Are you missing out not being the #2 brand?

Welcome to a world of #2s, working harder to be the second best choice, unlike Avis the car rental company who worked harder to be the #1 brand, many decades ago. 

There seems to be a parallel market brewing where consumers are increasingly considering, owning and experiencing two like brands at the same time. Especially, if the brands are to solve a utility or functional need. Today you witness more and more consumers having two bank accounts, two SIM cards, two 2 wheelers, two credit cards, registering and buying books or booking travel tickets from like online portals, subscribing to two internet service providers, two cab hiring mobile apps, two food delivery services etc. 

The market for SBOB brands (Second brand on board) has opened up for several reasons as there is a clear new consumer behavior trending in the market. SBOB brands are not to be mistaken for substitute brands or as alternate brands. They are brands chosen, owned and used at the same time along with the first brand choice. From a market perspective, it would imply that the potential of a #2 brand is as much as that of a #1 brand.

Here are some observations and questions that your brand could answer to be a successful #2 or a SBOB brand by choice, if not the #1brand.

 The need gap:

With the ever increasing appetite for better services and more wants, consumers are discovering new needs and desires to be fulfilled, both simple and complex ones. Brands are unable to keep up with the demand for better features, discounts, technology, service etc. and are allowing consumers to seek answers or solutions in another brand to fulfill the gaps.  

Established brands and first-choice brands like Airtel, Idea, Vodafone etc. are suddenly caught sitting next to a new entrant brand Jio, as a #2 brand on the their mobile SIM card deck. If one mobile SIM gives better coverage, another one is found to give better data service. The consumer chooses his #2 brand automatically bringing the Second-–brand- on- board to fill the need gap. 

Customer is the king they say but convenience and comfort are the new prince and princess in today’s customer’s mind. If Uber cab services is the first choice and is found to be inconvenient to book due to delay in loading of the app or unavailability of cabs nearby, the consumer is found to be well armed with an Ola services app as his SBOB brand to offset the inconvenience.

Similarly, keeping convenience and comfort as prime, consumers are patronizing more than one brand of digital wallets. A consumer’s current bank’s e-wallet becomes the #1 brand by default and he goes about looking for his SBOB brand to ensure he gets the best reach, discounts, offers and services. The same trend can be observed when more than one brand of credit card, online shopping app, door-delivery food service etc. are on board to fulfill a utility, safety or convenience need gap.  

The question is, can your brand discover the gap and be a SBOB brand? 

The rise of a smart consumer: 

With the ever increasing volume of information, reviews, opinions, real time sharing of experiences etc, the consumer is not only consuming smart-data but is also experiencing the pressure to be a smart consumer. He or she doesn’t want to be caught having a bad deal or less of a good deal. The need to make an informed choice is becoming so important that he embraces a SBOB brand to offset any un-smart decision. 

No traveller would like to pay more for the same hotel, same room and for the same date.Well marketed branded features will try seducing the consumers to consider them and bring them on board. Flipkart for a festive sale and Amazon for quick delivery, Paytm for the local grocery shop and FreeCharge for an appliance store, SBI credit card for domestic purchases and Standard Chartered credit card for international travel, BSNL for landline calls and Airtel for mobile calls, all will coexist, not as substitute brands or competing brands but as SBOB brands, solving a functional need driven by a feature. And the consumer is going to be smart to decide his #2 brand. 

The question is, can your brand provide for the much needed assurance and reduce the dissonance to be a SBOB brand? 

The unfair advantage:

The #2 brands have many unfair advantages; they need not struggle hard to be the first-mover and yet have the advantage; they need not work hard and long to build the missing emotional bond; they need not be tied to a long tenured positioning stance and can be nimble to stay relevant at any given time.

The best part is that they can even replace the #1 brand by already being on board as a second brand. This redefines the traditionally known concept of a challenger-brand or a follower-brand. You no longer follow or challenge the # 1 brand, you strategize to become a #2, SBOB brand. It will be interesting to see how marketers build their brands, making consumers patronize their brands as SBOB brands.

-Pavan Padaki

(Brand Practitioner; Author: Brand Vinci, decoding facets of branding ; Principal: Insights Insight Consulting, Chief Strategist: brand-comm)

Printed: Financial Express- Brand Wagon dated 14-2-17

Visit Pavan Padaki's www.InsightsInsight.com