Brands are in our faces almost every moment of our lives. Logos, advert campaigns, products and services that we are made to believe will make our lives better and easier, are all around us. Every kind of media is plastered with brands and the promises of what they can do for consumers. Everything is driven at trying to connect consumers with the companies behind the brands, but do consumers really care for all that? What exactly in a brand are consumers looking for?
I believe consumer thinking has changed in the last 20 years, whereby the consumer now is more enlightened and informed on what they need. They are looking for more than just a transactional exchange with brands, they demanding more. Consumers have been asking brands questions like: Did this brand make me fitter, wiser, smarter, closer? Were my outcomes improved? Did my community outcomes improve? Did it pollute the environment? Did this brand leave a lasting footprint in my community? In other words, besides taking my money, what did I gain? Consumers are evaluating the exchange of money for value derived from brands. How lasting is the value? Long-term and no longer short-term benefits – not just impact my life today but also of generations to come.
I have worked with brands that I can testify to having changed lives of communities in Zimbabwe. These brands created partnerships with communities in order to make lives better. These brands chose certain aspects of life of the Zimbabwean people and committed to make a change for the better. Zimbabwe is faced with challenges in water& sanitation, power, education and community development and empowerment – these are critical areas that brands or corporates can make great contributions to. Brands that are investing in communities are transforming lives and have endeared themselves to the consumers. Why? Because people buy brands that are improving lives.
People follow stories of brands that put people first before profitability and they tell others about it. Brands are no longer what we tell consumers, but what consumers tell each other. Brands with relevance will survive longer than those that are focused on just sales. If as a business you want to remain profitable, you have to move from claiming you can deliver experiences to actually rendering those experiences. Customers cannot only have those experiences when they read your adverts and yet when they come into your service, they leave with a different story.
How to impact lives through brands:
- Choose a community
- Research on areas of challenges faced by the community
- Create partnership with community
- Get started and …
- Make a difference!!!
