At the beginning of a client relationship, we always ask “who owns your brand?”. And it is extremely rare that we ever get the right answer.

There is no CEO, COO, VP, or any combo of letters at your company that can take ownership of your brand. That right belongs exclusively to your customers. Brands, especially brands in the luxury market, who come to this realization will have the most success in our semi-post-materialistic society.

In fact those who don’t, run the risk of extinction.

This doesn’t only mean your brand has to have the best customer service (though that certainly is a step in the right direction). It means you need to constantly check in with your core users to see:

• How their spending behavior evolves over time. Coach is renowned for measuring this behavior and used it to their advantage back in 2010 when everyone else was scrambling to figure out what to do. Because they knew how their customers changed spending behavior, they were able to change their pricing structure to hit the sweet spot with both aspirational customers and true luxury spenders.
• What their perception of the brand is at any given time. People change their minds. Brands make internal changes. That is why brand perception needs to be measured thoroughly and frequently, preferably by a third party who people can be honest with. Many of our clients have been surprised by what they find out when they measure perception – both by what consumers like and what they’d like to see improve.
• What media they are consuming. While there are certainly media trends to look out for, different brands require different media mixes. And it’s important to monitor how your core users change their consumption, especially with the increased adoption rates of mobile and tablets (and whatever else may come down the road).

The answers you get from measuring these key factors can not only affect your marketing, but the way you do business on the whole. What your brand stands for should be evident in everything you do – from the way you handle customer complaints to your TV commercial to your tweets.

Touch base with your customers whenever you can, both through research and casual engagement – what you find out will only make you stronger.