Flexible Branding of Customers

Before Dematerialzation of Consumers we branded Products: Branded Product Customer Identity Differentiation Reputation Success is measured in brand recall/equity

Now we brand customers... Branded Product Customer Identity Differentiation Reputation Success is measured in accuracy of customer identity production

IT lets firms recognize the customer as an individual with a history, a present, and a future, and be treated as such. IT lets firms recognize the customer as an individual with a history, a present, and a future, and be treated as such. IT lets marketer manage customers for profit, IT lets marketer manage customers for profit, balancing each customer’s value against cost to serve! balancing each customer’s value against cost to serve!

Xxx xxxxxx xx xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxx xxx xxxx xxxx xxx x x xxxxxx xxx x x x x x x x xx x xxxx xxxx x x x x x x xxxxx xxxx xxxxxxxx xx xx xxx A typical Customer Map Value High Low Cost-to-serve Low High

Xxx xxxxxx xx xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxx xxx xxxx xxxx xxx x x xxxxxx xxx x x x x x x x xx x xxxx xxxx x x x x x x xxxxx xxxx xxxxxxxx xx xx xxx Goal: Manage customer relations toward the diagonal Value High Low Cost-to-serve Low High

Xxx xxxxxx xx xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxx xxx xxxx xxxx xxx x x xxxxxx xxx x x x x x x x xx x xxxx xxxx x x x x x x xxxxx xxxx xxxxxxxx xx xx xxx Information Marketer: Service delivery system driven by the customer’s assessed value Value High Low Cost-to-serve Low High

Steps to a Strong Customer Brand Identify each customer upon acquisition Rank each by gross margin or lifetime value Ask, learn and remember key customer characteristi cs and preferences Give preferred Customers more of what they value For low margin customers, reduce cost-to-serve Cost-to-serve Value IdentifyDifferentiateInteractCustomize

Learning About Customers Knowledge acquisition Cross-category analysis Customer differentiation Customization of Offerings and Interactions Communications Products/services Channels Prices INTERACTIONS Managing Relationships with Digital Marketing

Tailored Commun- ication Mass Custom- ization Custom Prices Custom Channels Remem- bering Needs Antici- pating Needs Targeting banner ads Viral marketing Customer designed products (Mattel, Levi, threadless etc.) Auctions Customer control (Priceline. com) Discounts based on behavior Dual channels Reduce trans- action costs Collabor- ative filtering Customizing Offerings and Interactions

Summary Branding is paramount Branding is paramount Branding is no longer limited to products and services Branding is no longer limited to products and services Branding needs individualized information Branding needs individualized information Customer branding becomes the foundation of a revolution in all other elements of the 4Ps! Customer branding becomes the foundation of a revolution in all other elements of the 4Ps!

Group Think! Identify some specific uses of this customer branding technology! Identify some specific uses of this customer branding technology! Pick a industry Pick a industry Pick a company Pick a company Generate a ‘case’ that shows how customer branding could be used by your company to improve profit per customer? Generate a ‘case’ that shows how customer branding could be used by your company to improve profit per customer?