Customer behaviour metrics: This indicates how customers perceive your brand. These metrics include:

• Repeat purchase rate: This refers to the frequency at which customers return to make a purchase again, often seen as a clear sign of trust.
• Customer reviews and ratings: Positive feedback shows that customers are happy. It also instils confidence in new customers.
• Social media engagement: Shares, likes, comments, tags, etc., show how involved people are with your brand or products on social media.
• Referral rate: This refers to the percentage of people who recommend your store or site to friends or family, indicating that they trust and believe in your brand.

3. Brand perception metrics: This helps you understand what people think about your brand. These metrics include:

• Brand Awareness: This indicates whether people are aware of your brand or can identify your store name or logo.
• Brand Relevance: It means that your brand is offering what customers need or care about. Your brand must align with your customers’ lifestyles and values.
• Brand Strength: This encompasses your brand’s reputation and its ability to be trusted and remembered easily.

4. Internal evaluation metrics: These tools and methods are used to gather more insights, such as:

• Customer feedback: Simple feedback, such as surveys or follow-up questions after delivery, can help you and your brand understand what’s working.
• Financial data tracking: Try comparing your sales and profits before and after implementing branding changes, such as a logo update, promotions, or improved packaging.

Strategic Ways For Building Brand Equity

Building brand equity doesn’t require a big budget, but it does need smart and consistent efforts. Some of the practical strategies to grow your brand and business are:

• Being consistent is important! Ensure that the quality of your product remains consistent every time, which fosters customer trust and encourages repeat business.

• Ensure that you use the same logo, colours, and style consistently across your store, social media, and packaging. This can help your customers easily remember your brand.

• Offer good and quality customer service by replying to messages quickly, solving issues politely, and being helpful. A good experience ensures that customers come back.

• Try to deliver your orders on time, as late deliveries can hurt your brand. Utilise reliable shipping partners, such as Shiprocket, to ensure that products reach customers promptly and without delay.

• You can ask your customers about reviews and referrals, as happy customers will happily share their feedback or tell others about your brand. It also helps build trust with new buyers.

• Try to provide extra value by offering care tips, usage ideas, or thank-you notes. These small efforts can make your brand feel more thoughtful and personal.

• Ensure you stay active on social media by posting updates, sharing customer stories, and showcasing new developments. This can keep your brand fresh in people’s minds and build a connection.

Iconic Brands With Strong Brand Equity

Let’s look at some of the significant and popular Indian and International brands that have the trust of millions of people and have built a strong presence in industries.

1. Infosys: It is a global IT services company that has established itself by delivering reliable technology solutions to its customers.

2. SBI: It is India’s largest public sector bank, also recognised as a household name. It serves millions of people with its wide network and trusted banking services. SBI is known for accessibility, financial inclusion, and customer trust.

3. Godrej: From appliances to furniture, Godrej has been a part of Indian homes. It is known for its durable home appliances, consumer goods, and furniture, as well as its focus on innovation and building a strong legacy.

4. Airtel: It is one of India’s largest telecommunications players. Airtel is renowned for its extensive network coverage, technological advancements, and exceptional customer service, which has resulted in a loyal customer base.

5. Maruti Suzuki: For many families, Maruti Suzuki remains the go-to car brand today. It is known for its reliable, affordable, and fuel-efficient cars.

6. Mahindra: Whether it’s SUVs, commercial vehicles, or tractors, Mahindra has built vehicles that are suited to India’s diverse needs. The brand is recognised for delivering practical and durable vehicles to its customers, while establishing strong connections in rural markets and focusing on innovation in electric vehicles.

7. Amul: Amul can be found in almost every Indian household. From milk to butter, it is famous as an affordable brand for quality milk products. Its consistent quality, creative market campaigns, and affordability connect it with a strong rural and urban base.

8. Dabur: It specialises in Ayurvedic and natural health products, which are trusted by customers for their authenticity and wellness solutions. Dabur has a wide distribution network, a strong brand heritage, and trusted quality Ayurvedic formulations.

9. Nike: It is a global sportswear brand known for its innovative products and emotional marketing. Nike has created a loyal fan base which connects with its values and style with cutting-edge innovation and trendsetting designs.

10. Amazon: From fast delivery services to excellent customer support to a vast product range. Amazon has changed how people shop. Customers continue to choose it for its convenience, reliability, extensive product selection, and efficient delivery and return policies.

Negative Brand Equity and What Causes It?

As strong brand equity fosters trust, negative brand equity can damage your business or brand. It starts when customers associate your brand with some of their negative experiences. Understanding what causes negative brand equity can help you avoid such cases. 

• You may lose customer base quickly if your product is of poor quality and doesn’t deliver what it promises consistently.

• Bad reviews and poor feedback can spread fast and deter customers from buying from you.

• When customers don’t get the support they expect, they may not come back. Avoid delays in response and rude behaviours.

• Using different logos, colours, or messages across various platforms can confuse your customers and make you look unprofessional.

• Lack of transparency with customers, such as unclear return policies, hidden charges, or not displaying genuine product pictures, can also disappoint customers.

• Ignoring feedback, suggestions, or complaints from your customers shows that you don’t value your customers’ opinions and feedback, which can result in negative brand equity.

• False advertising or overpromising about your products can make your customers feel cheated, and they may never be able to trust you.

The Role of Shiprocket Checkout in Enhancing Brand Perception

Your business/brand is more than just a logo, as it’s the whole experience that your customer has with your brand. With Shiprocket Checkout, you can create a smoother and reliable shopping experience for your customers while enhancing your brand’s perception and building trust. Some of the significant features of Shiprocket Checkout that can help you enhance your brand are:

• We offer you custom tracking pages with your logos and brand colours. This helps you position your brand such that it can be the central focus. 

• We pick the most suitable courier partner as per your delivery needs, which results in faster and reliable deliveries.

• Your customers also get updates through notifications via SMS, WhatsApp, or email about their order status.

• We help you offer multiple shipping options, discounts, cash on delivery, etc., to your customers while keeping the checkout page consistent.

• We also support you with smooth returns and exchanges with just a few clicks.

Conclusion

Your brand is what your customers say about it! Brand equity isn’t just a marketing trick. It is the trust, value, and recognition that your customers attach to your business or brand. Whether you’re just starting your business or already running a brand, investing in brand equity can help you build deeper customer connections, grow your business, and increase repeat purchases.
Try to stay consistent, customer-focused, and make every experience count. Get ready to take your brand to the next level! Try Shiprocket Checkout today and give your customers a smooth and branded shopping experience that customers will remember and trust.