You seem to care about growing your business. You want a recognised brand, nationally or maybe globally. You can’t imagine your brand being perceived as sub-par by consumers. Yet, here you are, unaware of what really makes your customer tick.
Your brand promise isn’t just an isolated accident of getting one particular thing right. It’s the orchestrated symphony of mapping your customer’s journey and planning ahead. It’s the little things all along the way. It’s just like the water and energy stops all along the course of a Triathlon.
You could be at any point of a product chain and dealing with another part of the supply chain yet your ability to build a brand shouldn’t be diminished. I’m going to use the example of a business which falls quite in the middle of a Supply Chain at times – a distributor. Let’s make a case to practice branding for them. ABC Solutions sells equipment for preparation of beverages in cafes, restaurants and hotels. They distribute for multiple brands, many of whom are world-renowned. They pack a serious punch in their industry and are integral in the setting up of food and beverage infrastructure. Their references and word-of-mouth are as good as they could be. This begs the question – what more could one do, or is it really worth doing it?
Our pitch to the prospective client – let us cut through your operational silos to create a tangible brand value at every touchpoint for your customer. Let them do business with you in a method that leaves them asking more of every other partner they engage with for time to come. We mapped out the customer journey (a simple one) while ensuring that we accounted for their unique business environment.
Whether you are D2C, B2C, B2B, C2C or P2P, brand building is noticeably effective. The ability for the customer to recall you or search you is higher. Delighted customers become brand evangelists waiting to show off something about their superior partnership with you.
Here is our touchpoint mapping and strategy for a client:
The ABC Co. Customer Journey
S. No | Chain of Business | Brand & Design Interventions Suggested |
Step 1 | Learning about ABC Co. 1. IndiaMart 2. ABC Website 3. Google Search for ABC products in India/Delhi 4. Exhibitions and Conferences 5. Consultants 6. Word of Mouth from existing customers | • Better looking website • Designed spaces at exhibitions • Relationship building with consultants • Establish clear and unambiguous brand identity for ABC Co. |
Step 2 | Engaging with ABC Co. 1. Visit our Spaces – Delhi, Mumbai, Hyd, Bangalore 3. Call us for a demonstration (Hotels & Big clients) 3. Greeting Mail 4. Presentation 5. Brochures | • Design and curation of space • Better PPTs for ABC Co. • All creatives aligned through better branding – logo, design collateral |
Step 3 | Buying from ABC Co. 1. Proposals 2. Invoices 3. Delivery Coordination 4. Product Delivery | • Welcome to ABC family note • Uniform for local staff |
Step 4 | Future with ABC Co. 1. Installation 2. Training 3. Servicing and repairs 4. Advisory | • Recipe book for clients • Training plan structure in “Grow with us” |
When mapping journeys, we realise that not all interventions can be addressed by solely a design organisation. There are recommendations and suggestions to improve parts of the business machine for smoother functioning. We believe that breaking through these organisational silos using the proposed Brand Identity as a north star would have incredible returns for a business. Such intangible brand increments would result in tangible top-line numbers over the course of time as well.
Branding shall prove to be a defining method of catalysed business growth for those organisations looking to back their quality product/service with an indomitable pace. As a brand & design strategy organisation, we realise not all businesses are the same. A D2C or B2C brand would prioritise customer experience over a B2B business. Surprisingly, here in lies an important lesson:
“Your B2B customer is always also a B2C customer. They are primed to respond to brands that can communicate their efficiencies through design. This creates an opportunity for B2B brands to also signal their superiority in their business practices, subsequently cementing lasting connections and loyalties”.
Moments that matter can be applied as a human-centred design and behavioural intervention for most businesses as well as not-for-profit organisations. The customer in this world of constant noise can with this aid follow a streamlined journey of their experience with your product or service. Once this consistent ease of engagement is established, it provides your brand with a competitive edge, and sometimes that’s all that sets you apart.