Building a customer-centric business model is the key to success in today's marketplace. Organizations must stand out to inspire customer loyalty and increase brand equity and brand recognition. Retailers recognize the importance of putting the customer first, with 94 percent feeling that their marketing is customer-oriented. In reality, however, only 9 percent of retailers are successful in customer-centric marketing. Consumers appreciate brands being open and honest about their values, practices, and policies. They also expect brands to acknowledge and correct their mistakes and communicate clearly and consistently. Consumers trust brands that provide products and services that meet and exceed their needs and expectations. They also look for brands that deliver reliable and consistent performance and stand behind their claims and warranties. Here are the five inspiring marketing case studies helping to create brand recognition.

Intel

Intel is one of the most popular technology brands worldwide.  The company was already a trusted technology partner of many computer manufacturers. However, Intel wanted to establish a positive brand image in the business community and the public eye.

First, Intel strategically used a joint advertising campaign targeting original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). This helped to get its products into the PCs that would eventually be mass-produced for the general consumer market.  Intel agreed to pay the OEM partner's advertising costs in exchange for putting its logo on the OEM product.  The Intel Inside campaign was a huge success, and not just figuratively. According to reports, in 1991, before the campaign began, Intel's market capitalization was about $1 billion. After implementing this strategy, market capitalization rose to $5 billion by 2003. Ever since, the phrase Intel Inside has been associated with credibility and has proven to be a tough uphill climb for Intel competitors like AMD.

IBM

IBM has adopted a long-term defensive marketing strategy focused on self-improvement, and customers are eagerly awaiting new launches. IBM's defensive marketing tactic is self-attack. Whenever the brand attempts to develop a new product, its advertising campaign attacks its product and calls it obsolete. IBM has always been a consistent innovator, releasing improved technologies and services that are cheaper and better than previous versions. But there is more to it than that. IBM also leverages a second major marketing strategy focused on product differentiation, value delivery, and user-benefit-based positioning throughout its value distribution chain to promote specific products based on the needs of its target consumers. To accomplish this, IBM has invested millions of dollars to acquire a high-performance, world-leading sales team to run the show.

Microsoft

The brand's marketing strategy is unique, resonates well with its vision, and is more effective. Microsoft positions itself as a business enabler by constantly offering functionality and diversity in its products and services.  The company’s marketing strategy is heavily influenced by its corporate culture and changes dynamically in response to trends.

Microsoft utilizes GD&I (Global Diversity and Inclusion) in its marketing strategy to promote its products from a community and business-friendly perspective. Microsoft embodies representation by hiring the best talent from around the world, regardless of social composition. Furthering this marketing strategy, the brand focuses on adding by upskilling and training employees to innovate and lead.

As a technology brand, Microsoft demonstrates the third pillar, invention, by recognizing the needs of both business and society and continually striving to create products that improve business.

Apple

Apple's way of selling is very much a part of what makes it the most successful company in the world. They revolutionize people's belief in something and then offer products that ride that wave. This strategy has stood the test of time and propelled Apple to the top.

Apple has simplified how the public views its products by focusing its marketing campaigns on integrating its products into people's daily lives. To enhance the inherent value of the “I can't live without this iPhone” factor, Apple leverages the power of community building.  We can see that Apple has created a tribe of Apple users. The brand has accomplished this by packing high-quality standards under the hood of each device it launches and promoting how this quality factor brings people together.

Recently, with the abandonment of third-party cookies, Apple has used the privacy revolution in its marketing to further solidify its position in people's minds.

Dell

The marketing strategy employed by Dell is strongly derived from the founding reasons of its founder, Michael Dell. Starting with a capital of $1,000, Dell set out to eliminate the middleman involved in the public sale of custom computers. This vision was then expanded into a brand philosophy focused on eliminating unnecessary steps and adopted into the marketing strategy. 

Under this direct model of business and marketing, Dell pays attention exclusively to the consumer and has fostered a constant relationship with them over the years. They have removed retailers and resellers from the equation, allowing them to understand consumer needs directly. This allowed them to act on consumer insights and deliver the right product directly to the buyer. By building his company solely on a direct model, Michael Dell was able to grow his company five times faster than the industry average.