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Premiumise to differentiate your brand experience

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Premiumisation is the key to growing your brand in an increasingly customer-centric world, said Priyadarshini Sharma, group commercial brand director of Carlsberg Breweries.Sharma was speaking at Marketing's two-day Customer Experience 2016 conference held at Suntec Convention centre. Sharma (pictured) explained premiumisation is the act of getting consumers to “pay for more familiar experiences”.Customers today are looking to be delighted in their customer experience and as such “Customer satisfaction” is just the price of entry and not enough to win.“Consumer don’t need to be dissatisfied – If someone else will “delight” them, they will spend their money there because the customer just wants better things,” Sharma said.She added the rise in demand for premium goods & services is due to 2 things namely, (1) The significant rise in household per capita wealth due to changing lifestyles and (2) The increasing propensity to reflect status based on the brands and products chosen . Additionally, for companies it’s important to premiumize because eventually there will be no more markets left to emerge. In the past, business growth could be driven by footprint expansion. But in the future, with no more countries and new markets left to ‘emerge’, premiumisation will be the key way to drive growth.Sharma also referred to the phenomenon Michael Silverstein has called, “Death in the Middle” whereby consumers are either trading down for the best deals possible for everyday products, or spending high to get the best experience or product that money can buy. As such staying in the middle ground will result in a brand losing relevance.“Stop trying to play the middle ground – it is shifting to one end of the spectrum or the other”, Sharma said.Sharma also outlined ways to navigate premiumisation and improve offerings to consumers.Product InnovationProduct innovation is important in driving strong intrinsic differentiation when it comes to premiumizing your offering. Coupled with strong pricing to support the imagery, Sharma shared Somersby Rose’ cider as one of the case studies which took this approach, being marketed as the “champagne of ciders”. Colour and packaging changes can also make a brand look more luxurious compared to competitors.Packaging can also help excite customers with a novelty. This was the case for one of its beers, Tuborg, which “upgraded” its iconic ring-pull bottle caps with coloured ones – driving new news and a more exciting consumer experience.Check out the video here: https://youtu.be/ATbXnYS-H6URituals Driving customer experience through new rituals can also be another way brands can put a new spin on how customers can experience a product.Taking Somersby “Somerita” for example, the serving ritual of placing the drink in a glass in an innovative manner as opposed to simply serving it in its bottle enhances the perception of the drink.“There are no changes in the intrinsic – but it allows the brand to be the hero,” Sharma said. This makes it unique within its product category and differentiates it from competition, setting apart the difference between premium priced versus ‘regular’ cider.“Somersby Somerita is an example of taking a cider and putting a cocktail price on it,” Sharma added.Have a multi-sensory experienceInvesting well on channels which drive customer experience is also something which can pay off because it gives the brand the ability to control the type of experience you want customers to have.Sharma drove home the importance of having a multi-sensory customer experience. She explained application of concept store principles to on or off trade environments can provide an intimate brand experience due to sensorial differentiation.A Carlsberg campaign which took off in the United Kingdom was the draft beer billboard, which created a sensory and even social experience by giving users the power of control by allowing them to pour themselves a cup of draft Carlsberg beer.Ultimately, this hands control over to the consumer and makes them feel part of the brand.Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/MfPbyG42iGE Align all value chainsSharma closed her speech with three key things she recommends to drive superior customer experiences and premiumisation.First and foremost, ensure the whole organisation is aligned towards the vision of customer experiences to be delivered -  avoid silo thinking.Secondly, focus on your key touch points where consumer experience really matters and will make a difference.And last but not the least, Continue to attack the category like an “outsider” – it inculcates fresh thinking and innovative solutions. Start-ups, according to Sharma, do this particular well. Read also: All about Customer Experience 2016 [GALLERY]  

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