July 15, 2009 at 15:52Touch Branding - Where Everything Goes
The time of unconditional trust in advertising has passed. Now, in order to enter the house to the consumer - you need to become a "good friend" for all of his five senses. Welcome to
the sphere of work of the sixth sense - “brand sense”.
According to the published results of the study “Changes in consumer behavior and motivation during the crisis” *, which was conducted in the largest Russian cities in February 2009, it turned out that at the moment most consumers are trying to maintain their usual standard of living. In each category of goods and services there are well-known, “untwisted” brands, the use of which has become an integral part of their life and image for consumers. Despite the fact that the crisis primarily affected financial aspects (wages, bonuses), people do not want to “lower the bar” of life, which means that people are more attracted to the brand, not the price.
But this will not last long. In the course of research, it was revealed that with the course of the crisis, which promises to be protracted, consumer behavior will change according to the following scenario:
- at the initial stage, consumers will change their places of purchase (to those where the usual goods / services are cheaper);
- then they will begin to acquire familiar goods / services to a lesser extent;
- and, finally, they will begin to change the familiar brands - there will be a switch to cheaper goods / services.
Here are some survey results that support the above scenario.
Fig. 1: Directions for saving on services
Fig. 2: Saving directions for non-food products
Fig. 3: Food Savings Directions
If at the initial stage of the crisis previous motives still remain relevant, in the future we should expect a decrease in consumer interest in the usual methods of promotion. The revealed scenarios of changes in consumer behavior clearly indicate that the less money people have, the more likely they will be to change familiar brands in favor of cheaper ones. As a result, the need to retain its consumer is growing. The most reliable way out is to build brand confidence.
In the "pre-crisis" times, few people seriously engaged in the development of consumer loyalty and building strong brands. At least simply because there was plenty of money on the market, consumption was almost by itself. Business struggled for quantitative but not qualitative indicators. Recall the bloated budgets of advertising campaigns. Priority was given to quantitatively capturing market share. The number of advertising contacts, making a one-time impulse purchase was what was important.
Today, brand loyalty takes first place in importance and becomes not just desirable, but determines the survival of the brand in the market. Old product promotion technologies lose their relevance. A new, innovative way to strengthen the brand is the technology of “sensory branding”, which consists in the controlled impact on all 5 senses of the consumer and the formation of the sixth sense - “brand sense”.
Our near future is a new consumer who needs to be educated, instilled in him a system of values so that he returns to make a re-purchase. The quality of the consumer’s contact with the brand is the key characteristic to work on for survival. Is it possible to improve this indicator only due to the usual advertising and PR? Definitely not. Today, this is no longer enough for business to flourish. The brand should in the literal sense of the word “be felt” by the consumer as positive with real contact.
Take, for example, the banking sector, which is currently experiencing the most “crisis of confidence”. Banks do not trust people, people do not trust banks and, as a result, do not feel their money protected. Have you ever felt comfortable in at least one bank? The most striking example is Sberbank. Isn’t it funny? A contributor brings his money to the organization and immediately encounters a whole range of discomfort. Instead of benevolent service, there are gloomy and annoying operation workers, instead of a comfortable sofa for waiting, there is idle time in long lines, instead of an open counter with a “window for appeal” borrowed from the bureaucratic state apparatus of the Soviet era. The combination of these "small details" produces a large, in this case negative, effect.
The time has come for branding agencies of the new generation, which will focus their main efforts precisely at the points of contact between the brand and the consumer. They will take the position of the consumer and conduct a “sensory audit” on the five senses, revealing the painful points that cause dissatisfied customers.
E-mail, phone call, business card - a lot will tell about you even before you meet. The material of the chair upholstery in the waiting room, the contract form, the smell in the room, the shape and height of the “window for contact” are all points of contact between the consumer and the brand. It is from these details that work across all five channels of the senses that a strong friendship with the client is formed.
To preserve this friendship for a long time, companies will have to “sensory optimization” of work processes. Having calculated all aspects of the brand’s interaction with its audience, the agency engaged in “sensory optimization” should penetrate the business of its client in order to correct all imperfections in contact with the consumer. To help the company’s management to organize the work of divisions in such a way that consumers turn into reliable friends for many years, thanks to the positive, manageable and planned impressions of the brand.
* - The article used research data from Profi Online Research and Qualitel Data Services
the sphere of work of the sixth sense - “brand sense”.
According to the published results of the study “Changes in consumer behavior and motivation during the crisis” *, which was conducted in the largest Russian cities in February 2009, it turned out that at the moment most consumers are trying to maintain their usual standard of living. In each category of goods and services there are well-known, “untwisted” brands, the use of which has become an integral part of their life and image for consumers. Despite the fact that the crisis primarily affected financial aspects (wages, bonuses), people do not want to “lower the bar” of life, which means that people are more attracted to the brand, not the price.
But this will not last long. In the course of research, it was revealed that with the course of the crisis, which promises to be protracted, consumer behavior will change according to the following scenario:
- at the initial stage, consumers will change their places of purchase (to those where the usual goods / services are cheaper);
- then they will begin to acquire familiar goods / services to a lesser extent;
- and, finally, they will begin to change the familiar brands - there will be a switch to cheaper goods / services.
Here are some survey results that support the above scenario.
Fig. 1: Directions for saving on services
Fig. 2: Saving directions for non-food products
Fig. 3: Food Savings Directions
If at the initial stage of the crisis previous motives still remain relevant, in the future we should expect a decrease in consumer interest in the usual methods of promotion. The revealed scenarios of changes in consumer behavior clearly indicate that the less money people have, the more likely they will be to change familiar brands in favor of cheaper ones. As a result, the need to retain its consumer is growing. The most reliable way out is to build brand confidence.
In the "pre-crisis" times, few people seriously engaged in the development of consumer loyalty and building strong brands. At least simply because there was plenty of money on the market, consumption was almost by itself. Business struggled for quantitative but not qualitative indicators. Recall the bloated budgets of advertising campaigns. Priority was given to quantitatively capturing market share. The number of advertising contacts, making a one-time impulse purchase was what was important.
Today, brand loyalty takes first place in importance and becomes not just desirable, but determines the survival of the brand in the market. Old product promotion technologies lose their relevance. A new, innovative way to strengthen the brand is the technology of “sensory branding”, which consists in the controlled impact on all 5 senses of the consumer and the formation of the sixth sense - “brand sense”.
Our near future is a new consumer who needs to be educated, instilled in him a system of values so that he returns to make a re-purchase. The quality of the consumer’s contact with the brand is the key characteristic to work on for survival. Is it possible to improve this indicator only due to the usual advertising and PR? Definitely not. Today, this is no longer enough for business to flourish. The brand should in the literal sense of the word “be felt” by the consumer as positive with real contact.
Take, for example, the banking sector, which is currently experiencing the most “crisis of confidence”. Banks do not trust people, people do not trust banks and, as a result, do not feel their money protected. Have you ever felt comfortable in at least one bank? The most striking example is Sberbank. Isn’t it funny? A contributor brings his money to the organization and immediately encounters a whole range of discomfort. Instead of benevolent service, there are gloomy and annoying operation workers, instead of a comfortable sofa for waiting, there is idle time in long lines, instead of an open counter with a “window for appeal” borrowed from the bureaucratic state apparatus of the Soviet era. The combination of these "small details" produces a large, in this case negative, effect.
The time has come for branding agencies of the new generation, which will focus their main efforts precisely at the points of contact between the brand and the consumer. They will take the position of the consumer and conduct a “sensory audit” on the five senses, revealing the painful points that cause dissatisfied customers.
E-mail, phone call, business card - a lot will tell about you even before you meet. The material of the chair upholstery in the waiting room, the contract form, the smell in the room, the shape and height of the “window for contact” are all points of contact between the consumer and the brand. It is from these details that work across all five channels of the senses that a strong friendship with the client is formed.
To preserve this friendship for a long time, companies will have to “sensory optimization” of work processes. Having calculated all aspects of the brand’s interaction with its audience, the agency engaged in “sensory optimization” should penetrate the business of its client in order to correct all imperfections in contact with the consumer. To help the company’s management to organize the work of divisions in such a way that consumers turn into reliable friends for many years, thanks to the positive, manageable and planned impressions of the brand.
* - The article used research data from Profi Online Research and Qualitel Data Services