Reverse declining sales by improving brand resonance 

When companies in the CPG market struggle to build brand loyalty, they experience sales declines. We saw this first-hand with a packaged meat brand that came to NielsenIQ after it noticed decreases in sales volume.

The brand was struggling to stand out amongst a sea of choices in the market during the key summer grilling season. At the same time, consumers were increasingly hesitant to purchase processed meats due to health concerns. These challenges created market share declines that surpassed competitors’ losses during the offseason.

To combat this, NielsenIQ used Winning Brands® research to propose a change to the product’s positioning: from a staple at cookouts and barbecues to an option for year-round, at-home occasions.

As a result, the brand redirected its marketing efforts and changed its communication with target consumers. It cut out ineffective promotions and partnered with sporting events.

Actions powered by Winning Brands® insights helped the company build better brand resonance and improved its positioning with health-conscious consumers.

These changes resulted in consistently strong market performance throughout the year and empowered the company to save profit margin by eliminating advertising expenses that yielded low returns.

Achieve brand congruence

In other instances, poor brand resonance and declining sales are caused by a lack of brand congruence (when a product does not align with consumers needs).

In such cases, companies must focus on achieving brand congruence by understanding what a target consumer wants and adjusting advertising and merchandising efforts to communicate how the products meet their needs.

For example, a carbonated soft drink brand launched a new beverage variant but struggled to get repeat purchases from customers despite a strong trial and marketing support.

Winning Brands® proposed that the company target calorie-conscious sugar cola drinkers and change its advertising and packaging to emphasize the product’s “real” cola taste and zero calories.

As a result, the company saw a 154% increase in sales volume, and the new brand variant became the top new launch performer in the brand’s carbonated soft drink portfolio.

Develop an actionable growth strategy 

Despite having solid marketing plans, companies often fail to meet their expected growth rates. Here, it’s essential to find the root cause of the problem, backed by relevant data, to form an actionable growth strategy.

In one instance, a mobile service provider was not meeting its expected growth results due to disjointed marketing efforts. Winning Brands® examined syndicated, external, and internal data sources to get to the bottom of the problem and help the company update its growth strategy.

The research identified the mobile service provider’s core audience to better understand current and future trends. It also determined that the company should adjust its go-to-market strategy to reach this audience.

By integrating this solution into its internal strategy, the company received strong buy-in from internal stakeholders and, ultimately, a 5% increase in revenue during the next quarter.

Increase brand salience and equity

To combat rapid market changes and declining market shares, companies must often transition their investments in marketing activities to achieve better brand saliency and strengthen brand equity.

Again, while companies might have a valuable product offering, it won’t have much impact on revenue if no one has heard of it. Companies need to engage in marketing efforts that make their products stand out in the minds of their ideal consumer base.

In one instance, a car manufacturer in China faced declining market share due to rapid changes in the market and intense competition. They aimed to create more substantial brand equity to stand out over others in the market.

Winning Brands® focused on investing in marketing activities that strengthened the brand’s image association and focused on core brand values.

As a result, the company’s total brand awareness increased from 54% to 90%, while brand preference rose from 14% to 46%.

Revitalize your brand identity

When a company faces a continuous market share decline, it is vital to identify the reasons behind the slide and create a more effective marketing plan.

Winning Brands® research often starts with looking at consumer data or conducting surveys and focus groups with target consumers to understand how the product is perceived in the market.

After analyzing the data, Winning Brands® provides recommendations designed to help companies evolve their brand identity to better connect with consumers on an emotional level.

For example, a brandy producer in the Philippines was struggling to maintain its position as a market leader. Winning Brands® research found that the brandy company was under-leveraging its position due to frequent out-of-stock products, which gave competitors an opportunity for sale.

To correct this, the company adjusted restock schedules to limit the frequency of out-of-stock items. The brand also used Winning Brands® research to determine that they should improve the consumers’ taste experience with new mixers.

As a result of these changes, the brandy producer regained its status as a market leader, successfully launched a new mixer, and minimized out-of-stock items.

Introducing NielsenIQ’s Winning Brands^® 

With Winning Brands®, we help companies understand what consumers want and need from a brand, then build a psychological connection with consumers at every stage of their buying journey.

We seamlessly link multiple data sources, including surveys, social media listening, online search, retail measurement, and consumer panel services. Then we combine that data with methodology rooted in behavioral science.

To provide even greater value to our customers, our new NielsenIQ and Qualtrics partnership will help brands translate data into actionable insights to improve customer experience more rapidly.