Deal or no deal - It's pretty simple

©Samantha Craddock via 123RF

They say - whoever “they” are - that a brand is what the consumer says it is, not what the brand says it is. I believe “they” are correct, who wouldn’t? Both premium and non-premium brands have made all sorts of promises but have let us down in the past, and will no doubt, continue to let us down. The scale to which they do so varies of course. Sometime the services are slow because the restaurant is busy; or connectivity is slow because the server is down. Sometimes your flight is cancelled or you find plastic in your sausage.

In days gone by it was easier to influence the consumer by hiding behind your advertising budget; “this bed is the best bed money can buy”. That’s the promise that was made. A year later, you can hardly stand upright and find that it is because you’ve slept badly for the last year. And now what? You go back to the sales rep who doesn’t care; he’s just in it for the commission. Who else do you speak to, who will listen?

Today, consumers complain about the most ridiculous things; “the air-con was too cold”, “the ambient noise was too loud”. Why do we do this? Well, firstly because we can, we have the mediums and the volume of people to preach to. And secondly, people are “listening” and engage more. Consumers are more informed, and know what they deserve. If a brand lets them down, they are bound to hear about it. Whether they listen is another argument, but I’m not here to write about the philosophy of people and/or their behaviour.

The enablement (read implications) of the mobile device

What the mobile device can do today was unfathomable several years ago. Consumers have a wealth of information at their finger tips and are able to research anything. Purchase anything. And, interact with anyone.

Brands need a mobile device as much as a consumer needs a mobile device. Almost all shopping decisions go through a “mobile-phase” whether it be to investigate the brand, compare products or to make the final decision and finish the purchase. With this in mind, brands must learn to use data across their touch points to deliver on a personalised experience to an individual customer.

Think of a combination of sci-fi meets CSI. Sci-fi from a consumer point-of-view and CSI from a brand point-of-view. Huh?!

As an example a Fit-Bit for a consumer, what a great tool. You have a goal, let say it’s to lose some weight. You set yourself that goal, and you can monitor your progress with a great UX and CX on your mobile device via the app. Very well designed graphs depict how well you slept at night or the rate at which your heart was pounding during your squash game. I personally don’t have one but have seen the tool being used and it looks great. I cannot comment on the accuracy in which it measures the data, but as long as it is consistent I guess.

Data – do you know how much information a brand can get on you if the correct systems are in place? Someone, somewhere is using it for something; predictive modelling perhaps? Insurance premiums… Quite simply, if one leads a healthy lifestyle your insurance premiums should be lower than the next person who doesn’t lead as healthy a lifestyle. Understanding the digital customer experience (DCX) should not be underrated – don’t be a fool, get on that tool.

Got to give a little

I for one don’t mind if a brand has some of my personal and behavioural information. Why would I want to receive an add on my Facebook feed about buying a wedding dress. That certainly isn’t one of my interests and or needs. Send me information about great restaurants and wine tasting events. Now that’s my jam! Brands are using our personal and behavioural data to create a profile on us as users. Cool, as long as the content I receive in return is of value.

There is so much content and so many distractions out there, if you don’t give me the quality content I deserve well then so long sucker, I’m gone. I want real-time, integrated and personalised messaging.

With that, brand perception is being created subconsciously. Send me interesting information and I am more inclined to engage. Hopefully then my experience is as good as my perception. If so, fantastic, you have created a successful brand engagement. Wham bam thank you ma’am! Take the time to understand me and my behaviour.

Chicken or the egg?

How do you create relationship without that first engagement? How do you create that first engagement without the content? How do brands create content that is relevant for a user without the data?

All I know is that I’ll continue to use and support the brands that I use, heck, I may even buy that Fit-Bit, the interface is that cool and watching how your body can create such epic data is cool too. But please, all I ask in return, is for you, the brand, to please stay relevant. I’ll continue to leave my digital bread crumbs all over the show for you.

Let’s make a deal, continue to be relevant to me and I’ll share your worth amongst my friends, family, colleagues and peers. Deal or no deal?

Disclaimer: These thoughts are my own and are not necessarily those of the company I represent.