Good to great! … but also great to fabulous!

Here at Brand Vista we applaud brands who go actively seek to take themselves from good to great but we also like to celebrate those brands who go from great to fabulous even more! These brands never rest on their laurels, they acknowledge and respond to the ever changing consumer needs and the competitive landscape around them.

Premier Inn are the biggest UK hotel chain with over 650 hotels and have taken their brand from good to great in the recent years. The group, owned by FTSE 100 group Whitbread, said like-for-like sales at Premier Inn were up 8.3 per cent in the 11 weeks to February 13 . They now have clear and ambitious plans to reach 75,000 rooms by 2018. How did they achieve this growth? It was through recognising that due to changing competitive landscapes and trends their brand was lost amongst the competition in the consumer’s eye. As a result they sought to refresh their brand and focus all their actions on one clear, simple vision, ‘A great night’s sleep guaranteed.’ This clearly defined brand vision helped them achieve the growth they sought and in terms of the customers eyes, YouGov’s 2012 brand index found Premier Inn to be identified as “the leading hotel brand on consumer perception.”

Merlin Entertainments’ Madame Tussauds is a great example of a brand who continuously seek to improve and refresh their offering to ensure they move from great to fabulous. Although an established leader in their market, they understand that consumer attitudes and wants constantly change and seek to stay ahead and constantly try to improve the customer experience. They regularly speak to their customers about where they could improve and purposefully seek out any weaknesses in their experience to change by conducting investigative research such as brand walkthroughs. They strive to ensure every customer touch point screams their brand which is all about having fun with the famous.

What we can learn from Premier Inns and Madame Tussauds is that it is vital for brands to never become complacent whether it is trying to maintain a leader position or move through the ranks to become number one.

Through listening to consumers and reviewing your offer companies can keep an eye on their brand and either refresh it or maintain it. Whether the competitive landscape changes or the consumer’s demands change, a brand must never stand still and continue to act and react to the shifting sands.