Have you ever thought about who actually owns a brand? People tend to automatically think the answer is the company it’s associated with, but think again. Increasingly in the digital era, customers seem to have the final say.
Interaction between brands and customers is evolving. Today when brands act, they get an instant reaction on the internet. In fact, brand participation has become a birthright of purchase.
Social media elicits instantaneous response from customers, and that real-time interaction encourages brand participation like nothing else. Many B2C brands rely on social media popularity to increase sales, so their ability to make customers feel like insiders is crucial.
Co-creation is becoming one of the most popular ways to engage brand fans. Think of the Doritos Super Bowl competitions – participation skyrockets, and Doritos customers suddenly feel more valued and appreciated because they’re given a seat at the table. Crowdsourcing ideas for new products or brand direction is also wildly successful. My Starbucks Idea, for example, gives customers the opportunity to enact change, and they love it.
Perhaps more practical for B2B companies than co-creation or crowdsourcing, user support forums are an excellent form of brand participation. Customers get to become a more integrated part of the brand community and help others while they’re at it. In response, their appreciation of and loyalty to the brand often grows.
These examples of brand co-ownership signal increasing opportunities for customer self-expression and creativity, and overall, a greater voice in the decisions that shape brands. Strong brands will always need strong owners, but interestingly, they’ll need to be aware of when to take a back seat and let customers take the wheel.
Image via (cc) Michael L. Baird
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