The client experiences difficulty in getting the target group to come for his product or service. Or the client needs to increase the number of followers. The client also wants to achieve brand loyalty with the target group. Normally the marketing department signals this need and creates a solution for the situation that is predicting at that moment. The focus for them is to ensure a positive increase in sales. Only the brand does not get enough attention. Not consciously, because the brand is presented on the channels, but the brand is not communicated. What is funny about this is that the need for more connection is signaled by the target group long before the marketing department recognizes this. Even worse, it is not an obligation for the target group to feel connected to a brand that has never been in communication with them.
The above situation outlines a dissonance between the channels of the brand and the brand itself. The brand is being considered, but it is the channels that are used to reach and cultivate public attention. Although the channels are OF the brand, they carry no story ABOUT the brand.
The dissonance can be recognized by 1) the essence of the brand on the channel is lost. The brand is only seen as a product or service. There is a lot of emphasis on what the brand does and not what the brand is. 2) the application of different strategies. A strategy is being implemented for the channel that is completely in contrast to the strategy intended for the brand. Yet these two are combined so that they can “work together”. Mmmh …. the gap in the connection. The specialist who is responsible for brand awareness only sees the channels as marketing channels. Conversely, the specialist who is responsible for the channels sees the brand only as content to publish and to fill in the channels.
Other forms of dissonance between the brand and the channel are
- the content on the digital channels is inconsistent
- the content about the brand is not in line with the brand
- the contact of the target group with the channels of the brand is reduced
- there is a decrease in the interest of the target group for the products and services of the brand
- the message that the brand bears cannot be seen on the channels
- few repeat customers
- click-through is rarely done
- high bounce percentages
- lead generation is difficult
- new target groups are not taken into consideration
Three important questions
That is why the situation described earlier is an indication of an improvement in the forms of contact between the channels of the brand and the target group. For this it is necessary to set a direction in which the digital channels and the brand are brought together. If you want to find out what the connection is like, ask yourself these two questions:
1. Why is the brand relevant to the channels?
2. What does each channel say about the brand?
3. With what feeling does the target group react back?
