The last couple of years have seen a number of startups
companies the world over disrupt several industries through innovative
products underpinned by shift in business model, technological
advancement among other factors. Successful companies such as Safaricom,
Equity Bank, Uber have one thing in common; they look beyond product
and service features, functions and performance but strive to understand
the real meaning users give to things. This is called design driven
innovation but that is a story for another day.
Successful
companies in Kenya and Africa from a pedestrian point of view are not
your average incumbent organisation; they are all newcomers and seem to
have common trend although they operate in different industries. Two
factors that drive them are design driven innovation combined with new
age digital branding.
New digital branding goes beyond
ad hoc posting stuff on your website and social media pages but looks
to engaging customers strategically in continuous conversation.
I will focus on new age digital branding and how it makes companies that adopt it so successful.
First and foremost successful digital brands don’t just post
advertisement on social media and website to position their brands in
the minds of the consumer; their focus is positioning their brands in
the lives of their customers.
Further they don’t just
post about their products and services online, they engage customers
more as users than buyers directing their investments away from pre
purchase promotions to post purchase user experience and advocacy.
Incumbent
brands although perform well on average due to the fact that they have
existed for a long time and have, therefore, diversified their portfolio
prefer to advertise and engage customers through traditional media,
which contrast to fast rising digital brands that are more often
discovered via social media and direct word of mouth.
Successful
digital brands focus on user experience and creating demand for product
or service use contrasting incumbents who are focused on advertising to
create demand for their products or services.
Similarly
incumbent companies are worried what they tell customers and therefore
craft elaborate messages and engage PR firms to manage their corporate
image while adventurers digital brands are more concerned with what
users are telling each other since their view of customers is less of
one time buyers to more as users or members with a continuous
relationship.
The point can be summed up by what most
golf enthusiast will tell you; the best way to hit the golf ball is
focusing not on the ball, but your swing and follow through.
Companies
looking to exploit the branding potential unlocked by core digital
technologies need to make the shift in their engagement with customers –
from purchase to usage. These changes fundamentally require rethinking
strategy, organisation, investment, and measurement.
Victor Otieno, Director-Research and Innovation at Wylde International
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