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The New Digital Reality: Your Brand Is No Longer in Your Own Hands

Last week I heard an engaging presentation by Mohanbir Sawhney, a leading professor at Kellogg and the Director for the Center of Research Technology and Innovation. The presentation was titled “Customer Engagement and Brand Building in a Digital World.”

Sawhney spoke about the shift in thinking in the digital realm from customer exposure to customer engagement. In his thinking the differences are:

Exposure	versus	Engagement
Interrupt	versus	Facilitate
Reach	versus	Relevance
Mind	versus	Heart
Episodic	versus	Enduring
Passive	versus	Active
Selling	versus	Telling

Engagement marketing, he suggests, “seeks to create mutually beneficial relationships between brands and customers by providing information and services that help customers achieve their goals and pursue their interests.”

Stop for a moment and consider how you are using your online presence. If you have a website that has not been updated for the last several years, is it still relevant to the expectations that your desired customers have? Even if it has been updated, again, are you attempting to just get your targets’ attention or are you trying to draw them into building a relationship with you?

We have moved, according to Sawhney, into the realm of 7 x 24 engagements with our customers. In much the same way that technology has enabled us to watch our favorite television program whenever and wherever we want to, our presence on the web has enabled our current and prospective clients to engage with us, our products, and our services whenever and wherever they want. Given this new relationship, engagement becomes part of the value proposition that is built through your marketing efforts.

Sawhney’s presentation then moved to the question of brand and what it is that you are trying to do with your brand; that is, what is the role that you want your brand to play? He outlined a few alternatives:

• Brand as Service Provider
• Brand as Problem Solver
• Brand as Community Sponsor
• Brand as Connection Maker
• Brand as Cause Supporter
• Brand as Creativity Curator

As you can see from the above options, there are many manifestations of Brand available. However, you need to keep it simple and avoid the impulse to try to do too many things at the same time. (Our hint: pick one.) Remember, this is about a conversation with your desired audience. As well as attempting to ensure that they get your intended message, this is about a conversation via the emerging and evolving social media to enhance your relationships with your market. In order to get the most out of the conversation, you need to listen intelligently and understand that, in the current reality, you will be, at best, a co-creator of your Brand’s content.

Whether you actively promote your company through social media or not, you ARE there. With that in mind, here are some questions to think about:

• Do you know what people are saying about you, and are you engaging proactively in setting the terms of the conversation? (If you are unsure, you can use Google Alerts to monitor this.)
• As you embark on creating an online presence, do you understand that presence is not about “build it and they will come,” but rather an ongoing dialog in the places where they are already talking about you? In other words . . . what makes you think your clients and prospects are even going to your website? And, if they are, do you know how they are using it?
• Do you understand that you have multiple touch points with your prospective audience and you need to be conscious of the context in which each touch occurs?
• As with any other element of your business, have you thought through how to measure the impact of your activities, evaluate the results and, as necessary, adapt your actions to this analysis?
• How do you even know if you are part of the conversation? More and more, buying decisions are being made without involving the product/service provider at all. In shorter words: your customers and potential endorsers are talking behind your back.

In summary, the ubiquitous and “always on” nature of the web has changed people’s access to and interaction with the messages that you are attempting to send. Are you ready to enter into the relationship and brand discussion that the new digital reality creates?

This publication is part of Blackman Kallick’s marketing of professional services, and is not written tax advice directed at the specific facts and circumstances of any person and/or entity. Contents of this publication are of a general nature, and you should not act on this information without obtaining professional advice from your business advisor that is appropriately tailored to your individual needs and circumstances. This written advice is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code.