Top of Mind - A Fallacy???

During my professional career as a marketing guy, specifically in the field of brand development, one of the major focuses was on the loyalty status of the consumers towards the product. Quantifying loyalty is one of the major challenges that a marketing guy faces. Researches by a professional agency seem to be the only way out. When it’s about quantifying loyalty, the term “Top of Mind”, though cliché, is the favorite. In simple terms it’s the first brand that a respondent spells out without any aid during a research. When all the respondents are interviewed the ToM usually gives a fair idea of how popular the brand is.

But looking at my personal experience and today’s competitive market, where a hell lot of variety for even the simplest of products is available, a big question emerges in my mind. Does ToM really help a brand to sell more and does it really help to build loyalty among the consumers or is it just making the marketers myopic?

My observation in today’s context has been that the ToM brand, instead of facilitating instant purchase or consideration, acts as a stepping stone towards considering other brands. The attitude is something like, “Yeah I know this brand very well so why not look for some brands that I don’t know about. Maybe they’re better?”

So the big question is should ToM really be considered as a true indicator of loyalty and should marketers be happy with just the highest level of brand awareness?

© Kashyap Shakya

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