Interesting perspective on communities of brand zealots on Brand Channel.
Consumer Cohesion: A Brand BlueprintThe conclusion certainly is on the money.In order to facilitate a less protracted relationship between the brand and the customer, so as to limit or ideally eliminate the negative sentiment entirely, we have the following roadmap.
I)Pre-empt the inevitable formation of some kind of communities and the opinions that invariably go with it It is very common for consumers to compare their experiences for every product from masalas to their Bose sound systems, and in doing so, to feel a sense of community. While it is a basic need to share and relate, what also contributes to this behaviour is the emotional need of wanting to express themselves through these affiliations.
This need to affiliate is what drives users to join 198 online ‘communities’ while writing little to nothing on their actual profiles on social network websites such as Orkut. The mode of expression has shifted from the self-proclaiming words, to the more nonchalant depiction of one’s interests and inclinations through these communities.
We feel that a brand should pre-empt the formation of these de-facto communities by inviting consumers to relate, share & interact on the brand’s very own ‘premises’. The brand should make the first move in inviting its users to a forum where they can have this kind of interaction. This enables the brand to bring the consumers closer to its fold and maybe even engage with it actively.
II)Product and service improvement through customer feedback Engaging with your customer at any forum and / or observing interaction among various users of your brand can yield powerful and compelling insights relating to product or service quality. In essence, it acts like an inadvertent focus group discussion of sorts, which is the best kind as it is much likelier to yield truthful and relevant insights as opposed to those derived from discussions conducted in the presence of market researchers. III) Pre-empt positive word of mouth Once a marketer has preempted the community formation and invited the audience/consumers to congregate on its own brand’s territory, this experience has to be based on the core consumer insight that the brand operates on. The result of this exercise is that instead of leaving it purely to the markets for the customer to use and then appreciate your product, the marketer preempts this experience and enhances it by adding a pleasant and strong sensory memory to the customer’s overall experience with the product.
IV)Pre-empt negative word-of-mouthNow we come to a point where we are gearing the brand for crisis, if one were to ever arise. The best case scenario in the face of a crisis, after the brand owner has gone through the steps of Consumer Cohesion mentioned above, is that the brand faces widespread negative sentiment among the general public for some error, but the ‘community’ of consumers it has helped foster and which now thrives independently as an active social group, is still on its side. This community still believes in the brand. What emerges is an organized, coherent, single-voiced shout in support of the brand in opposition to the negative, fragmented cacophony that is bashing it.
The worst case scenario will be that this ‘community’ too loses confidence in the brand and joins the denigrating crowds opposing the brand. However, because this ‘community’, though seeded by the brand itself, has now evolved into a spontaneous, self-sustaining social group, they are still likely to speak in a single voice and single line of reason, albeit against the brand.
This gives the brand owner the latitude of addressing rebuttals, explanations and/or counter-arguments simply on the basis of the stance this community takes, as they are highly likely to be the single loudest voice in the debate on the brand’s opposing side (i.e. if the brand owners do their groundwork right). This scenario, needless to say, is infinitely less painful than having to rebut and defend against fragmented and incoherent mob negativity. Clearly, the clincher in any such case will lie with the brand’s corporate communication, advertising and public relations team to get the message across in a strategic, secure and convincing manner.
Essentially, what happens is, because of Consumer Cohesion, even in times of crisis when the brand’s own community has turned against itself, at least the opponent is a large, discernible target with cogent accusations. This enables the brand to prepare an equally crisp and relevant defense, rather than just having to shield itself from brickbats from an unreasoning public anger.
Expensive brands need to be insured against market and public opinion vagaries if they are to stay in business past the inevitable crises they are bound to face sometime in their lifecycles. Consumer Cohesion is an approach to doing just that and ensuring that the brand’s groundwork and defense are in prime shape to face marketing warfare.
