Service brand management model for building brand equity – case study

Abstract

In the competitive landscape of service business where the customers’ perceptions and relationships with brands shape the competitive advantage, the objective of this research-driven case study was to investigate what is the ideal service brand management model for Company X for building brand equity. The development task of the thesis was to create a service brand management model for the case organisation, which enhances the current practices in the organisation. The objective was to create new knowledge and insights for Company X to enhance its service brand management processes in a structured way to gain competitive advantage and enhance the processes for building brand equity.

The research followed a multi-stage research-driven case study process. Starting from defining the research objectives, the study moved to comprehensive data collection with semi-structured interviews with Company X’s managerial staff. This phase was an essential part of the research in understanding and analysing the current and visioned states of the service brand management in the organisation. Based on the data collection, the development goals were set, integrating thematic gap analysis with theoretical insights to guide the development process for creating a tangible service brand management model for the organisation.

The data analysis indicates a fragmented and unstructured approach to holistic service brand management in the organisation but has a high appreciation for customer-centricity and visions transformation towards a holistic customer partnership model. The theoretical validation of empirical findings supports building the model and bridging the gaps in the organisation’s service brand management.

In conclusion, the organisation seeks to have a more holistically structured approach for the over-arching service brand management, and therefore the development work has focused on connecting the current needs and visions within the organisations to integrate with the current theoretical models in the literature to form a tailored approach for the organisation's service brand management for building brand equity. Due to the considerable concentration on the theoretical validation of the model’s elements, the research findings are relatively applicable to other organisations and brands.