CEO Blog: Best Global Brands 2010
Winning Trust and Customer Loyalty in the Age of Real-Time
Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2010 studyhas just been released and it shows the last two year’s recessionary market has significantly impacted the relationship between brands and customers. Not only is consumer mistrust at an all–time high, fuelled by public scandals like the BP oil spill and Goldman Sachs’ mortgage securities fraud, but the trend towards conservative spending means that customer are more difficult to predict.
Add to this, the continued growth of social media, which compounds the shift in power toward the consumer by inviting them to critique a brand’s performance in real-time, and the rules for building and managing great brands are clearly shifting. Gaining traction in this new and unforgiving marketplace requires transparency, responsiveness, and nimble-thinking.
Here are the brands that made up the top 10:
INTERBRAND'S BEST GLOBAL BRANDS 2010
| 1 | COCA-COLA |
| 2 | IBM |
| 3 | MICROSOFT |
| 4 | |
| 5 | GE |
| 6 | MCDONALD’S |
| 7 | INTEL |
| 8 | NOKIA |
| 9 | DISNEY |
| 10 | HP |
As some brands are discovering, trust and customer loyalty are the name of the game.
Below are some brands that have succeeded at both in 2010.
Hyundai, #65, +9%
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Hyundai is doing better than it did in 2008.
Why? Because it focused on relevance, value and trust – three key differentiators in creating customer loyalty.
At time when customers were looking for brands they could trust, Hyundai unleashed its 2009 Assurance Plan, which allows consumers who finance or lease a new Hyundai to return the vehicle if they lose their jobs within a years of purchase.
The plan propelled the brand through the recession, winning new customers and loyalists. The carmaker has since proved that the move wasn’t just another short-term promotion by extending the warranty through 2010, even when the economy shows signs that it is slowly beginning to recover.
Hyundai’s efforts to retain customers in the long-term beyond the promotions have also been commendable.
Not only has it focused on creating quality new models like the Sonata and 2010 Tucson and further built on its promise of “fuel efficiency,” but its Uncensored campaign, which addresses preconceived notions about the brand by taking potential Hyundai customers on test drives, importantly empowers the customer.
Watch: Interview with John Krafcik, Hyundai USA CEO
So far, the campaign, which integrates digital, social media, experiential and point-of-sale components, has been a huge success. And while its Facebook pagehas seen the occasional negative comment from its test drive participants, Hyundai’s hands-off approach only lent the campaign an air of legitimacy; because the brand has nothing to hide and invites all feedback, it appears more authentic and trustworthy.
Apple, #17, +37 percent
