Founded in 1948, Honda Motor Company, Ltd is a Japanese public multinational corporation which is known around the world for manufacturing of automobiles, aircrafts, motorcycles and power equipment. After a few years of only operating gin Japan, Honda decided to expand globally by keeping manufacturing units all around the world. This gave them the advantage of manufacturing the products according to the needs of the market which obviously helped them gain advantage in those markets.
The brand equity of Honda is undoubtedly very high and this can be recognized by the fact that just recently it stood at number 26 in the list of World’s Most Valuable Brands of 2017. Certain factors contribute towards high brand equity of Honda:
Brand Awareness
With massive expansion in other regions of the world and operating in the automobile industry for many decades, now Honda has achieved its fair share of brand awareness which makes its brand equity higher. Honda has manufacturing units all around the world and comes in the top 5 manufacturers of cars around the world. Honda has its presence globally in more than 100 countries and this has contributed towards its awareness. Further proof of its awareness in the customers’ minds is its ranking in terms of valuable brands in the world.
Brand Loyalty
According to a survey conducted in 2010, Honda was ranked very high in terms of customer loyalty and almost 68% of current customers are most likely to purchase Honda again. This loyalty has for sure increased after all these years. It is first and foremost because of the quality and innovation that they offer through their products, but it is also because of the effort that they put in when it comes to maintaining long-term relationships with their customers. Honda offers loyalty programs to their customers which provide them excellent after-sales services which are very important in this industry. This helps them gain and retain loyalty of their customers.
Brand Image
Honda, being one of the leading automobile manufacturers in the world has developed an image of quality and comfort for their products. Honda has to offer diverse range of products in terms of price and quality and that is the kind of perception customers have about Honda. Moreover, customers also believe that Honda provides quality with comfort and convenience.
Brand Elements
It is a well-known fact that Honda’s logo is recognized all over the world. This speaks a lot about the brand equity of Honda. The logo is the representative of the company and whenever customers see the logo, they think about Honda and they think about a premium quality automobile company. This proves that Honda has been successful in placing their brand in the minds of the consumers in the right way.
All of these factors contribute and prove the high brand equity that Honda enjoys in this industry. Also, because Honda has been there in the market for too long, it now has the privilege to have high brand equity even without putting too much effort to gain it.
References
Honda Motor on the Forbes Best Employers for Diversity List. (2017, May). Retrieved March 5, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/companies/honda-motor/
Honda to build emotional connect with new brand identity. Retrieved March 5, 2018, from http://www.exchange4media.com/Marketing/Honda-to-build-emotional-connect-with-new-brand-identity_46388.html
Marketing Globally, Producing Locally. Retrieved March 5, 2018, from http://world.honda.com/history/challenge/03_marketingglobaly/index.html