Most companies see the brand strategy as a mere vehicle to increase their sales, and mistakenly believe that if they are achieved, it is because the brand has a place in the mind of the consumer.
It is necessary to be clear that the moment of purchase is only half the way in the construction of branding, and that it is fundamental to have actions that go hand in hand with the consumer not only in the process prior to the election of our product but also after If they have done so, they should strengthen their relationship with the brand. Actions that we can learn from.
Prior to the purchase, the consumer gives us a vote of confidence, listens to what we have to say about our brand, compares it, researches, learns, and finally chooses us. When this happens, it assumes a new role: that of the taster that puts on one side of the balance what we have offered (with which we convinced him) and in another his own experience to carry out a balance between what he paid vs what He received.
Any comprehensive branding plan should consider post-sale actions that continue to build on our basic promise and that enrich the consumer experience with our brand. One of the clearest examples of how to be consistent with your basic promise and being committed to your consumers is Nike with the Nike +. A device which consists of a small accelerometer placed in a shoe that communicates with the Nike + Sportband or a receiver connected to an ipod and which measures and records the distance and rhythm when you run, making sense and putting into practice the promise of Just Do It.
Evidently there are few brands in the world that enjoy budgets such as the one that nike uses to manage their branding, but beyond the size of the brand we are creating, there are 4 objectives that every branding strategy must take into account when they are worn. actions in the post-sale phase and that work beyond the type of product or service or the group to which they are focused:
Fidelity to positioning . Any effort must build on the original promise of the brand.
Satisfaction. It must satisfy a new need, additional to that previously satisfied by the product.
Added value . It must become an added value of our product, carry further the original promise of the product.
Interest . It must show in some way that the consumer is the one that matters, and that those actions are thought exclusively for their benefit.
The moment in which the consumer pays for our product for many is the successful completion of the marketing plan, but in reality it is just half of the process. The question that must be asked is: What are we doing to continue awakening that loyalty in our consumers once they become judges of our brands?
