It is fair to say that today we live in a world where more is more and new is better. Swiping right and catwalk to checkout are part of the vernacular and instant gratification is the drug of choice. So how has this fast paced, transient world impacted on the relationship consumers have with brands?

We have the flirtatious dance of the hundreds of new brands being launched every week and price promotions, voucher or discount codes being the expected. There is a sense that without constant dialogue and tactical activities, consumer will lose interest.

Beyond this, we have rapid developments in technology driving product parity, leading to the exponential growth of Own Brand and Discounters ruling the roost. So the question is, how do we shift from this Tinder-esque relationship consumers appear to have developed with brands to something more substantial, more enduring, more endearing? Simply, like with any relationship, we must spend more time getting to know our consumers more intimately.

Building consumer intimacy is a slower process, strategic, rather than tactical, however the benefits to long-term brand health and growth is clear. This article attempts to provide a few simple pointers on how brands can develop this style of relationship, increasingly important in a world where brand is the tie-breaker for product choice.

Technology and the illusion of intimacy

Like with consumers, marketers have been impacted by the fast pace, high tech world we live in. Every day there is a sexy new app, data capturing technology, kit or social media platform that claims to bring you closer to your consumers, faster and cheaper than traditional face-to-face consumer research. Talking with many clients, it feels there is a pressure to leverage these new technologies, in order to be seen as relevant and in-step with the times…therefore often shifting the role of the Insight Specialist/ Planner from a type of commercial psychologist to an Insight Technology Curator. Technology has allowed us to gain volumes of information, creating an illusion of intimacy, when in fact it has hijacked a brand’s ability to develop a meaningful role in consumers’ lives…because it has stopped many marketers asking, why?

Doing more to mean more

With many large-scale multi-nationals moving towards the idea of a ‘brand purpose’ and qual research experiencing a renaissance, it feels like we are entering a more balanced perspective towards insight generation. That a brand needs to do more, to mean more, thereby creating the opportunity to play a more enduring role in consumers’ lives.

Achieving this hinges heavily on brands re-acquainting themselves with their consumer. Making a commitment to develop briefs that go beyond interrogating everyday behaviours, but instead using the clues we get from big data as a starting point on which we, as Insight Specialists can use to ladder up to consumers’ fears and aspirations…ultimately understanding what gets them up in the morning. 

This is supported by the brilliant Daniel Kahneman Ted talk, The Riddle of Experience vs Memory.

Here, Kahneman talks about actual experience versus the ‘memory’ of an experience as a means of explaining the importance of connecting with the consumer context. He believes that the value of a brand experience is enhanced when it somehow links to the ‘higher power’ driving a consumer. This more resonant the experience, the larger space it occupies their mind, upping the chance of it being chosen against competitor brands in the future.

The challenge therefore is, re-establishing the culture, practice and value of consumer intimacy in a technology driven world.

5 tips for building consumer intimacy

1. Learn to like your consumer

Too often, a brand team feels they ‘know’ their consumer, however reams of information does not translate to loving or even liking them! This can stem from cultural, class or gender differences…but this is not an excuse.

The strongest brands I have work with have been built on a solid foundation of empathy and respect for its core consumers, which often then evolves into some degree of ‘like’. When a brand team likes their consumers, they become their champion. They fight for what’s best for them and treat them as a person, not an at arm’s length ‘target consumer’.

2. Don’t be afraid to ask the big questions

Too often the big, broad upfront questions to ascertain what’s important to consumers are cut – perceived as either ‘esoteric’ or ‘unactionable’. However, it is precisely these that illuminate where a brand experience, (at the least) should make a nod towards and at the most, be anchored, in order to gain greater traction with consumers.

3. Balance big data with qual

There is absolutely a role for big data in the world of consumer insight. It can help us form hypotheses, highlight interesting consumer behaviours and act as a conversation stimulus. However, without, face-to-face consumer conversation, context is lost and the ability to apply big data in a meaningful way is diminished.

4. Take the time to know your consumer

Technology is an efficient means of gathering information and interacting with consumers. It is also responsible for brand interaction with consumers being more frequent or intimate in nature. Quid pro quo, consumers are seeking more from their brand, not just superficial connection.

Executed correctly, face to face dialogue with consumers can become a powerful part of the brand experience. It is a manifestation, a visible commitment by the brand to its consumers that they are worth taking the time to get to know and understand, plus shows they are actively seeking and valuing their input.

5. Spend time in your consumer’s world

There is nothing more powerful than stepping in the footsteps of your consumer. It provides the opportunity to:

·     Get to know them better (making it easier to like them as per point 1),

·     Challenge pre-conceived notions you may have of them

·     Opens the door to better understanding important rituals in their lives. Rituals that give meaning to their lives, giving valuable clues as to how your brand could play a more meaning role in their life.

Looking towards the future, the role of brand is only going to get more important. The constant change, the breakdown of traditional structures (family, church, local communities), the sheer choice consumers have, has left many in a constant state of anxiety, searching for ways to understand who they are and their role in the world. Brands, when they take the time to connect with consumers and talk to them in a way which almost seems to brings them closer to themselves, only then do they have the opportunity to deliver true value and meaning in the lives of consumers.

If you would like to hear more about designing research to get closer to consumers or working with your brand team to help them find their consumer love, get in touch at: sasha@radfordinsight.com