Here in San Francisco, our masks might be coming down — but like every year before this, we have our sweaters and parkas at the ready for the cold summer season. (It’s nicknamed “Fog City” for a reason.)
My weekends are marked by a weekly shop up at our local farmers market. It’s one of my favorite rituals of the week. Especially this time of year. “But Emelia,” you might ask, “Why?”
Because FRUIT.
The sheer bounty of yumminess: Strawberries. Nectarines. Pluots. Plums. Apricots. Cherries. Peaches. The list goes on. I’m baking like crazy over here. I’m whipping up smoothies, fruit cakes, compotes, fresh fruit salads, you name it. But strawberry sponge cake is my latest masterpiece. Because let’s face it. There’s a short window of time to make all this stuff when it’s nice and fresh from the market.
If I’m honest, there’s something about the limited-time-offer-ness of seasonal produce. Summer fruits present a limited window of opportunity to savor the tastes of this season when they’re at their best.
And if you’re like me, you DON’T want to miss it.*
Same with marketing. It never feels good to miss that window of opportunity to grow your brand’s market share. Growing your market share vs your competition is an important part of the health of your brand, so you’ll probably grab that chance when it presents itself, right?
Especially before your competitor beats you to it.
I know. There are a number of factors that impact a brand’s ability to grow market share (all the caveats here about impactful creative, effective pricing, not having a crappy product, etc.).
But from a marketing standpoint, there is a clear and important relationship between your brand's market share and its share of voice. Professor John Philip Jones wrote about it many years ago and explained that:
There's a very consistent correlation between a brand's share of voice and its share of market.
If a brand underspends so that its share of market is > than its share of voice, then it's likely that its market share will fall to its share of voice.
If a brand's share of voice spend = the brand's share of market, then it's (at least slightly) underspending.
Brands with much a bigger market share could get away with significantly less share of voice, while smaller brands are in the inverse position and need to invest in a greater share of voice than their share of market might initially suggest. (see why I’m talking about windows of opportunity?)
You probably know what your brand’s market share is already. But do you know your share of voice relative to your competitors? If not, then I recommend you find it out. I realize it’s not easy to get that info, but give it a try.
And as a not-so-shameless plug, Pebble can help you do just that. It’s part of our new data-powered insights offering that quantifies your brand’s health relative to your competition. Contact me if you want to learn more. I’d be berry happy to hear from you. **
You will indeed reap the fruits of your effort, and open that window of opportunity to grow your brand just a bit wider than before.
Until next time,
Emelia "is so punny" Rallapalli
* Ok fine. If you’re like me, you also get fresh pizza at the market too.
** Hey c’mon. I like puns… just dill with it.
PS: While her recipe is behind a NYTimes paywall, here’s a link to Claire Saffitz making the sponge cake. https://youtu.be/N4nvGZTC9RE
PPS: You can read Professor Jones's detailed explanation here. https://hbr.org/1990/01/ad-spending-maintaining-market-share