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Mr Srinivas is a Co-founder and Director at Master Mentors Advisory Pvt Ltd, a Premier Consulting Organisation. He has 20 years post educational experience in leading Indian and MNC organisations.

Tuesday 22 May 2012

MAGNETISM AND THE ART OF MARKETING..

Very often, we would have heard phrases like 'Magnetic Personality', Magnetic Attraction' and Magnetic Pull.
In the world of Marketing, the success stories have been written by those who have understood the power of Magnetism, applied in real life to their marketing subjects and  created the aura and the story around their brand that took their target customers by awe making them yearn more and more of it till they get habituated to consuming their product or service.

In the above case, we see iron filings getting attracted and clinging onto the magnet as if they are an extension. Successful brands attract their target audience and make them their die hard fans.
Iconic Brands in the world like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, invoke a sense of of dire need and/or a desire within their target audience that makes them long to be associated in the same way.
What we could understand here is that, the magnets are imparted with the magnetic characteristic through a process typical to the type of magnet, either a permanent magnet or an electromagnet. They have a field of influence, intensity or strength to attract and a target set of materials they are likely to act. In some cases the magnetic power gets neutralised or lost due to external processes or over time.
The analogy of the same could be found in marketing case studies.
A case in point is that of the success of KBC on Star Plus during the year 2000.
When Star Plus was struggling for a foothold in the Indian market against the onslaught of Zee group, it pulled off a trump card by launching KBC with the Indian Super Star, Amitabh Bachan which acted like a magnet to attract the entertainment hungry star struck audience, who got glued day after day for the entire hour of the program. STAR then used the eyeballs to market its entire bouquet of Prime time programs of the K-Type which became market leaders in their own right in due course. Here is one big magnet, spinning off more magnets (induced magnetism) .
Marketers would do well to understand the key motivator that drives the purchase behaviour of their target audience and strive to establish resonance between their brand and the target audience. The bond that could be established could last longer and grow stronger only if the brand lives up to its promise and continues to excite its audience through innovation and reinvention lest it should lead to brand fatigue and falling out of terms with the ever moving profile of its target audience. Or else the magnetic power will be lost like that of an electromagnet that loses its, when the current across its coil of wire is cut off.

How does one transform one’s brand from being just an “attractive” one to one that is “magnetic” in its qualities – ability to draw consumers to it like iron filings are drawn to a magnet!!
The key ingredient in a magnetic brand is passion – it is the single largest differentiator for a brand to draw customers to itself. A study of some of the finest brands like Apple,  Apollo Hospital Care, Apcolite from Asian Paints, Ray Ban, Swarovski etc. has shown that these brands are magnetic and not just attractive.
Successful brands and by extension, Successful Organisations, have passion as a common thread in the organisation - Passion in manufacturing the products without a flaw (visible or perceived) , passion in the packaging and passion in ensuring that the goods reach the user in the way the creator envisaged it to be.
Apple, with its no compromise approach to create the world's finest products, gave the world, killer products like Mac Book, iPod, iPhone, iPad, each of which created their own markets and die-hard followers, acorss the world.  The passion of the founder, the legendary Steve Jobs, percolated down to each and every employee in the organization, influenced each ad every aspect of the product and service created by the organization.
In the world's leading brand of Crystal, Swarovski, the brand was in the centre of everything. When the goods were packed and shipped from a single warehouse in Europe, they were packaged individually in gift boxes with a protective sponge in them. Then they were packed in a cardboard carton and wrapped in waterproof film. The water proof film was wiped clean before sending to the stores.” It was not necessary”, said many but the credo in the organisation was that when you sell beautiful products you need to present it in his finery even when it is being handed over to a delivery boy. That is passion and hence brand magnetism for you.  Not only was Swarovski attractive but also was magnetic because the way the product was packaged, the consumer got convinced that this brands cares for him or her and is drawn to it. No other brand has been able to do the same.
Sunglasses have made the journey from eye protection goggles to fashion statements over the years. As it is the most visible accessory on a person, it needs to communicate to the world at large as to who the wearer is!!. A successful brand like Ray Ban managed to do that by not only developing styles but also packaging them in apt sunglass cases!!.  Here again the packaging was the magnet which drew the customers to it and made Ray Ban a must have personal accessory. The Signet – a dressy model and the General – named after a World War II Hero- had special sunglass cases which reflected the design. The former was in a ‘faux leather” dressy case and the latter in a black case with the 50 years of Ray Ban mentioned - which communicated authority and seniority– hall marks of a General
These two examples show as to how you can magnetise your brand.
  1. Look beyond the obvious – the core product or service is often copied by others. However if you focus on the smaller details, you can find that magnetic quality. This can be in terms of packaging,a warranty card or sometimes the wrapping paper !!. If even the smallest detail is well executed, magnetic attraction sets in
  2. Walk the talk – If you are offering heath care services, it is not enough that you offer a top class medical service. The smaller detail like the warmth and understanding in the smile of the receptionist is magnetic. It should be a warm smile to cheer them up but not an expansive one like one would see in a hotel!!. The wrong smile or choice of greeting can turn the magnetic power off.
Magnets also repel – We must ensure that in our quest of creating a magnetic effect, we do not overdo it. Customers get turned off when they see an “over the top” welcome or greeting.

We therefore should be careful that we consciously create magnetic qualities in our brand, that of an attraction force and not a repulsion force!!  


Written by Srinivas M (ms@mastermentors.in) with inputs from Vembu Shivkumar
 (shivkumar@mastermentor.in) .

Please address your comments, views and queries if any to ms@mastermentors.in
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