Are you in control of your brand?

by Andy Wright

I’ve been reading that with the increasing influence and freedom of social media you can’t control your brand anymore. In fact, you don’t even own it, your customers do. They decide what people think about it and what they should do with it. These are the new rules for brands. Apparently you have to ‘give away’ your brand.

I’m not sure I agree. Last time I checked, you (and I) were still in control of the strategy, the marketing plan, the packaging, the price (to an extent) and the investment into the brand.

So what’s changed? Social media has allowed everyone to talk about brands and product experiences. So you didn’t tell anyone if you’d had a good or bad experience before Facebook and Twitter came along? You didn’t hear about Nike’s sweat shops, Avis being better than Hertz because they try harder, which restaurant was better than another, or that a Lada or Skoda was about as reliable as a chocolate teapot?

Oh wait, you did. You (and I) still talked, reviews were written, news was reported, brands were advertised on TV. I’ll ask again. So what’s changed?

The change has come in that we actually know what consumers think. We used to rely solely on research tools, media mentions and sales data to track if our brand plans were working. We heard the opinions of a 1,000 strong panel or 48 people across 6 focus groups. This could take months to gather and sometimes we wouldn’t find out if we were in trouble until it was too late.

In fact, think about it. Didn’t you have less control? I mean, you thought you had more as you went about launching new products and developing big advertising campaigns. But, weren’t you blissfully unaware of what the majority of your potential customers really thought?

There are no new rules for brands. They’re the same as they were before. The difference is now that you have a greater opportunity to follow them. You can understand what’s working the next hour, day or month; not the next quarter, half or year.

Contrary to popular belief it’s not just social media that has handed you this advantage. Technology, media diversification and the tools for consumer participation have all increased the transparency surrounding brands. You have the opportunity to know more than ever about them on a micro and global scale. And that knowledge hands YOU the power.

But, in the words of Peter Parker’s Aunt, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” It’s true, the vice versa is that this transparency also lets consumers and competitors know about every little thing you do.

So more than ever you need to tap into your senses:

1) Hear

This is the biggest opportunity you have to listen to your customers. There have never been more reviews, tweets, posts and messages about your brand (that you’ve been able to hear). Track them, learn from them and find out more. In fact, if willing, engage and recruit them.

2) See

Technology has given you access to real time sales data. Scan based replenishment systems, Google analytics and econometric modelling tools give you the power to observe and make real time decisions. Tweak, trial, test and ultimately improve.

At the same time, you now have real time exposure to everything that your competitors are doing, not just in your market, but in similar markets all over the world. The lessons are there to be learned.

3) Touch

Get involved. Use the tools and speak to the audience yourself. Without fully immersing yourself in the technology or standing in your customers shoes (or typing on their keyboards) you can’t fully understand their experiences, their frustrations and their delight. You have to touch what they touch.

4) Smell

Sniff out, detect and perceive the feeling in the market. Don’t just rely on what’s being said. People’s feelings and expressions will be exaggerated in a public forum. Some look to create a cause, others to jump to defence, not all necessarily realised on the shop floor. You need to read between the lines, capture the sentiment and do something about it. But don’t react rashly.

5) Taste

You still control the ingredients for your brand. You decide what goes in it and what it’s made of. Therefore, you have the power to set the flavours of the brand and not leave a bad taste in the majority of customers’ mouths. Of course, you can’t always cater to everyone’s taste.

Now’s your chance to create great experiences for your brand and your customers. Create good Brandhabits. You’ll find it harder, but the rewards will be greater.

What are your experiences? Do you feel like you’re losing control of your brand or that you now have more opportunity than ever to shape the future?

Look forward to reading your comments below.