Brands are all about customer experience. Great brands deliver great experiences regardless of whether that experience is the taste of a freshly baked pizza, an exhilarating ride in sports car, or a refreshing night’s sleep on a firm mattress. Products that fail to deliver are rarely on the market for long.
Here are twelve do’s and don’ts to keep in mind as you build your brand in the new year.
Lists of bestselling items, from books to cosmetics to music, have a strong influence on us because they signal popularity. When in doubt about what to buy, you will more than likely be drawn to the item that is mentioned to be a bestseller. This distinction helps us slip into the mindless decision-making mode because while bestsellers aren’t always scarce, they do communicate high demand and high sales and prove an effective strategy.
We’ve been told a consumer’s path to purchase proceeds in a straight line: awareness, familiarity, consideration, purchase … and if done right, it leads to brand loyalty. It’s a logical step-by-step progression model and gives brands the confidence to manage customers’ engagement and activate them along each step in their journey.
A story late last year in The New York Times about the proliferation of classes at elite business schools teaching “corporate social obligations and how to rethink capitalism” is emblematic of what has taken place with corporate social purpose over the past decade. Purpose has gone from an insurgent idea challenging capitalism to a mainstream part of 21st century capitalistic thinking. Purpose has gone mainstream.
