Nigeria Content Online

In any brand
communication campaign, knowing the pulse of consumers, gauging their
perceptions, and understanding their feelings are crucial to the
success of the communication process. Such insights thus become
imperative in building an enduring relationship between brand and
audience. An effective way to build relationship is by gaining insights
into consumer behaviour.

In this age, brands
need to connect directly with the consumers. Brands that warm their way
into the hearts of consumers are the ones that impact lives, because
they identify with the aspirations and yearnings of the consumers.

Some of the key
things to do is to focus on who is buying the product or service, what
their needs or goals are, key characteristics of the consumers, how
communication or brand messages should be tailored to fit consumer
preferences and how best to use that to capture their interest.

An incisive and
thorough knowledge of consumers may provide brands the complete
understanding of consumers about their reactions and responses to brand
messages.

A brand targeted at
children should make conscious efforts to touch base with the mothers.
This has become evident in the advertising of the various noodles
brands as they focus on the mothers and their children. Mothers play
influential role in purchase decisions and home keeping. A brand like
noodles for instance should stimulate the interest of mothers and
capture them to influence the eating habit of their children. Such
brand should also take cognizance of shopping pattern, spending habits
and lifestyle of the mothers.

Through consumer
insights, brands can build loyal and active consumer base as consumers
identify a true value from the brand. When consumer insights drive the
communications process, consumers are put in the driver’s seat and as a
result, valuable insights are gained that will ultimately translate to
success for the brand in the market place.

From research to insight

It has become
pertinent to move from the realm of market research to consumer
insights. Though market research is an indispensable tool but a brand
can maximize its understanding of the consumers to fully exploit growth
and build equity for the brand.

A dipstick research
recently conducted in some fast food outlets in Lagos show that some
brands have eroded consumer confidence. A large percentage of them have
not factored in the feelings, and purchasing habits of their consumers
into their service delivery. It is vital for brands to engage in
building and refining their consumer insights to secure a vantage
positions in the consumers’ mind.

The integration of
insights into key decisions such as marketing, product development and
service delivery to a large extent project the brand attributes and
this lead to success.

There should be
several touch points for the brand to interact with consumers. Every
interaction should impact on how customers think and feel about a
company and its brands. A brand is no longer identified by its name and
logo alone but it should be a total experience for the consumer. The
need to create actionable insights, go a long way in differentiating a
brand offering from its competitors.

Insights provide value to the brand as they are the objective voice of the consumer.

Consumer insights
allow brands to improve their service delivery, review consumers
perception and open new perspectives on attitudes, behaviours and
consumer expectations. Insights are also utilised to guide the creation
and evaluation of product concepts.

For any brand
communication to achieve the desired objective, it must through
consumer insights identify and know the most appealing message to
consumers, evaluation of key brand messages, perception of quality and
its effects on pricing and intent to purchase. “Now you are talking”,
the payoff of Etisalat, is one that has resonated well with the target
audience. With the latest TV commercial, it captures the whole essence
of bonding with consumers. That campaign is one that depicts the desire
of an average Nigerian to have access to affordable call rates.

Where do we go from
here? It is for brand custodians to focus on consumer insights and
ensure it is given a premium place to build brand equity. Consumer
insights and perception must align with the brand values and
attributes. Consumers can maintain both emotional and physical
attachment to brands through consumer insights.

AYODEJI AYOPO, a Communication Strategist and Public Relations Specialist, is the CEO of Shortlist Ltd.