Brand Simplicity Wins in Latest Customer Survey

When consumers perceive companies as too complex, they cannot relate with the brand and ultimately do not purchase from them, or invest in their stock. Each year Siegal and Gale, a brand consultancy firm, conducts a study and then releases their annual ‘Global Brand Simplicity Index’, which rates brands from the most simple to the most complex. The index then analyses and compares the rating to their stock price performance.

The report concluded  that if you build a portfolio of the top 10 publicly-traded simplest brands, that portfolio would outperform the major stock market indexes in terms of growth of stock price and performance. The survey encompassed input from 10,000 people from seven countries to gauge their perception of the complexity of 93 global brands. Here are some highlights of the results:

• Low cost and no frills do not always equate to simplicity according to those surveyed.
• 75% of those surveyed said that they would recommend brands they perceived to be simple to family and friends.
• Customers are willing to pay a premium for a more simplistic experience with companies.
• Companies that aim clear messaging at their companies also have success with their employees.

How Does This Apply to Your Company?

Not every company can be a top global brand, but how can you apply this knowledge to your company and your brand? Four takeaways to make your business simpler:

1. Focus on not over complicating things. Start with policies, look at your messaging and constantly re-evaluate what you can change and what you can remove.
2. Request feedback from your customers and listen to what your customers are seeing.
3. Conducting testing to ensure that the customer experience is clear and that the customers are getting the message the way you are intending them too.
4. Study what the companies that are voted most simple on the index are doing and see how you can emulate that in your business.