There are
so many brands out there, yet the ones who're loved and live on for ages are
very few. Two great examples are Maggi and Batman. There's no chemical formula
to ensure that customers like you, but a deconstruction of brand success
stories, reveal a few definite secrets.
Enclosed below are the 4 top ones that hold the key in today's day and age.
SOCIAL
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| The Google Doodle dedicated to the Olympics |
Firstly, social does not just mean social media. Social means being in a
group, being connected and being a part of a gathering; online
and offline. For brands the more they talk to their consumers, more are
the possible conversations/ sales or atleast an increase in brand salience.
This conversation could be facilitated by any medium (TV, newspapers,
events, ads, packaging etc.), but talking and socializing with your customer is
a must. The Google doodle is a great example for this. A simple
sketch represents the emotion of a huge population and is today a huge
marketing activity.
Secondly, know your customers well. Once that's done the brand can
actually converse in the same lingo and on the same subjects that their
consumers are interested in. A lot of companies make this mistake on social
media; they constantly talk about themselves, which bores people!
And thirdly, social media is a big tool for brands to be social today. Here too, the focus should be on listening, as much as it should be on talking.
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| The BBM pic for Asia7 is mentioned at the bottom right corner |
MOBILE
Almost everyone has a mobile today. In urban areas, the teledensity is
more than a 100% for many states. For Indians especially, mobile is becoming
the first screen of internet access for many. Now if we're in such a deep
relationship with our mobile, companies need to come with innovative ideas and
solutions, to best utilize it; to talk and listen to consumers. This could be
done for consumer promotion contests, customer service, giving feedback,
advertising etc. A good example is the way Indian restaurants are promoting
their BBM number for holding reservations and the way consumers are adopting to
it well.
LOCAL
Consumers like to converse, with people and brands, in the language they
understand and to have the conversations at locations where they live. A good
example is the way Indian restaurants serving Chinese customize Chinese food to
give an Indian-ize taste or eve how brands use local ambassadors for promoting
themselves.
ANALYTICS
Weather
consumers accept it or not, they like analytics. Consumers are value conscious
today and we like it when our twitter followers increase, when our Facebook
friends multiple by the dozen, when the brands we use is the No.1 in their
category, when the brands we use has some kind of exclusivity, when the
advertising we indulge in, fetches us good statistics and so on. These
analytics give us a good hold on the ROI we’re getting. A very good example is
the way parking lots have digitized their process to show the number of vacant spots
left. Another example is the loyalty rewards schemes that many stores run.
Do you agree with this perspective of mine? What are
the other things brands could do, to make consumers like them?
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