Conversational Marketing

With advertising costs spiralling, customer loyalty becoming fickle, reduction in attention spans and product life cycle getting shorter, Organizations are scurrying to find out cost effective methods of communicating. And they are resorting to something from the past -Conversational Marketing. Believe me, in olden days people used this to great effect. In fact this was the only tool that was available before the advent of newspapers, radio and the ubiquitous television. In a sense the wheel has come the full circle.

In the years to come, Conversational Marketing is likely to be used as a major tool in changing the negative perception of the customers or more importantly in developing a lasting brand image. Organizations will strive to engineer brand interventions and create new products that generate controllable, predictable, positive third party endorsement and word-of-mouth marketing.

Consumers are getting more powerful. With the advent of Internet and the consequent information explosion, there has been a perceptible shift from a sellers market to a buyers market. To remain competitive Organizations are forced to offer quality, inexpensive and innovative products which has a negative influence on their bottom line. With the world moving away from a services economy to an experience economy, the race is on to create value by transforming the mere consumption of products and services to meaningful consumer experiences.

Storytelling is a powerful currency that transforms the relationship between brand experiences and the consumers. Satisfied customers are requested to talk about their consumption experience in return for incentives, both monetary and non-monetary. This, called Conversational Capital, shall ensure enhanced brand equity.

Let us have a look at how Conversational Capital can be generated and maintained in the long run. There are numerous avenues available,

Icons: Since Consumers notice icons, products that exemplify the Corporate identity should be highlighted as icons

Rituals: Encourage active involvement of prospective customers and stakeholders in select events, organized periodically, to develop a sense of ownership

Endorsement: Celebrity endorsement acts as a risk reducer for the consumer and aids in associating products with an image. This helps in the positioning of products in the minds of the customer

Myths: Over a period of time, create and circulate traditional narratives or myths regarding the organization's products, services and customer experiences. Allow the legends to grow.

Personal Testimonials: Testimonials should be obtained from satisfied customers that shall serve as a marketing tool to generate word of mouth and to reassure new customers or fence sitters.

Creating conversational capital is a tedious process with hardly any tangible returns in the short term. But in the long run it will be well worth it.