Using the Brand Pyramid To Increase Sales

The Brand Conversion Pyramid is a powerful tool that allows consumer marketers and B2B businesses to identify growth opportunities.

The Brand Conversion Pyramid is a visual representation of the levels of conversion a business has attained among its entire target group of potential customers / consumers.  The pyramid steps up from awareness of a brand, to consideration through trial, repeat and loyalty (multiple repeat).

Levels on the Pyramid:

• Awareness – have heard of and remembers the brand name.  More on awareness here
• Consideration – have a need for the benefit of the brand and believe that the brand would be an acceptable choice among others.  
• Trial – have made a purchase.   
• Repeat – have made a second purchase (signaling they like the product).
• Loyalty – choose the brand over others on a consistent basis.

Brands use market research to sample the total target audience and determine the levels at each step of the pyramid for their brand as well as competitors.  Weaknesses and opportunities are determining by comparing significant drop off points.  Tactics to improve performance will differ greatly depending on the level at which there is concern.  While sampling can increase trial, awareness may take outreach advertising and repeat purchase may need reward programs.

Here are some simple research questions you can use to measure how your brand scores on each important step:

Awareness:  Have you heard of the following brands.   List each major brand in the category including your own.  Use  a Yes or no scale

Consideration:  How likely are you to purchase the following brand?  Use a scale from 1 (very likely) to 5 (very unlikely)

Trial:  Have you ever purchased the following brand? 

Repeat:  How often have you purchased the following brands?  Use a scale from “never” to “once per x months”

Loyalty:  Which brand is your most preferred? 

Each of these questions should be customized to fit the dynamics of the category.   

B2B businesses can use the pyramid in the same way by tracking percentages for these same levels. Market research and surveys to potential customers can provide a projectable sample. The result will pinpoint opportunities to improve product offering and selling approach.  Sales professionals instinctively use “pyramid-thinking” for sales tracking – (e.g. lead generation, prospect development, qualification, proposal, sale, repeat order).   Using the brand pyramid, however, provides a broader view of the buying decision and when compared to the competition, can be very revealing.

Looking at the two examples below, the pyramid on the left shows a sharp drop from consideration to trial, then high level of repeat and loyalty among those who try.  This points to a potential barrier to purchase such as price or poor positioning. One marketing approach is to increase trial with sampling and introductory offers.  The pyramid on the right points to a problem of low repeat, which may signal poor product performance or competitive entries stealing share. In this case, one marketing approach is to improve the product or offer incentives to make a repeat purchase.
Identifying Target Conversion Issues

While understanding the target consumer takes measurement, the brand pyramid pinpoints issues that can be missed.  The brand or business can then maximize the impact of marketing and sales programs by focusing them on the right levels, making it easier to build products, programs and communications tools to sales results.