The Business of Choice: Marketing to Consumers’ Instincts

5. Getting Familiar

Familiarity is so important for brands—learn how you can make it work for yours.

Few marketers would argue that a brand being familiar wasn’t a good thing. And they’d be right. While it is not the only requirement for a brand to be chosen, feeling familiar—being recognized, being top of mind, or being salient—is critical for success.

Being top of mind correlates directly with brand share; we know this from years of tracking studies. Generally, the brands that people know best are the ones that people feel perform better in all the attributes important in their category—they are more trusted and are felt to be more reliable, to work better, and to be a better value.

While it’s accepted that familiarity is a good thing, it’s ...