Why do Brands feel necessary to include customers in their campaigns?
The age-old phrase “Customer is King” resonates even today in the modern world of branding and advertising. Despite the change in times and the evolvement in strategies applied to entice the customers, the one thing that continues to remain constant is every brand’s innate desire to be more appealing to the customer.
But customers have varying tastes and satiating them on a consistent basis becomes an arduous task. Using advertising appeals may attract the initial flock of buyers but keeping them engaged and loyal to one brand will require a much more finessed approach. Thus a major component of customer loyalty becomes a direct result of establishing an allegiance.
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This can be demonstrated with the famous “Foot in the door Technique” where sellers build a procurement pattern with the customer by persuading them to make small purchases that eventually lead up to bigger ones. This happens when customers are gradually eased into camaraderie with the seller, which the customer then feels hesitant to break.
This technique has now been digitalized in what is now known as “Active Customer Campaigns”. While flashy advertisements and mogul brand ambassadors grab a few eyeballs, they do not serve the purpose of developing a bond with the customer. Active Customer Campaigns aim to create that bond without being an overbearing presence. They make use of subscription emails, push notifications and in-app or in-browser messaging to effectuate a constant state of connectivity between the brand and the buyer.
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Analyzing the customers’ search patterns also play a pertinent role in enhancing the relationship between customers and the company. Retail brands like “Amazon” handed out suggestions to its customers by comparing pages that were visited earlier, or by showcasing what others with resemblant tastes have purchased. With the advent of metadata marketing, companies are better able to understand customers’ requirements and tailor their options to get them more involved.
Another technique that brands adopt alludes to the recent trend of customer inclusive advertisements. These advertisements make observations on the various issues around the world and the ways in which their product works to iron out that problem.
Canadian insurance company “Sun Life Financial” implements this technique by catering to the lack of attention received by people above the age of 50. On the other hand, the deodorant company “Axe” was able to connect with the young generation by creating a notion of gender neutrality. This was done by starting a campaign on asking men to post clips where they were praising and showing affection to their friends. While the former brand seemingly offers attention to the elderly, the latter fiddles with the idea of creating a gender fluid identity to their product. Thus, both the brands succeeded in evoking a strong positive emotion amongst the viewers, which is then subliminally associated with the brand.
The truth is that every brand aims to achieve growth in terms of ROI. With improved returns, the company can expand, hire more employees and earn fame and recognition. But the fundamental hurdle to achieving a steady return of investment is in developing a loyal and consistent customer base. By including customers in their marketing and campaigning strokes, brands have a better chance of growth and sustenance.
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