5 customer insights culled from social media - Hindu Business Line

In just half a decade, social media has transformed the way marketers now treat the medium and how much they spend on it.

1) Consumers in the boardroom

Consumers are probably the most effective consultants your company can hire and perhaps social media has made this only easier. According to a recent survey by Insites Consulting across 19 countries and over 7800 active social media users, 36% prefer to participate in a branded research community. Consumers believe that their feedback will have a high impact in a building the brand.

2) Influencers are the new brand ambassadors

Every marketer in social media today look forward to having their brand trending in Twitter or their video going viral in YouTube. In social media, it is a handful of influencers who can make or break your brand’s reputation, set a hashtag trending or make a video go viral. Influencers are the hardcore fanatics and guardians of your brand and sometime they double up as the destroyer of your competing brands too.

3) Convergence is the key to convenience

According to Nielsen, in India, an average Smartphone user spends over 10% of their time on the phone, while calls and SMS accounts only for a fifth, the rest of the time is spent on browsing, social media, apps and gaming respectively. These insights are evident that convergence of web and mobile are becoming less seamless and so marketers much customise their strategy considering the usage pattern for optimising yield and maximizing ROI on digital spends.

4) Deeper vs Wider: Choosing the right channel

Brands doesn’t necessarily have to leave digital bread crumbs all over the social media. Marketers should choose specific platform that fits the brand’s personality and go deeper than wider. While a platform like Facebook, because of its huge user base, can be common to both b2b and b2c brands; however, a fashion brand has more to do in Pinterest than LinkedIn and a DSLR brand can dig gold in Flickr than YouTube.

5) Synergy in Online vs Offline

Coca-Cola’s James Bond styled SkyFall challenge for unsuspecting visitors at Antwerp’s central station saw few participations on-ground, but the video encapsulating the activity went viral and has garnered over 9.5 million views in YouTube in just 2 months. As a matter of fact, there are lot more social media impacts on offline than just make videos go viral, people share their offline experience in social media, more so when it comes to travel, movies, gadgets and cars. If traditional marketers used PR to increase word-of-mouth (WOM), today we have social media to increase word-of-mouse (WOM).

The multiple choice question - One agency on record or multiple agencies

One agency on record or multiple agencies – this has been an ongoing debate for some time now. Many corporates are adopting the latter model – which might work for some. But I have full faith in the single agency model.


This is because only one agency can remain with you through thick and thin – that not just develops creative but evolves the brand along with the marketer; that guides future thinking as much as it provides quick solutions in times of need. And it can do so because it knows the brand, its products and services, its customers and the company’s internal processes inside out. Something that an agency brought in for a project can never do.

Some things are integral to a client-agency relationship– collaboration, trust, patience and communication for getting to that unified brand message. In a way, it can be compared to a marriage. The success of any marriage depends on trust, patience and candid communication. Similarly, the best work that come from an agency-corporate liaison is based on the strengths of the two parties in a synergistic way. There has to be transparent expectations and clear definition for success. And deep rooted relationship, based on trust, lead to great business results.

Some corporates like watching their agencies fight it out, thinking that the best ideas come from such environment. But great work comes from creating an atmosphere of clear communication, mutual collaboration, brain-storming ideas and have specifies roles and responsibilities. Agencies on record provide continuity, stability and efficiencies that one-off, ad hoc, or project partners simply can't meet. Just like an one off relationship may be exciting. While it gives the thrill, no one probably at that moment thinks about the ramifications of that one off relationship.

Typically it has been noticed that the introduction of a second agency happens due to one or more of the following – (a) Brand has become stagnant. (b) The business is going through troubled times. (c) People quality at the agency has deteriorated. (d) Leadership at the client, agency or both sides has recently changed.

Often when the business or brand is challenged, the easiest thing to do is to make the incumbent agency the scapegoat. T o blame communication instead of solving for strategic direction. However in cases where there is indeed a genuine problem with the agency’s output, I believe it is important to discuss it openly and give the agency a fair chance. Only when they are not able to deliver even after this, should one choose to look out.

I also believe that when a second agency enters the picture, it is best to evaluate their work not just on a project but a more sustainable basis. If they are found good, then I would rather switch the entire brand building to them rather than have multiple agencies coexist. Multiple existence may breed competition for a while, but in the long run, are unsustainable. Also the original agency in order to save their share of the business, may start second guessing it’s client which almost always is disastrous as client are never the experts at creative.

I believe that ultimately, the corporate and the agency-on-record – should together take responsibility for the brand's strategic vision. We look at our agency partners as an extension of our marketing arm. They are part of the fabric of the company and turning around to find a partner who will understand what our brand needs, at what time is comforting.

Having been on both sides of the table I think the agency-on-record system of working is more effective. One needs people who understand what the marketer needs and how it works and who live, eat and sleep your brand along with the corporate. They form the nuts and bolts that will move the brand forward.

Aapke Sachche Advisor campaign wins silver effie award

How technology and data analytics is changing in the marketing function -CNBC TV18

I had this wonderful opportunity to talk ‘How technology and data analytics is changing in the marketing function’ in the programme Storyboard on CNBC-TV18.The discussion started with Max Life Insurance insights in customer related data that helps us understand their changing needs and ensure insurance coverage and provide customized product solution.
I also explained the importance of Data Quality that ensures that customers are sent scheduled communication to inform them of critical events like renewals and dispatch of maturity proceeds.
Please watch the full programme (link below) and let me know your views

http://storyboard.in.com/index.php?dt=2012-12-08

http://storyboard.in.com/index.php?dt=2012-12-08