Boost sales by keeping customers connected

I fear that “branding” is becoming one of those words like “solution” – everyone throws it around so much that it has truly lost its meaning and its impact. But I have to operate under the assumption that, if you are reading this article, you still care about branding.

Brands are built on the backbone of a relationship between a human and a company or product. All of the collective experiences a person has with that company or product, or its representatives, make up the customer’s perception of the brand. These include everything from how you feel about the company’s advertising, packaging and promotions to your experience with their customer service to what you read about the company, its products or its executives in the newspaper or online.

These are traditional ideas. Layer on top of these, the fact that our society, powered by technology, has become one of information available 24/7 and at your fingertips (literally…). It’s easy to understand why we are increasingly becoming addicted to knowing everything, minute-by-minute.

Case in Point

Some established brands are taking advantage of this desire and using it to further build relationships with their customers. Take Columbia sportswear, for example. Assuming that its core fans are outdoor enthusiasts and environmentally-conscientious, Columbia created www.aboxlife.com – a Web site designed to promote the re-use of the packaging used to ship its products. Utilizing tracking numbers or codes, a customer can see the travels of a unique box. Just in the few short months this has been available, more than 66 percent of all Columbia orders have been shipped in reused boxes – very appealing to those who care deeply about recycling.

For companies large and small, established or new, the desire for transparency and the ability to deliver information in real time ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous, depending on your point of view.

In 2009, the Brazilian transit authority started using Twitter to update São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro's motorists and pedestrians of any traffic incidents or transport news. The tweets come either from the authority itself, or from users who are able to share their own experiences of the city's traffic and transport.

Another cool transportation-related service launched in October 2009, Lufthansa's MySkyStatus lets passengers keep their friends and family up-to-date on travel progress. The online service sends automatic status updates on location, altitude, departure and arrival to passengers' Twitter and Facebook pages.

A new, health-related application comes from MediClim, a free service in the U.S. and U.K. for people suffering from arthritis, asthma and cardiovascular disease. Subscribers sign up on the Web site and complete a brief medical questionnaire. On days with weather conditions that are expected to trigger health problems, subscribers receive an email, or an alert through MediClim's Facebook application, with notification of the conditions and their possible impact.

So here’s the challenge. Find out what your customers want and apply technology and the delivery of information to enhance your relationships. They’re wishing for it, so don’t let your competition get there first and horn in on your business!

Andrea Fitting, Ph.D., is founder and President/CEO of Fitting Group, a strategic branding agency that specializes in Brand Spanking® for Challenger Brands. To read more of Andrea’s Challenger Brand advice, visit Fitting Group’s blog at blog.fittingroup.com.

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