There is a new analogy being used about Shapiro+Raj by a number of our clients. Some of them think of us as a medical practice they call when they need diagnosis of truly troublesome business and marketing problems. As one client said last Friday. “Calling your team is like calling my Doctor’s office. You have a different way to understand and solve my problem.”
A bit of background. This company, a Fortune 50 consumer products manufacturer (who does not want to be disclosed at this stage), reached out 3-months ago to understand how they could reverse declining sales of one of its most iconic brands. A brand that has a successful 60-year history in its category. They had finished a year-long relaunch program, informed by a lot of research, that had failed. They needed a second opinion.
When we looked at the prior work, it became clear that their legacy research agencies had used very traditional approaches and methods, focused primarily on product attributes, to identify the opportunity for the brand. This is like using an x-ray to diagnose a tumor.
For an established brand in a mature category, that basic approach works as an evaluative product and funnel instrument, but it does not dig deep enough and does not look to understand issues in other aspects of the overall path to purchase. This is an important point. In the new normal, it is no longer just about product differentiation, it is also about understanding the customer’s relationship with the brand and how product and experience intertwine to deliver bonded relationships.
Science has clearly shown that strong relationships result in strong brand resonance that leads to customer loyalty, advocacy, and profitable growth. Even key marketing leaders agree. A.G. Lafley, ex-CEO of P&G said this in support. “Marketing has historically been about transactions. We transmit a message and hope the consumer receives it…in the future, a consumer will expect more of a relationship with the brand in their lives.”
The value of building strong bonds with customers has been a central aspect of our work for many years. Back in early 2000, Zain Raj, our CEO, created a model to systematically graduate brands from transactional to bonded relationships. This was memorialized in his best-selling book, Brand Rituals - How Successful Brands Bond with Customers for Life.
This framework is the basis for the S+R Relationship Monitor™. It is based on fundamental social science, years of experience, in-market validation, and transformative business outcomes.
This data-driven methodology allows brands to understand the relational profile and how it exists within the context of the category and against its defined competitive set. The Monitor frames four key relationship cohorts with two sub-groups each, as follows:
Undifferentiated and Uncaring are two groups with one that will only try your brand if there is no other choice while the other sees your brand as highly substitutable.
Make It Simple for Me are customers who will use your brand because people are talking about it or because it is easy and convenient to find it.
You Have Me in Your Camp are folks that have accepted your brand because it is good value for them while others now trust it because you have continued to meet/exceed their expectations.
I Like and Love You are your most bonded customers that have made a connection with you and are passionately committed.
A critical difference between x-rays that are the research industry norm versus the S+R Relationship Monitor™, is that the MRI digs deeper and addresses symptoms that other approaches don’t. By using this method, researchers and marketers can focus on the business actions that drive topline and bottom-line growth while strengthening the equity of their brand.
Back to the story. For this client, based on the relationship profiles and diagnostics, we clearly saw that they had become so focused on acquisition-orientation in their product development and marketing priorities, that they were no longer seen to serve the needs of their most dedicated and devoted customers. These most profitable customers were migrating to their competitor who had evolved its approach to a strong focus on managing their customer relationships.
The client is now in the process of using the data and our framework to win back their most bonded customers. Instead of line extensions and price-promotions they are refocusing their efforts to deliver a rewarding experience and consistent product performance in an authentic way that their most bonded customers value.
Shapiro+Raj
S+R is a research and strategy firm that uses social and behavioral sciences to solve the toughest business and marketing challenges. Our next-gen methods dig deep to unlock market-ready insights. Then our brand planners turn these into strategic marketplace actions that create brand evolution and innovation; customer experiences and loyalty; and new platforms for growth.
