Just looking at the two plain terms Experiential and Marketing, we can dissect each and then combine them to see how to apply them in our real life scenario.
Experiential is all about the WoW factor (some may disagree) on the part of the customer. Marketing is the way the process of moving goods from company to consumer (not to be confused with the logistics). So we are talking of emotions and logic. But emotions make the the corporate world uncomfortable.
Marketing prides itself on numbers and finiteness and tangibility. The efficiency-oriented operations are full of logic and predictability, so one tend to treat the customer accordingly. The perception is that since emotions cannot be managed very well and are difficult to fit into pie charts or reports, they must be ignored. Thus emotions are treated as the type of irrational behavior from which we must shy away.
A purely logical customer will shop for the lowest price every time and will demonstrate no loyalty at all. The cost of doing business with customers will be high, because each time marketer will have to “acquire” them again through expensive incentives.
Relationships, Loyalty, and Experiences, are emotionally loaded terms.
Relationship means making an emotional selection and sticking with it. The stronger the relationship, the longer it lasts and the deeper the commitment. This is exactly what one wants the customers to do with the products and services. Develop a deeper, longer commitment to brands, even if they are not the cheapest on the market.
The problem with emotions, however, is that many of them occur in a nurturing environment. They demand mutual commitment in order to deliver commitment. In the long, uncomfortable affair companies have with emotions, they have tended to exploit the customer’s emotions but not to communicate their own. Understand that relationships and loyalty require reciprocity, and you, the company, need to initiate the relationship.
So unleash the power of emotions to create differentiation in your products or services.
Allow people to add their emotional touch to the overall customer experience, and by doing so, create preference and positive experiences in the customers’ hearts.
Build a mechanism that demonstrates to customers your sincerity and authenticity, so they will be willing to forgo the next price cut from the competition and prefer your products— despite the higher price.
Emotional customers are customers who care; customers who share their views with the world; customers who pay you a premium and stay for the long run. They are usually profitable customers.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
Hitting the Tip of Emotional Branding
Wow! So people are reading it. Atleast I can say so from the mails and feedback I received directly.
Would appreciate if you could post these on the site so that others can get a feel of what you feel.
As stated earlier, the site is not about sharing just case studies, but building a community of people who can discuss on experiential marketing.
It is known that when people participate actively in the sales process, they become more engaged, and their retention rate of key product information increases dramatically. Fuelled by the demand for new ways to reach increasingly sophisticated and selective customer audiences, companies are rapidly incorporating dynamic, experiential encounters with rich interactive technologies into the marketing mix.
The likelihood of a customer being prepared to make an informed buying decision is dramatically increased. Many companies are now leveraging virtual product experiences, enabling them to deliver experiences that are consistent and compelling, helping them to better reach their audiences and make relevant emotional connections to customers. This leads to more informed buying decisions and, ultimately, enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Customers expect to interact with products in such a manner as to reveal their behavior, features and advantages. Companies that create engaging unique campaigns to promote their products, no matter how obscure, will get consumers excited about participating in social marketing campaigns.
In a tech driven world, fun and engaging e-marketing gets the word out and will steer consumers your way. The most successful experimental marketing campaigns involving interaction between product and consumer should aim to generate a lot of press and word of mouth buzz.
Jargons like Information super highway, Internet, enabling e-experiences and as technology becomes more and more sophisticated, so do customer demands for interactive experiences.
Companies are seeking to employ successful experiential marketing should look to:
• DO - Don’t Overwhelm: Providing sufficient information
• CC: Deliver Consistent Communication across sales channels;
• TIE - create a truly interactive experience; and
• TEQDM (Take Them) - Tap into those “Emotional Qualities” that drive the customer’s Decision-Making.
So a simple 4 point strategy to start Experiential Marketing, but are we getting into some amount of emotional branding.
Would appreciate if you could post these on the site so that others can get a feel of what you feel.
As stated earlier, the site is not about sharing just case studies, but building a community of people who can discuss on experiential marketing.
It is known that when people participate actively in the sales process, they become more engaged, and their retention rate of key product information increases dramatically. Fuelled by the demand for new ways to reach increasingly sophisticated and selective customer audiences, companies are rapidly incorporating dynamic, experiential encounters with rich interactive technologies into the marketing mix.
The likelihood of a customer being prepared to make an informed buying decision is dramatically increased. Many companies are now leveraging virtual product experiences, enabling them to deliver experiences that are consistent and compelling, helping them to better reach their audiences and make relevant emotional connections to customers. This leads to more informed buying decisions and, ultimately, enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Customers expect to interact with products in such a manner as to reveal their behavior, features and advantages. Companies that create engaging unique campaigns to promote their products, no matter how obscure, will get consumers excited about participating in social marketing campaigns.
In a tech driven world, fun and engaging e-marketing gets the word out and will steer consumers your way. The most successful experimental marketing campaigns involving interaction between product and consumer should aim to generate a lot of press and word of mouth buzz.
Jargons like Information super highway, Internet, enabling e-experiences and as technology becomes more and more sophisticated, so do customer demands for interactive experiences.
Companies are seeking to employ successful experiential marketing should look to:
• DO - Don’t Overwhelm: Providing sufficient information
• CC: Deliver Consistent Communication across sales channels;
• TIE - create a truly interactive experience; and
• TEQDM (Take Them) - Tap into those “Emotional Qualities” that drive the customer’s Decision-Making.
So a simple 4 point strategy to start Experiential Marketing, but are we getting into some amount of emotional branding.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Experiental Marketing through Messaging
Experiential Messaging
We are all communicators - good or bad. The fact that the recipient is able to make a judgment means that we have been able to communicate - but effective or not (Experiential) is the big question. So for the moment forget the jargons on Experiential Marketing, Brand Sciences, Marketing Dynamics and just focus on the simple thing Messaging. Tackling Experiential from the Core, whether you are a marketing professional, a copywriter, a content writer, a public relations person, and journalist.
How we wish that we could translate our messages into conversational points of view (People listen intently when we talk or promote a concept). How do we make people to better understand our perspectives and what should be the big idea is that becomes viral so that people emote with what we are trying to say and spread the word. For if you have accomplished this, then you have activated the bulls’ eye, the inner most circle of experiential marketing, that will then cause the ripples and evoke emotions that are relevant to the target audiences, fit into their context, and support the communicator’s strategy.
Below is an offering of our compilation of what we call as the Messaging Rainbow, that help one enhance messages into the realm of Experiential to the recipient. So you are not just heard, but listened too!
One could use these themes in isolation or in combination to make messages more effective, and perhaps Experiential for the recipient and hence good for the communicator.
1) VMP – Vision, Mission, and Philosophy
2) Macro Micro – Perspective Play
3) The Next Thing – AATR (Avalanche About To Roll)
4) FRAUD – Fear, Risk, Apprehension, Uncertainty, Doubt
5) Reverse Swing – Challenging Assumptions
6) DIY – Yes You Can.
7) PAGG - Personalities, Anecdotes, Glitz and Glam
8) O4 – Optimizing On Occasions and Opportunities
1) VMP – short for Vision, Mission and Philosophy, but better articulated as “A & B” or Aspirations and Beliefs as the external communication trigger. This helps engender feelings and the target audience to engage with the communicator’s cause on more of an emotional level.
2 Macro Micro – Big and Small, and articulated as Perspectives Play. Rooting for the underdog grabs our emotions, creates meaning, and invokes passion; we like to listen to the little guy talk about how he’s going to win and why the world or the industry will be a better place for it.
3) The Next Thing – How we all want to know the future, be it our own destinies, the way the industry will develop. No wonder forecasting is the in thing. Get the inside scoop on emerging trends, and factor it into our plans ahead of our competitors. Big, emerging trends that could damage a business or industry practice wake people up and fuel discussions about what’s coming and what it might mean.
4) FRAUD -- Fear, Risk, Apprehension, Uncertainty, and Doubt -- we should know about this in advance or something bad might happen. We are in all matters more swiftly motivated by fear than appreciation of the good. Look at why some media use sensationalist, fear-inducing stories to build their audiences, or why some politicians and religious zealots prey on people’s deep-seated fears. They frame their views in the doom and gloom that may come to pass unless people support their views.
5) Reverse Swing – Defy conventional wisdom; take positions that often are not in line with or may even be directly opposite to the wisdom of the crowd. – call it counterintuitive or challenging assumptions. It is the boldness of contrarian views that grab attention; the more original and less arrogant they are, the more useful they will be in provoking meaningful conversation.
6) DIY – Yes You Can – Make sure your ideas are fresh, insightful, and maybe even sprinkled with a bit of counterintuitive wisdom, because people love the classic how-to anecdotes about how to solve problems, get ahead, make friends, and influence people. To be conversation-worthy, how-to themes need to be fresh and original, providing a new twist to what people already know.
Like this is a “How to” on Experiential Messaging.
7) PAGG - Personalities, Anecdotes, Glitz and Glam - Our society loves stories about “personalities:’ including business leaders and anecdotes associated with them. Rags to riches story, story of enterprise. Also, we’re instantly drawn to stories about celebrities and parallels between our more mundane business word and that of the glamorous entertainment industry. The glitz and the glam are fun and fabulous. They give us a lot to talk about with many people.
8) O4 – Optimizing On Occasions and Opportunities – people have fascination for themes like prognosis for the new year, Tax and financial advice in March and April, Advice on using new technologies, Vacationing, Career Advice during the end of Academic sessions and so on. One has to look at tying into seasonal or major events have a limited shelf life.
Do mail us back if you need a detailed presentation on the same.
We are all communicators - good or bad. The fact that the recipient is able to make a judgment means that we have been able to communicate - but effective or not (Experiential) is the big question. So for the moment forget the jargons on Experiential Marketing, Brand Sciences, Marketing Dynamics and just focus on the simple thing Messaging. Tackling Experiential from the Core, whether you are a marketing professional, a copywriter, a content writer, a public relations person, and journalist.
How we wish that we could translate our messages into conversational points of view (People listen intently when we talk or promote a concept). How do we make people to better understand our perspectives and what should be the big idea is that becomes viral so that people emote with what we are trying to say and spread the word. For if you have accomplished this, then you have activated the bulls’ eye, the inner most circle of experiential marketing, that will then cause the ripples and evoke emotions that are relevant to the target audiences, fit into their context, and support the communicator’s strategy.
Below is an offering of our compilation of what we call as the Messaging Rainbow, that help one enhance messages into the realm of Experiential to the recipient. So you are not just heard, but listened too!
One could use these themes in isolation or in combination to make messages more effective, and perhaps Experiential for the recipient and hence good for the communicator.
1) VMP – Vision, Mission, and Philosophy
2) Macro Micro – Perspective Play
3) The Next Thing – AATR (Avalanche About To Roll)
4) FRAUD – Fear, Risk, Apprehension, Uncertainty, Doubt
5) Reverse Swing – Challenging Assumptions
6) DIY – Yes You Can.
7) PAGG - Personalities, Anecdotes, Glitz and Glam
8) O4 – Optimizing On Occasions and Opportunities
1) VMP – short for Vision, Mission and Philosophy, but better articulated as “A & B” or Aspirations and Beliefs as the external communication trigger. This helps engender feelings and the target audience to engage with the communicator’s cause on more of an emotional level.
2 Macro Micro – Big and Small, and articulated as Perspectives Play. Rooting for the underdog grabs our emotions, creates meaning, and invokes passion; we like to listen to the little guy talk about how he’s going to win and why the world or the industry will be a better place for it.
3) The Next Thing – How we all want to know the future, be it our own destinies, the way the industry will develop. No wonder forecasting is the in thing. Get the inside scoop on emerging trends, and factor it into our plans ahead of our competitors. Big, emerging trends that could damage a business or industry practice wake people up and fuel discussions about what’s coming and what it might mean.
4) FRAUD -- Fear, Risk, Apprehension, Uncertainty, and Doubt -- we should know about this in advance or something bad might happen. We are in all matters more swiftly motivated by fear than appreciation of the good. Look at why some media use sensationalist, fear-inducing stories to build their audiences, or why some politicians and religious zealots prey on people’s deep-seated fears. They frame their views in the doom and gloom that may come to pass unless people support their views.
5) Reverse Swing – Defy conventional wisdom; take positions that often are not in line with or may even be directly opposite to the wisdom of the crowd. – call it counterintuitive or challenging assumptions. It is the boldness of contrarian views that grab attention; the more original and less arrogant they are, the more useful they will be in provoking meaningful conversation.
6) DIY – Yes You Can – Make sure your ideas are fresh, insightful, and maybe even sprinkled with a bit of counterintuitive wisdom, because people love the classic how-to anecdotes about how to solve problems, get ahead, make friends, and influence people. To be conversation-worthy, how-to themes need to be fresh and original, providing a new twist to what people already know.
Like this is a “How to” on Experiential Messaging.
7) PAGG - Personalities, Anecdotes, Glitz and Glam - Our society loves stories about “personalities:’ including business leaders and anecdotes associated with them. Rags to riches story, story of enterprise. Also, we’re instantly drawn to stories about celebrities and parallels between our more mundane business word and that of the glamorous entertainment industry. The glitz and the glam are fun and fabulous. They give us a lot to talk about with many people.
8) O4 – Optimizing On Occasions and Opportunities – people have fascination for themes like prognosis for the new year, Tax and financial advice in March and April, Advice on using new technologies, Vacationing, Career Advice during the end of Academic sessions and so on. One has to look at tying into seasonal or major events have a limited shelf life.
Do mail us back if you need a detailed presentation on the same.
Monday, December 14, 2009
The Next Thing
Every great brand has a story. Every story has “Something to say” A story is not a work of fiction; it is a hidden truth. The truth is not how the corporate culture perceives itself
It is the embodiment of how the world perceives the brand It is Experiential Marketing
“Experiential is a methodology not a medium” In today’s hyper competitive scenario, more than three quarters of the money and time spent by companies go towards acquiring and retaining customers. Customer-centricity is the buzzword. Positioning companies, services or products is a technique which helps in easy brand recall due to its approach of occupying separate place in customer’s mind.
Experiential marketing helps the customer in retaining and recalling the service or product offered by companies. Experiential marketing helps brand marketers gain valuable insight by interacting directly with consumers outside mass-media landscape
Experiential methodology allows brands to foster one-to-one connections with their intended audience. Experiential marketing can be used on any canvas
Experiential Marketing – The next Big Thing(!)(?)(...)(,)(.)
The punctuation should set you thinking.
It is the embodiment of how the world perceives the brand It is Experiential Marketing
“Experiential is a methodology not a medium” In today’s hyper competitive scenario, more than three quarters of the money and time spent by companies go towards acquiring and retaining customers. Customer-centricity is the buzzword. Positioning companies, services or products is a technique which helps in easy brand recall due to its approach of occupying separate place in customer’s mind.
Experiential marketing helps the customer in retaining and recalling the service or product offered by companies. Experiential marketing helps brand marketers gain valuable insight by interacting directly with consumers outside mass-media landscape
Experiential methodology allows brands to foster one-to-one connections with their intended audience. Experiential marketing can be used on any canvas
Experiential Marketing – The next Big Thing(!)(?)(...)(,)(.)
The punctuation should set you thinking.
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