Whoever gets closer to the customer wins

Of all the marketing phrases I’ve read, these words from Bernadette Jiwa stuck with me the most. These words in the era of peak internet could not be truer today.

To get into building brands in the 2020s, we should look at how companies built their brands before the internet. This way, we can understand how massively different the game is now, and to better understand the approach being used by young marketers today.

In the pre-internet to Web1 era, branding is more controlled and deeply embedded in the marketing process. It is the companies who dictate the narrative around their brand through advertising on TV, print, radio, and early read-only websites. Communication is one-way.

Nowadays, Web2 completely changed the game. The rise of new ways to communicate online has now made it easier for everyday people to talk to the brand about their concerns, questions, and even feedback. The communication is now two-way.

According to Pew Research, 95% of customers read online reviews before making a purchase. User generated content has unprecedented influence.

The companies have now less grip on the narrative, giving the consumers’ thoughts more power.

A repeat of history… but on steroids #

The thought of having less grip on the narrative and more power to the consumer mirrors the events that led to the French revolution.

During the industrial revolution, people started to move from their farms to the cities for better opportunities. The closer distance of people to one another in cities allowed the exchange of ideas and information. People empathized with each other. Their shared experiences formed communities and their pain united them to question the systems in place at the time which ultimately led to the French revolution.

The internet also gave people avenues to exchange ideas and information and be united in support or against something, but unlike the first industrial revolution, it’s on steroids. The internet also made it easier for new brands to rise and compete with big companies.

Building the august brand #

If we can now agree that brand-building is a two-way street, we can also define brand as not a registered trademark or the logo alone but also the associations attached to the trademark. These associations include everything your audience associates with the trademark, their thoughts and opinions about your brand.

To maintain a unique and favorable image and reputation for your brand, you need to understand the people who use your product or service, and how they form their opinions. This way, you can influence the thoughts and opinions they will have about your product or service.

The way to do this is to relentlessly know every moment and aspect of your target audience’s life.

Ask deeper questions like:

• Where do they hang out virtually and in-person?
• Who do they listen to? (the influencers, the thought-leaders, etc.)
• What do they believe in? What are the ideas they subscribe to?
• What are they passionate about? What about their communities?

This way, you can be positively present in their lives. This may also shape your product development one way or another. As this can guide your product to be improved to fit their lifestyle.

Get Closer Than Your Competition #

The rise of social media and review sites gave the consumer voice more power. Now consumers shape branding through online opinions, feedback and conversations. They unite behind brands they connect with and reject those they don’t.

As your audiences become closer to one another you also have to be closer to them, closer than your nemesis. Because whoever gets closer to the customer wins.