Comment - May08

Don't just scratch my itch - touch my heart

Examples of how and why brands have succeeded through addressing the social, moral and environmental needs of customers.

One-to-one marketers have traditionally focused on satisfying the functional and emotional needs of their customers. A bank knows a customer who has just taken out a home loan will soon have a need for home insurance. This is a functional need that it quickly moves to serve.

The same bank also knows not all customers are created equal. Some are worth more than others - and have an emotional need to be recognised as so. The bank caters to this emotional need through loyalty programmes, reward and recognition initiatives and exclusive service privileges.

But consumer needs are not just physical and emotional. They also cover ground that is increasingly social, moral and environmental. We all feel the need to belong. Be it to a family, country or tribe. When marketers tap into this innate need, they are able to create greater affinity for their products.

If everyone could join it, they would

Harley-Davidson is not a motorcycle - it's a way of life. The company's focus on the social needs of its customers is one of the reasons why this is the case. H.O.G. or Harley Owners Group was introduced in the nineties with a simple purpose - ‘to bring Harley owners together - to ride and have fun'.

A key objective of Harley's relationship management strategy is to bring members together to create a sense of kinship and community. It is this kinship and community that has contributed to the fervent loyalty its customers have to their brand.

We all want to sleep at night

In the past, we cared less about where and how products were made and profits were distributed.

Not any more.

Now, increasingly, we want to know the money we spend on coffee is reaching the guy who grows it. That the pair of sneakers we wear wasn't made by children the age of our own. And the money we spend on goods and services funds more than just the lifestyles of an astute few in business.

Of 33 million people living with HIV/AIDS across the world, 22 million (or 69%) are from Africa. Worse, the number is growing at the rate of a thousand new infections every day.

Enter Project Red - an initiative of rock-star Bono and social activist Bobby Shriver. The aim of Project Red is very simple - use consumers and the power of choice they wield to make change in the places that need it most.

Brands that sign on to Project Red pledge to donate up to 50% of their profits to AIDS-related projects in Africa; brands that have signed on include American Express (the Red Card), Apple, Motorola, Armani Exchange and Dell.

Think about two credit card mailings you receive. One offers you the chance to win a million rewards points. The other offers you the opportunity to help people afflicted by one of the most terrible diseases of our time.

Relationship marketing is moving on

You can't build relationships any more by focusing solely on the functional and emotional needs of your customers. You can't rely only on loyalty programmes, contact programmes, freebies, offers, price offs, and other exclusive service privileges. To build strong and enduring relationships, organisations need to go beyond the strategies of the past - understand the changing mental and social mindsets of consumers, and tailor their approach accordingly.

Patrick D'souza

Client Services Director

Euro RSCG 4D