Bubbly with your blowout?
Posted by Matt Hurle | 25 Oct 2018
The brand experience is created by many touchpoints. Brand or consumer touchpoints are all the different ways a consumer interacts with your brand before, during or after purchasing your services/products.
Many brands fail to identify and fully understand the value of their consumer touchpoints. Most marketing budgets allocate funds to core assets such as websites, social channels, advertising, primary packaging and collateral but omit the less obvious assets that can mean the difference between a good brand and a great brand.Walking down West Broadway and into my local Dry Bar was always a rewarding experience. I knew walking through those doors that I would be walking out with a gorgeous blowout - but that, I am certain, is not what brought me back each time.
From the well-placed TV screens featuring my favourite Sex and the City episode, to the complimentary bubbly on arrival as I perused the cleverly crafted menu of blowouts with choices such as a “The Manhattan and Southern Comfort” and of course, the yummy scalp massage – they never missed a ‘touchpoint’ beat. On a busy New York street they have created an oasis – a forty-minute blowout at Dry bar feels like an indulging afternoon treatment. Dry Bar don’t just offer blowouts. Like a beautiful friend, they focus on building a great relationship with you.
So how do you focus on the less obvious touchpoints that collectively can add value and build a great relationship with your customer?
The first step is to experience your brand as your customer would.
Become your customer: map out every touchpoint– from an initial phone call, a business card, a receipt, a shopping bag… to the tissue paper inside the bag – every possible interaction you can have with your customer.
Divide all the touchpoints into two columns:
1. Touchpoints that add value to your customer relationship
2. Touchpoint that currently don’t add value to your customer relationship
The second column is a wonderful list of potential future interactions that can transform your brand experience, the essence of your brand and build loyal customers.
Product sampling and curated brand experiences are powerful touchpoints for a brand. People seek to interact with brands beyond the traditional and obvious touchpoints. As evident in the Dry Bar example, people become loyal to brands for reasons beyond their products and services.
Consumer touchpoints play a critical role in establishing and reinforcing your brand’s positioning and overall essence. Make time to crack your consumer touchpoints and your brand will be stronger for it.
We're here to help so if you need inspiration, why not contact our team today.