According to the latest post on Church of the Customer, the most important platform for consumers to talk about brands isn't on Facebook, Google +, Twitter or even SMS! Rather, it is good old person-to-person communication in the flesh (well at least in the US).
Have a look at this chart here from eMarketer:
Source: eMarketer.com
I wonder if the same is true here in geeky gadget crazy Asia (or more precisely, Singapore) where we're almost perpetually tethered to our smart phones.
From my own observation, it is more likely for us to talk about brands face-to-face or over the phone than on email (which is often for more officious stuff). We're also pretty huge on yakking about brands on forums, particularly specific interest group based ones like Hardwarezone.com, Cozycot, and Kiasu Parents.com. As for SMS or WhatsApp, I find that these are more for person to person communications with hardly any chats on brands.
What does this tell us then about our marketing communication strategies?
The simple answer is that there isn't any.
To reach your target customers, employ a mixture of methods from targeted advertisements, email invitations, Facebook invites, Tweets, to good old fashioned events (roadshows, meetings, product showcases). Employing cross platform marketing channels is a good practice as it leads to greater brand exposure and reinforcement.
Also, don't neglect the power of the spoken word. In an age of visual clutter, going audio may sometimes work in your favour. However, only call potential customers when they've indicated some levels of interest in your product or service (eg by registering on your website for instance).
What do you think?Labels: brand campaign, Church of the Customer, customer evangelism, grassroots marketing, word of mouth
