This work offers a summary of the book “INVISIBLE ADVANTAGE: How Intangibles Are Driving Business Performance” by Jonathan Low and Pam Kalafut.
Every business will have intangible assets, like customer loyalty, brand equity, and the ability to quickly act on strategy. None of these will show up on financial statements, but they are transforming the commercial landscape and the way people will view your company. Studies have found that about one-third of your company’s value is attributable to intangibles which you probably don’t measure, disclose or manage. Crucially, intangibles are the hardest aspects of your business for competitors to emulate; therefore they are all important in the creation and maintenance of competitive edge.
Low and Kalafut go through the 12 Drivers of the Intangible Economy, explaining how to measure them and how to implement them in your business. For example, excellent Brand Equity can create a “halo effect”, whereby consumers have such a good impression of a company that they will continue buying their products. Key in that is in not force-feeding information to customers, but rather by putting it into circulation and allowing people to move information for you.
Interestingly, Brand Equity can help you sell your product on the basis of other value intangibles. In short, they give the key ways you should value yourself, and promote those hidden values to your clients.