Consumers don't have relationships with brands. They do have them - with people. Think about the relationships you have. ALL of them are with flesh & blood creatures. Who make you laugh, cry, buy things for, argue with, abuse… Coz there’s a face to them.

Now, is there a face to your brand – or an impersonal pack of something on a shelf? Does your brand force the customer to laugh, cry, abuse you…? Yeah, some of us do that. To brands we shell out a lot of money for. But most human beings couldn’t give a rusty damn about interacting with your product – they way they’d do with a creature of flesh & blood. Most will abuse when things go wrong with your product and they want to see a face they can scream at.

Loyalties change every day. Yeah, this soap is good, I’ve used it for years. But why not try this new one, that will make my skin smoother? Yes, I’ll fly this airline coz I earn Miles with them… But what if they don’t have a flight to the place and at the time I need to fly?

Where’s the face then – or the brand image that they see which tells them – relax… I’m the one for you, have always been there for you. That’s when I need to hear the human voice, that reassures…

In the 5 years I owned my car, I got just one letter from them… Free servicing camp. Straight into the bin that went. And after I spent a few lakhs on you?!?!?!

Get the people part into your communication. Make sure customers have a line to call 24x7. Manned by someone competent to make a decision, solve a problem, or escalate it to the right level. Coz if I am spending money with you, I want to talk to a person when I have a problem or want to pay a compliment. I don’t want to make time to sit and write letters… I know you don’t have time to answer me personally. Don’t call me, let me call you…
To be continued.