"Brand Experience" review ( Article-9 )

INTRODUCTION

Recently I enrolled for a Mini-degree in "Digital Psychology and Persuasion" from CXL Institute. I would love to share whatever I will learn from this Mini-degree through a series of articles.

This is my 9th "Digital Psychology and Persuasion" review article in a series of a total of 12 articles. I will be posting an article on each weekend for consecutive 3 upcoming weeks in which I will cover all the tactics and principles of Digital psychology, Consumer Behavior, and Persuasion and Neuro-Marketing which will surely help anyone passionate about marketing.

DETERMINE THE CONSUMER

At the crux of good marketing is the conscious and methodical process of determining exactly the kind of brand to offer consumers and exactly the kind of experience to create for them—and then developing it consistently across every facet of the marketing plan: from obvious marketing elements like packaging and advertising, to the not so obvious elements like customer service representatives, the Company's weekly blog, or a branded Twitter presence. The essence of good marketing is creating a consistent brand experience with each specific consumer interaction.

THE BRAND EXPERIENCE

All the hard work turns to magic when the tailored messaging at each touchpoint creates a uniquely own-able brand experience. While consistency is the goal, we do need to avoid a cookie cutter approach. We don’t want each touchpoint to be exactly the same each time. Yes, the brand experience should be consistent, but it should also be tailored to the venue. Make the experience fit the touchpoint—that’s how the ultimate experience effect is created. There’s no value added when each touchpoint is exactly the same. As we map out what to communicate at each touchpoint, it is important to understand the medium and its role in the consumer’s life. What does the consumer need or want at that touchpoint? If the touchpoint is television, for example, then the consumer may want to be entertained or find something new or escape or even channel surf. Depending on the time of day, the consumer may want the latest news and information. It depends on the consumer and the context within their day.This kind of thinking is applicable to every touchpoint, not just television. If a website is part of the brand experience, for example, then think through why the brand’s consumers are online and why they might visit and navigate the brand website. We need to think through how a brand website can help build the right kind of experience for the consumer, unique from the other touch-points in the marketing plan.

COMMON MISTAKE

Too many marketers just automatically, almost out of habit, put together a formulaic website to mirror either other elements of the marketing plan or other brands in the company portfolio. This approach does not effectively maximize the website touchpoint for the specific brand and how it can engage the consumer. In this case, the website content and navigation should perfectly reflect what those particular consumers of that particular brand need and want. Those needs and wants might very well differ from those at other touch-points; the website experience should be different from a printed brochure, for example. The website’s purpose might not necessarily be to distribute brand information; it might be to connect consumers together to share their own personal experiences. Or it might be to offer the latest news in the category, because the website is so easily updated. The next logical step in the development of the experience effect is to take the touch-points we have prioritized and try to figure out why consumers are there at that moment, and then maximize each touchpoint individually. We now need to create the experience at the touchpoint, tailoring the brand message there to make it effective. This should be easy, because we know our consumers so well.

IMPORTANCE OF PACKAGING

Packaging is often another one, so, as with a website, think through the value that the packaging should bring to the brand’s marketing and tailor the experience to deliver on consumers’ needs. To illustrate the point, let’s talk this through a bit more. Packaging is so important because it serves many roles in creating the experience effect, including shelf impact at retail, usage instructions for the consumer, and of course aesthetics. It varies depending on the category. In some categories, like skin care or breakfast cereal, packaging is more crucial to the brand experience than in others, particularly where shelf impact needs to be balanced with aesthetic design or with usage instructions. Skin care and makeup brands place particular importance on the packaging to deliver a vital component of the experience effect in terms of conveying a specific image and making the product easy to apply. If you think about it, it’s the packaging that communicates the brand’s perceived quality, price, and efficacy in these kinds of cosmetic brands. For cereal, the packaging experience is all about getting noticed on the shelf at retail, and then delivering information or entertainment as the cereal is consumed at home. If the packaging in these cases were just duplicate approaches from the other touch-points, then it would not be maximized as a touchpoint and the experience effect would be lost. The packaging wouldn’t have the level of usage instructions, aesthetic appeal, or shelf impact that it needs to engage consumers. As marketers, we need to think through all these issues thoroughly. 

Many marketers simply take their brochure content and put it online. People describe this approach as brochure-ware— in other words, the content from a printed brochure and a packaging insert are simply uploaded and reformatted onto a website. I would point out that while this may create an integrated approach and may offer great consistency, it does not fully utilize the online touchpoint for what it can bring to the consumer. Packaging or even a package insert serves a very different purpose from a brochure or a website. A good marketer who understands the experience effect would maximize the consumer experience at each one of those marketing vehicles. Use packaging for what it does best and a website for what it does best. Tailor the touch-points!

As a conclusion, we must not underestimate the powers of human behavior and marketing psychology in order to get success as a good marketer and to grow our business exponentially.

Congrats! You are now one step ahead in the competition after understanding Marketing Psychology and Consumer behavior.

Stay tuned for the next Article!

 (This article is a review for the mini degree, "Digital Psychology and Persuasion" from CXL institute and the content is inspired from various available online sources".)

Thanks :-)

Gaurav Panwar