Discount coupons have long been a staple in the marketer’s toolkit, enticing consumers with the promise of savings and driving sales. In the ever-evolving landscape of mobile commerce (m-commerce), where smartphones have become virtual shopping malls, the role of discount coupons has taken on new dimensions. While these digital vouchers undoubtedly boost short-term sales, their long-term impact on customer loyalty and trust is a subject of ongoing debate and research.

The Allure of Discount Coupons in M-commerce

M-commerce apps have revolutionized how consumers shop, offering convenience and personalization at their fingertips. Discount coupons, often delivered through push notifications or in-app messages, have proven to be a potent weapon in attracting and retaining users. The appeal is simple: Consumers love saving money, and coupons provide a tangible incentive to make a purchase.

Research by Mishra and Sengupta (2024) indicates that coupons are particularly effective in m-commerce due to the personalized nature of mobile interactions. M-commerce apps can leverage user data, such as location and browsing history, to tailor coupon offers, making them more relevant and enticing.

Moreover, the immediacy of mobile coupon redemption, often facilitated by QR codes or unique coupon codes, adds to their allure. Consumers can instantly apply discounts at checkout, enhancing the overall shopping experience.

The Dark Side of Discounting

While the short-term benefits of discount coupons are undeniable, their long-term consequences are less clear-cut. Overreliance on discounts can create a “discount dependency” among consumers, where they become conditioned to expect lower prices and may hesitate to purchase at full price. This can erode profit margins and devalue a brand’s perceived worth.

Furthermore, it was also found that while coupons drive continued app usage, they can negatively moderate the relationship between customer satisfaction and continued usage. In other words, while satisfied customers are more likely to continue using an app, this effect is weakened when coupons are involved. This suggests that coupons may attract deal-seeking customers who are less loyal and more likely to switch to competitors offering better deals.

Building Trust and Satisfaction: The Long Game

To foster long-term customer loyalty and trust, m-commerce businesses must look beyond the allure of discounts. Mishra and Sengupta (2024) emphasize the importance of building trust through consistent positive experiences, reliable customer service, and secure transactions.

Customer satisfaction, driven by factors like perceived usefulness and confirmation of expectations, plays a pivotal role in trust formation. When users find an app easy to use, meets their needs, and delivers on its promises, they are more likely to trust the platform and continue using it, even without the constant lure of discounts.

Striking the Right Balance

The key to success in m-commerce lies in striking a balance between short-term sales promotions and long-term relationship building. Discount coupons can be a valuable tool for attracting new customers and driving occasional purchases, but they should not be the sole focus of a marketing strategy.

M-commerce businesses should invest in creating a user-friendly app, providing excellent customer service, and building a brand reputation that instills trust. By prioritizing customer satisfaction and trust, they can cultivate a loyal customer base that values the overall shopping experience, not just the discounts.

The Future of Discount Coupons in M-commerce

As technology continues to advance, the use of discount coupons in m-commerce is likely to evolve. We can expect to see more personalized and targeted coupon offers, leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict consumer preferences and behaviors.

Additionally, the integration of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) into m-commerce apps may open up new avenues for coupon delivery and redemption, creating immersive and interactive shopping experiences.

However, the fundamental challenge remains the same: how to leverage discount coupons effectively without sacrificing long-term customer loyalty and trust. M-commerce businesses that can navigate this delicate balance will be well-positioned for success in the increasingly competitive mobile marketplace.

Key Points

• Discount coupons are effective in driving short-term sales in m-commerce.
• Over reliance on discounts can create discount dependency and erode profit margins.
• Building trust and customer satisfaction is crucial for long-term loyalty.
• M-commerce businesses should strike a balance between discounts and relationship building.
• The future of discount coupons in m-commerce lies in personalization and immersive experiences.

The article draws from an article published by the author Mishra and Sengupta (2024) and includes additional inputs from recent research and publicly available information.

References

Mishra, A. N., & Sengupta, S. (2024). Discount Coupons Versus Trust and Satisfaction—Which is Better for M-Commerce?. Management and Labour Studies, 49(1), 28-42.

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Boutique hotels are unique and differentiated from traditional hotels, offering personalized service and a memorable experience to their guests. However, managing a boutique hotel can be challenging, especially when it comes to meeting the diverse needs and expectations of guests. A recent large-scale study of online reviews has shed light on the key factors that drive guest satisfaction in boutique hotels. Based on the findings of this study, here are 10 tips for managing boutique hotels:

1. Prioritize the Ease of Booking: The study found that ease of booking is a critical determinant of guest satisfaction, particularly in the US market. Ensure that your hotel’s booking system is user-friendly, the process is streamlined, and check-in is seamless. This includes optimizing your website for mobile devices, offering multiple payment options, and providing clear and concise information about your hotel and its amenities.
2. Focus on Service Recovery: While high-quality service is expected, the absence of expected service quality significantly decreases guest satisfaction(Mishra et al., 2024). Therefore, it’s crucial to focus on service recovery. Train your staff to handle complaints effectively, empower them to resolve issues quickly, and go the extra mile to turn negative experiences into positive ones.
3. Personalize the Guest Experience: Boutique hotels are known for their personalized service. Tailor your services to the individual needs and preferences of your guests. This could involve offering personalized recommendations for local attractions, providing customized amenities, or simply remembering their names and preferences.
4. Maintain High Standards of Cleanliness: Cleanliness is a basic expectation for any hotel, but it’s even more important for boutique hotels that promise a luxurious and comfortable stay. Ensure that your rooms and common areas are spotless, and pay attention to details like fresh linens, towels, and toiletries.
5. Invest in High-Quality Amenities: While boutique hotels may not offer as many amenities as larger hotels, the quality of the amenities they do offer is crucial. Invest in high-quality bedding, towels, toiletries, and other amenities that will enhance the guest experience.
   
   
6. Offer Unique and Memorable Experiences: Boutique hotels should strive to offer unique and memorable experiences that guests can’t find elsewhere. This could involve hosting special events, offering unique packages, or partnering with local businesses to provide exclusive experiences.
7. Leverage Technology: Technology can be a powerful tool for managing boutique hotels. Use property management systems to streamline operations, customer relationship management software to personalize guest interactions, and reputation management tools to monitor and respond to online reviews.
8. Monitor and Respond to Online Reviews: Online reviews are a valuable source of feedback for boutique hotels. The research paper by Mishra et al., 2024 provides step by step approach to collect and analyze guest reviews. Monitor reviews on platforms like TripAdvisor and respond promptly and professionally to both positive and negative feedback. Use negative reviews as an opportunity to learn and improve.
9. Engage with the Local Community: Boutique hotels should strive to be a part of the local community. Partner with local businesses, participate in community events, and support local charities. This will not only enhance your hotel’s reputation but also provide unique experiences for your guests.
10. Continuously Innovate and Improve: The boutique hotel industry is constantly evolving. To stay ahead of the competition, you need to continuously innovate and improve. This could involve introducing new services, upgrading your amenities, or simply finding new ways to surprise and delight your guests.

How to make the guest experience more personal and memorable?

Personalization in boutique hotels is a key differentiator that elevates the guest experience beyond simply providing a place to sleep. It’s about crafting a unique and memorable stay that caters to individual preferences, fosters a sense of connection, and ultimately drives customer loyalty.

The Importance of Personalization in Boutique Hotels

Boutique hotels, by their nature, offer a more intimate and curated experience compared to larger, standardized chain hotels. This smaller scale allows for a greater degree of attention to detail and flexibility in catering to individual needs.

Personalization is more than just remembering a guest’s name or preferred room type. It involves understanding their interests, anticipating their needs, and tailoring every aspect of their stay accordingly. This could include personalized welcome amenities, curated local experiences, bespoke dining options, or even customized room décor.

The Benefits of Personalization

1. Enhanced Guest Satisfaction: When guests feel seen, heard, and understood, their satisfaction levels naturally increase. Personalized touches make them feel valued and appreciated, leading to positive reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations.
2. Increased Loyalty and Repeat Business: A personalized experience creates an emotional connection with guests. They are more likely to remember their stay fondly and choose to return for future visits, driving repeat business for the hotel.
3. Differentiation from Competitors: In a crowded market, personalization helps boutique hotels stand out. It gives them a unique selling proposition that resonates with guests seeking a more tailored and memorable experience.
4. Higher Revenue Potential: Personalized experiences often come with a premium price tag. Guests are willing to pay more for a stay that caters to their specific needs and desires, leading to increased revenue for the hotel.
5. Data-Driven Insights: Personalization efforts often involve collecting guest data, such as preferences, interests, and feedback. This data can be analyzed to gain valuable insights into guest behavior, enabling hotels to further refine their personalization strategies and offerings.

Examples of Personalization in Boutique Hotels

• Pre-Arrival Questionnaire: Gathering information about guest preferences before their arrival allows for personalized welcome amenities, room setup, and activity suggestions.
• Handwritten Welcome Notes: A personal touch like a handwritten note from the hotel staff can make guests feel special and appreciated from the moment they check in.
• Curated Local Experiences: Offering bespoke itineraries and recommendations based on guest interests ensures they have a unique and memorable experience exploring the destination.
• Personalized Dining Options: Catering to dietary restrictions and preferences, or even offering private chef experiences, creates a truly bespoke dining experience.
• Customized In-Room Amenities: Providing personalized toiletries, snacks, or even a curated playlist can add an extra layer of luxury and comfort to the guest experience.

By following these tips, boutique hotels can enhance guest satisfaction, improve their online reputation, and ultimately drive more bookings. Remember, the key to success in the boutique hotel industry is to provide a unique, personalized, and memorable experience that guests will cherish and share with others.

This article is based on research paper Mishra et al. (2024) published in the Journal of Computer Information Systems and can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2024.2362824

Mishra, A. N., Li, J., Sengupta, P., & Oztekin, A. (2024). NLP-Driven Insights on Boutique Hotel Satisfaction. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 1-16 https://doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2024.2362824

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It took almost two decades for e-commerce to gain the same number of users that m-commerce gained in just five years. There are some key differences between e-commerce and m-commerce that has lead to this phenomena. There are several differences but most importantly, we have portability, ease of use, integration with other services and ease of communication. These are some differentiating factors that set m-commerce on a different growth trajectory.

M-commerce stands for mobile-commerce. It is a derivative of the term electric-commerce of e-commerce. M-commerce can be defined as the exchange of goods, services and money among entities such as firms, customers, government supported by the use of wireless devices such as smartphones or tablets. Another defining factor is the use of wireless communication like Wi-Fi or Telecom internet. On the other hand e-commerce does not have the limitation of either the type of device or of the mode of communication.

Benefits of m-commerce over e-commerce

Mobility

There are many advantages of mobile devices. Firstly, mobile devices are always available with the users. You can simply take out your smartphone from the pocket and click on the Amazon icon. Then, you can start using their mcommerce application. However, if you want to use their website (ecommerce) then you may have to wait until you reach back home or office. You need to have access to a computer. Secondly, mobile devices more handy. Sometimes the ideas that you may get to purchase an item, may be transient. You could forget it by the time you reach back home and open your laptop. On the other hand, you can instantly browse the app.

One of the driving forces for the adoption of m-commerce has been the increasing number of mobile devices. Also researchers have found strong correlation between the factors that enhance or inhibit the mobile adoption to the factors for m-commerce adoption. What this means in simpler language is that mobility is the key to m-commerce. As we see a higher penetration of mobile devices, we shall see higher proportion of users going for m-commerce.

Ease of use

It is far easier to flick out your smart phone and start browsing items on Amazon. A key difference between e-commerce and m-commerce is that of ease of use. You don’t need to open the laptop, boot the system, open the browser then type the address of ecom website. You can simply click on the icon of your favorite ecommerce app and search for the item you need.

Also, the way, mobile apps are designed, there is a lot more standardization. It is easier to navigate another new app compared to another new website. The interface and buttons are designed to make your purchase journey as easy as possible. Although the same approach is taken on a website as well. However, websites are still loaded with sidebars, comprehensive menus, etc.

Integration with other apps

All the apps work over a common operating system. Whether it is Android which is the world’s largest mobile operating system or iOS, they all have mechanisms of connecting the data between different apps. This is much easier to do in mobile platform than desktop platforms. You can have specific files that open with specific apps. Similarly, the services can also be shared between different apps.

For instance, try to imagine a scenario where you need to return some defective item. If you are using ecommerce, then it is cumbersome to attach images of the product to your complaint. However, you can simply using the same (mobile) device to click images and upload it instantly.

Seamless payment

It is far more easier to integrate payment interface with a mobile app. The transition between shopping app to the payment interface is seamless. If your bank sends you an OTP, you can easily access that on your phone as you would be already holding it. Also, automation is simpler. Many of the apps have the option of reading your OTP. This makes the processes so smooth as you don’t even have to bother to read and enter the correct numbers.

Also, most mcommerce applications allow the local storage of your banking credentials. This can make the payment system faster. Finally, you may also get a confirmation message from the bank on your phone itself. You can check whether the payment went through properly from your bank’s end.

Ease of communication

M-Commerce enables faster communication between players. Firstly, you can use features such as notifications. They are also known as push notifications. These notifications help you in directly communicating with your customers. It is evident that they have much higher read rate, click rate and conversion rate compared to emails. Also, timely response from user is an added bonus. Most users respond within one hour of notification.

Opening rate of notification is 90% as compared to 40% for emails.

– source: Moengage

Some major drawbacks of m-commerce

There are not just good things that make up the difference between e-commerce and m-commerce. We also have some drawbacks of m-commerce. It has been criticized for creating a consumerism culture, addiction, impulse buying and non-sustainable practices.

Culture of consumerism

Another drawback of mcommerce is the increase in the culture of consumerism. Individuals have increased the spending on shopping. Users spend more than 4 hours on the apps. This has resulted in a situation where over 70% of the sales have started coming in from mobile apps.

Over 70% of the sales have started coming in from mobile apps

– source: eMarketer

Addiction of m-commerce

As we have discussed earlier, users are spending more than four hours each day. This leads to addiction of m-commerce. One big difference between e-commerce and m-commerce is the addictive nature of m-commerce. It can lead to eye fatigue, strain injury to hands and wrist and even psychological disorders.

Impulse buying behavior

Since users can take our their smartphone any time, any where, it is very convenient. However, this convenience comes at a price. It increases the chances of unplanned buying. Impulse buying refers to the act of sudden purchase of a product or service based on whim or impulse. Mcommerce apps are deliberately designed to increase this type of behavior through constant notifications, UI design, promotions and other selling tactics.

Non-sustainable consumption

One outcome of increased buying and impulse buying is that we are buying more than we need. This puts immense pressure on the already strained environment. We are generating waste at an alarming rate. Instagram and Snapchat culture has made it fashionable to have more and more apparels, accessories and paraphernalia. All of these have some carbon footprint and we are increasing our footprint as we increase our level of consumption.

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Brand elements are important aspects of Marketing communication. Here brand elements are explained with simple examples in the Indian context. It is also useful to learn these examples in local context for Indian students as they can relate well to brands they know well. For readers from other countries, these examples of brand elements would provide information about branding in Indian context.

What is a Brand?

A brand is a “name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller and to differentiate them from those of competition.”

                                                                                  -American Marketing Association (AMA)

Brand Elements

So we introduce the term “Brand elements” which refer to components like name, logo, symbol, package design, or other characteristics that help in identifying and differentiating a product. In a way, brand element deals only with those things that are mentioned in the AMA definition of brand. From here, we would look into each of the brand element components individually by taking examples of various brands.

Components of Brand Elements

1. Name (brand name , URLs):

Brand name

Brand name is the The word or words used to identify a company, product, service, or concept.

1. Acronym: A name made up of initials. Some examples are IBM, UPS.
2.  Descriptive: A name or tag that describes the benefit or function of a product. Example: Ujala.
3. Alliteration and Rhyme: Names that are fun to say and retain in mind such as Liggad Papad
4. Evocative: A name that suggests a related, brilliant image, for instance; Tiger biscuit brand of Britannia
5. Neologisms: A new word framed/ made up altogether like Airtel, Kodak and Xerox which is then forged into identity by promotion.
6. Foreign word: Adopt a term from another language such as Samsung and Volvo
7. Person-based name: These names use the names of real people (like founder, partners or prominent individuals) such as ADAG group, Mahindra, Walt Disney and Hewlett Packard
8. Geography: Various brands are named after landmarks and regions like Indian airlines, South-west airlines, Asian paints, Fuji Film and Cisco
9. Personification: Several brands derive brand names from legends like Nike and Betty Crocker. A lot of local players in the Indian market make use of God’s name as their brand such as “Lakshmi jewellers”.

Other kinds of name classifications are Utility based brand; Celebrity/ personality based brand; Brand Name extension – splendor, splendor+; Brand Name with numeric extensions; International Brand and its implications. A known brand name can act as a symbol of reliability and trust over an unknown brand. It can also play a key role at the time of brand extension. Therefore, brand name is one of the brand elements examples.

Universal Resource Locaters (URLs):

The unique “Universal Resource Locater” used to identify a company, product or service in the web space. The URL http://www.espncricinfo.com/ would be another brand elements examples where it suggests about its service i.e. a source or repository of information regarding cricket and also about its provider ESPN which provides authenticity to its service.

2. Term (labelling, slogans):

• Slogans: A short and striking or memorable phrase used to relate to a company, product, service, or concept. Some instantly remembered brands and their slogans are:

A company can have more than one slogan, but generally, it changes with time when the attribute or quality stressed changes.

• Labelling: The mandatory objective of labelling is to guarantee that consumers have access to complete information on the content and composition of products. The marketing aspect of labelling is to emphasize the key value proposition being provided to the consumer.

The most common characters to define a label are:

1. Any textual matter attached to or packed with the part of food stuff.
2. Any pictorial matter attached to or packed with the part of food stuff

This clearly shows that labelling includes only the text and picture, and not the physical container itself.

Characteristics of Labeling:

• Identifying the product
  • Informing the consumers about the product
  • Presentation of the product
  • Individualizing the product

The three primary functions of labelling are:

1. The Informative function: “for consumers to make rational and well-informed choices, information is a fundamental requirement.”

-Brown

1. Descriptive Information: Name of a product or the words describing it.

E.g., Glucose biscuit for Parle-G serves as brand element that provides information to the consumers about what the product is.

b.) Usage information: “Shake well before use” or “to be consumed under a physician’s recommendation” in case of medicines

c.) Service information

Shadi.com would be one example where the name suggests the service that is provided. Such brand elements examples are rare because it is difficult to get the domain name or trademark for common names.

d.) Other information: “World’s Largest Selling Biscuit” For Parle-G just explains what other information can be shared in a label.

                        2.) Marketing Function: Visual and Verbal characteristics

                             Labelling as an attractive method to convey the virtues of the product

• Warning function: A typical example is “Not for children below the age of 3 years” written on a medicinal product.

3. Sign (signage, logo)

A sign is an object, quality, or event which signifies the brand’s presence.

• Signage: Any kind of visual graphics created to display information about a company, product, service or concept. In order to be effective, signage must work quickly to relay an original message. Whether it be instant brand recognition or a tactical message. Here as well, colour plays a crucial role, and the font type must be synchronized with the overall design such that it is comprehensible.

Logo:  A symbol or other small design adopted to identify the company or its product. The practical design and use of a logo employ the understanding of human behaviour. Whether cultural or internal, people recognize and react to color, shapes, lines, fonts and other symbolic forms with emotions tied to their experiences.

 A logo tries to capture a person’s mind by means of photographic memory, but the challenge is how a brand is going to be spotted out of hundreds of logo which a consumer might come across daily.

4. Symbol (characters, spokespeople):

• Characters: The mental and moral qualities distinctive to something which is used to endorse the brand. The character might be animated or fictional as in many cases.

E.g. Lion and Liona character for Kwality Walls Paddle Pop range.

• Spokespeople: A person (either gender) who speaks or represents the company, product or service.

The person endorsing the brand must possess characters which align with the product or the brand being endorsed. It gives the consumer with a sense of direct acceptance if the perceived nature and the brands value proposition match.

5. Design (packaging, colour, shape, ):

• Packaging: The way a product is packaged and finally presented in front of an end customer. In modern days, Packaging not only deals with the product protection but also as a source of conveying the product attributes indirectly

Some objectives which packaging must achieve both from a firm and consumer perspective are:

1. Identify the brand
2. Convey descriptive and persuasive information
3. Facilitate product transportation and protection
4. Assist at-home storage
5. Aid product consumption

Further, the above objectives can be grouped into three core functions namely:

• Product protection (Primary, Secondary and Tertiary packaging)
  • Marketing function
  • Convenience function

The aesthetic components like package’s size and shape, material, colour, text and graphics and the functional component must be the latest innovations in the market and must try to meet marketing objective and customer need. It helps in meeting our marketing mix modeling. Similarly, structural design as well must the latest (take the case of metal box company, where it resulted in shunning that kind of packaging due to technological shift or advancement) as it helps in delivering the product at the expected level and also results in an increase in profit margin.

• Colour: Color plays a significant role in the product design. The consumers have specific affinity to certain colors and have mapped to some attribute which the designers refer to “color vocabulary”. But the perceived attributes are not the same everywhere and varies based on cultural and geographical differences.

Even specific brands are so strong that they develop “colour ownership” that any cola drink in red colour will be perceived as Coca-Cola. One typical example is that the dairy product (esp. milk) predominantly more appealing in a white carton, which is a result of consumer perception. Similarly, an interesting phenomenon is that of the survival instinct of the human nature which tends to view the surprising stimuli with greater attention than the standard stimuli. Thus advertisements with this an unusual nature of nature message, creativity etc. are typically more noticed. For example, a typical sound given in Bingo attracts the attention of the viewers and makes them look for the brand.

• Shape: The shape of the product not only helps to gain from its logistics side but also from the perception side. It also helps to prevent losses while transporting and at times define the product. Any alcoholic drink stored in a transparent white glass is perceived to be Vodka. Similarly, the size must also be considered and made available as per consumers need. Example: Parle-G comes in Rs. 1,2,3,4, 5, 10, 20 &50 packs as per user need.

6. Other (Jingles, movement, taste etc.):

Jingles: A unique music or a tone which is related to a company, product or service. The tone should be in tune with the product like an energetic tune for youth based products, a soft and emotionally feel free for women based product and subtle and gentle music for professionals.

This instantly reminds me about Vicco turmeric’s “ayurvedic cream” jingle and the ultimate Lijjat Papad’s jingle” Kharram Khurram. In some products, one also remembers the brand name is repeated many a time along with the jingle like Lifebuoy. The other example is of Coke which had two jingles in a row, “Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola” and “Piyo sar utha ke”.

Any trademark able unique property/invention like product taste, scent or its movement in unique fashion is part of the brand element in specific cases.

Scent: The rose-jasmine-musk scent of Chanel No. 5 is trademarked (no Indian brand example known).

Taste: Kentucky Fried Chicken has trademarked its special recipe of eleven herbs and spices for fried chicken (no Indian brand example known).

Movements: Lamborghini has trademarked the upward motion of its car doors.

Apart from the roles played by the different brand elements discussed so far, one could quickly sense that any of these elements can be designed to express anything the brand desires to be perceived as but the challenge is how useful it can be done and what proportion of these must be used.

The significance of brand elements:

In order to build brand equity, one has to choose the branding elements carefully. Now in order to explain this, we look at brand elements in the context for which it is used:

Verbal Context:

The brand elements like URL’s, symbols, characters, spokespeople, packages and signage which says all about the product.  These are the ones that transform a commodity into a product.

Visual Identity:

The visual identity reflects the core brand identity code and should be managed by strict visual code guidelines for long-term consistency without confusing brand identity deviation. The mixture and balance between the different elements in their verbal and visual context to maximize their collective contribution to the brand equity. This signifies the importance of brand elements.

Criteria to measure the brand elements impact:

The brand elements help in not only enhancing brand awareness but also in facilitating the formation of stable, favourable, and unique brand associations. In general, there are six criteria for measuring the impact of brand elements:

1. Memorability. Brand elements should be inherently memorable, easy to recognize and easy to recall. Brands like “Wheel” & “Ghadi (clock)” are good examples.

• Meaningfulness. They should be inherently meaningful to convey information about        the nature of the product category, the particular attributes and benefits of a brand, or both. Example: Parle-G (Glucose Biscuit) which inherently conveys the meaning, “Annapurna” brand is also significant, FedEx is another brand which explicitly conveys Federal Exchange. “Nimbooz” is an interesting example which inspired its name from “nimbu pani” which is equally memorable.

• Likability. The information conveyed by brand elements does not necessarily have to            relate to the product alone and may merely be inherently appealing or likeable. Example: Surf excel where the word “excel” is appealing.

•  4.) Transferability. Brand elements can be transferable within and across product categories to support line and brand extensions, and across geographic and cultural boundaries and market segments. A good example is the atta brand “Annapurna” which has the same meaning in all the Indian languages. The brand name is more meaningful but still transferable which is a rare blend to achieve.

• Adaptability. Brand elements must be more adaptable and flexible as it can be updated when the consumer values and opinions change, or just because of the need to remain contemporary, most brand elements must be updated. Example: Logos and characters can be given a new looking or a new design as you can see in the case of Godrej, CEAT, Shoppers Stop etc.

 6.) Protectability. They should be legally protectable and, as much as possible, competitively defensible. Example: Bajaj Pulsar, Reliance and many other Indian brands.

The first three criteria are the marketer’s offensive strategy and build brand equity. The later three, however, play a defensive role in leveraging and maintaining brand equity with respect to different opportunities and constraints.

References:

1. Strategic Brand Management by Kevin Lane Keller, M.G. Parameswaran and Isaac Jacob
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
3. http://adcampaigndesign.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/choosing-brand-elements/
4. https://ujdigispace.uj.ac.za/handle/10210/4325 An article by Hasert, Rudolf Karl
5. http://www.brands.net.au/types-brand-names/
6. http://churmura.com/business/packaging-and-labeling-in-marketing/22740/
7. Guidance material provided by Prof. Ramanuj Majumdar

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Media planners are essentially brand strategists. They are like architects that design communications to achieve the marketing objectives. Specifically, what do media planners do and how they do it varies a lot from one firm to another. However, this role has some common expectations as well.  

Who is a media planner? 

A media planner is a brand strategist who manages the advertisements and campaigns. They could be working within the firm or as an external consultant. Sometimes they are also known as brand managers. It depends on the firm, who names the job role as per their prerogative. The media planners ensure that the ad reaches the highest number of potential targets. Finally, they also do a multitouch attribution model to ensure that each communication channel provides good ROI.  

What do media planners do? 

Firstly, they handle everything that goes on the advertisements. Preparing the copy to giving go ahead regarding a particular ad.  

Secondly, they look at how the ads are doing. This analysis helps them get back the marketing team. This feedback helps the marketing team in the marketing mix modeling.  

Thirdly, the media planner also understands how different media work. Each media has its own specific advantages. Some of the important ad media are: 

• Print media – newspaper and magazines. 
• Billboards 
• Posters 
• Television 
• Websites 
• Social Media 

Fourthly, modern media planners are also data analysts. They are expected to understand how to collect market research data and campaign data to optimize the ad delivery. What media planners do with the data is also driven by the key performance indicators they track. 

What is the salary of a media planner? 

The media planners draw decent salaries, comparable with many entry-level professionals. Also, the good news is the average salary has increased by almost $2000 between 2019 and 2020. The median salary is around $50k in 2020 up from around $48k in 2019. The top 10% of the media planners earn about $64k per annum.  

Skills required (to do what media planners do) 

The media manager’s role is quite demanding. They straddle between different teams such as marketing and advertisement agency.  

Firstly, knowledge of marketing management is important. A media planner must know about the marketing objectives of the firm. They should understand what are the 4Ps of the marketing mix.  

Secondly, the media planners have to work between different teams. This requires a good deal of interpersonal skills.  

Thirdly, a media manager should have excellent communication skills. They handle a lot of copy, media, and content. Although they may not develop the content, they should be skilled enough to proofread it.  

Fourthly, they need to have a good understanding of how traditional media like television and radio work. Not technical but business knowledge. This makes the difference between getting a decent rate and an excellent rate for an ad on prime time. 

Fifthly, good networking skills also help. A media planner who already has deep connections would be preferred over someone who does not have one. 

Finally, doing a course on social media marketing would also help in doing what media planners do.  

Why is media planning important? 

1. It improves marketing ROI 

2. It helps manage the marketing mix effectively 

3. Media planning integrates the art of advertising with the science of marketing 

4. Media planners help build brand value 

The post What do media planners do? appeared first on Management Weekly.

Persuasion is the bread and butter of marketing managers. One of the ways of convincing your customer is by using the central route of persuasion. It is quite useful when it comes to changing people’s attitudes and adopting new products. We shall look at this proven method used to design ads and see how they work.  

The Elaboration Likelihood Model 

Richard Petty and John Cacioppo came up with the Elaboration Likelihood Model. This model attempts to explain how we can persuade people. This model explains how people organize information, categorize, and process it in their brains. Change of attitude typically happens through the central route of processing. In this route of person, carefully listens to the information and considers all the merits and demerits. Based on this analysis, the person may or may not change their attitude. 

On one hand, the central route of persuasion ads attempts to use facts and statistics to convince the customers. On the other hand, the peripheral route attempts to appeal to their emotional part to convince them. Similarly, we have this distinction between central and peripheral route based ads.

Central Route Advertisement Design 

The central Route advertisement works upon a certain type of design. The focus of the message here is to communicate the product’s features and benefits. The underlying assumption is that the receiver of the message will carefully evaluate the message and decide.  

The success of advertising depends on many factors. Firstly, the receiver has to receive the message. Secondly, once the message is received, it needs to be processed centrally. Thirdly, the attitude and beliefs of the receiver need to be changed. We call it successful advertising once all of these conditions are fulfilled. However, you may notice in the flow chart that if one of these steps is not successful, we don’t call it a failure. We call it not successful. The reason being that the advertisement, even though not successful in changing the attitudes and beliefs, still serves some other purposes. It must have created some kind of brand value in the eyes of customers. Additionally, the further advertisement may be successful in changing a person’s attitude. In that regard, this advertisement does not go waste. 

Examples of Central Route of Persuasion Ads  

The ad presented above is from L’Oreal Paris. It is a well-known cosmetics brand. However, in this advertisement, they are not specifically targeting to sell their products. This advertisement works as a social change message. Firstly, the ad grabs attention because it seems counter-intuitive. An advertisement featuring lipstick is targeted towards men. This will cast the eyeballs off, not just men, but also women. Secondly, the advertisement comes directly to the message. It tells us that 15% higher revenue is generated when women are leaders inside a company. 

This is another search advertisement that uses the central route of persuasion. Even in this advertisement, attention is grabbed by the headline. A title, a headline that is not true. However, it makes the reader start reading this advertisement. It provides reasons for joining a University as it broadens our scope of thinking about everyday objects. This is an excellent example of central route of persuasion ad. 

Some TV commercials using the central route 

This video exhibits an advertisement derived from Family Guy. In this advertisement, the advertisers have used the central route of persuasion. In this commercial, the advertisers have described the ingredients of the snack. Post-Raisin Bran is touted to have raisins that are sun-dried and they have certain benefits over the other brand of bran.  

The expectation from these types of Central route of persuasion commercial is that it will elicit thoughtful evaluation of the message. The audience is presented with facts. When they consider that the benefits of the products are reasonable, they may buy the product of that brand. 

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The central route of persuasion comes from an interesting theory of cognitive psychology. Petty and Cacioppo demonstrated in their research that we process information in two different ways. We may either process it through the central route or through the peripheral route. The central route of processing happens when we process the information thoroughly. In this article, we shall discuss the central route of persuasion. 

What is the central route? 

Our brains are not designed to handle all the information we receive. Every second that we are conscious, we are bombarded with information through our senses. We do not have the capacity to process all of this information. It also saves us valuable energy by selectively processing information. Only the relevant events grab our full attention, while irrelevant ones are either neglected or processed with less effort.   

The central route of information processing gets activated when: 

1. There should be motivation to indulge in the information. 

2. There is ability to process this information 

For instance, when we have to buy a toothpaste, we do not have the motivation to search for the perfect one so we will typically just go by our earlier choice. Similarly, consider that  you need to buy a DLSR camera. Also, let us say you are not an expert in camera. In this case, you have the motivation to buy the best camera for money.  

How central route of persuasion works? 

Persuasion is the process of convincing another person. The dual information processing theory also helps us understand the process of persuasion. When a person does not have the motivation or ability to process the message thoroughly, they may accept the message or reject it without thinking too much.  

However, when processing the message centrally, they carefully analyze all the arguments presented. After careful analysis, the listener may agree or disagree to the message. If they agree then persuasion has worked else it has failed.  

Key Benefits

The biggest benefit of central route of persuasion is the long-lasting effect. When the central route is followed for persuasion, it leads to a change in person’s attitude. We also know that attitude is relatively stable. Therefore, when we persuade someone through this method, they may not get influenced easily by a counter argument. The attitude change has higher ‘temporal persistence.’ In simple English it means that persuasion stays effective over time. 

How to use the central route?

You can design your persuasion by using some of the key tools used for the central route of persuasion. These tools of persuasion are:

1. Facts 

2. Logical arguments 

3. Statistics 

4. Empirical results 

5.  Specifications 

An example of central route persuasion 

One of the classic dilemmas of persuasion is whether you use peripheral or central route. In the case of central persuasion, you present facts, specifications and statistics. Not everyone may be interested and people may even get bored. On the other hand, if you use peripheral route, it may become difficult to differentiate yourself. 

This is evident in case of many products. Do you sell your shampoo as natural and good for hair? Or you sell it as one with nanoparticles and cutting-edge molecules that reduces damage by XX%. Both methods work at different times and contexts.   

Similarly, in this advertisement for a beer, they have used the central route of persuasion. It relies on reasoning and information processing by consumers. The product strategy dictates how they are going to position the product in the market. What is the unique selling proposition for a low-calorie beer? You guessed it right, it is ‘low calorie.’ What is a better way to convince a customer than educate them about the exact calorie difference between two competing beers?

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Here we take a brief look at what Pardot offers in its Pardot lead scoring system. We shall also take a look at the pros and cons of this lead management system. Pardot is a B2B marketing automation tool. ExactTarget acquired Pardot in 2012 for USD 96 million. Subsequently, Salesforce acquired ExactTarget in 2013.

What is Lead scoring? 

A lead is a potential target customer who may get converted into a customer. A lead scoring system helps rank the potential leads based on their propensity to get converted. Usually, the objective of lead management is to convert the leads into sales. However, sales are not the only expected outcome for all cases. The objective may make people sign up for a free account. Now, let us look at an example to illustrate the concept. This is a raw and hypothetical example to explain the concept. Multiple attributes, behavioral data points, and demographics are used in modern lead scoring systems. 

For example: let us consider the case of Spotify, the music streaming service.  Let us say that a person searches for a song on Google and it shows them the link for the song on Spotify. Once they land on the page, they become potential customers of Spotify premium. A tracking cookie keeps a track of their activity on the page. Furthermore, if the person visits the page again from search, link, social media, etc their chances of conversion increase. Let us say they play a curated playlist for 30 mins. Their chances of becoming a Spotify Premium user increases even more. Now, let us consider that you want to run an ad for Spotify Premium. You would rather spend the ad money on the prospects that have higher chances of buying the subscription than bombarding ten different people.

Key features of Pardot Lead Scoring 

1. Focus on B2B lead scoring – Salesforce (the parent company) focuses on B2C while Pardot is for B2B.  

2. Pardot is a focused service for lead management on the other hand Salesforce is a comprehensive customer relationship management suite.  

3. Default scoring system – this is the basic lead scoring that monitors the leads that get converted into sales and then updates the model. Newer leads are then given a score based on their behavior. 

4. Pardot allows users to segregate interaction across different products or businesses. This helps create a different score depending on the specific case for the product. 

5. Updating scoring rules – the scoring rules can be updated by adjusting the automation rules.  

6. Integrated lead management – the users can nurture leads through different channels such as web form, landing page, search engine, social media and news letters. 

Pardot grading automation 

Salesforces Pardot provides Pardot grading automation as a lead nurturing tool. Many of the leads do not get converted. Lead nurturing helps marketers in reducing these dropouts. One of the common ways to segregate leads is based on their recency of interaction. A lead that has recently interacted with a firm is called a ‘hot lead.’ On the other hand, a lead that has interacted with our firm earlier but not recently is a ‘cold lead.’ Statistically, the hot leads have higher chances of conversion. Pardot’s automated grading system helps in increasing the conversion rate of these leads by identifying high-quality cold leads as well.  Automation tools can even connect with these leads and send out an email with upcoming sales or share the company’s latest news with them. 

Another advantage of automating the Pardot lead scoring system is that it is much faster compared to manual lead nurturing. As soon as cold lead’s behavior suggests that they have higher chances of conversion, they can be nurtured. This is almost real-time and helps in increasing sales.  For instance, you find that Thinkpads are more popular among managers and business professionals. In that case, you shall have a higher propensity to purchase Thinkpads from leads that are coming from such professionals.

Einstein lead scoring from Pardot 

Pardot Einstein is an artificial intelligence-based lead nurturing platform. The Einstein lead scoring from Pardot offers a data-driven method to generate the lead scores. This feature is not enabled by default in Pardot. However, you can enable it inside the settings in your Salesforce dashboard. However, Einstein is available only in the Advanced and Premium plans. Other Pardot Pricing tiers like Growth and Plus do not have this feature.

Some of the key features of Einstein lead scoring system are: 

• Automatic generation of the lead score. 
• The score calculation also takes into account the user engagement data. 
• A separate Einstein behavior scoring dashboard is provided. 
• It also includes Einstein Attribution. This also helps in multitouch attribution analysis. 

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Place strategy in marketing mix is one of the most underappreciated topics in marketing. We develop the place strategy to make marketing decisions regarding the place of sale of products or services. What makes Apple stores attract crowds like fans? How do banking services stay relevant in changing times? Why is the Amazon Go store the future of retail? Place strategy could help us answer the questions. 

The Place Strategy in Marketing Mix 

The marketing mix is essentially a summary of all marketing activities. One of the four Ps of the marketing mix is the place. Also, it is often overlooked. You may find more articles on product, pricing, and promotion. However, place strategy has fewer articles than other Ps. 

The place strategy in marketing mix is all about finding best way to distribute and retail your offerings.  Firstly, place strategy helps us take important decisions regarding the location of retail. Secondly, it also helps us decide the format of retail, channel of distribution and type of exclusivity of the retail. Thirdly, it can also help us integrate with other Ps of the marketing like Product, Price and Promotion.

Major decisions in place strategy 

Strategic development is driven by important decisions. Let us quickly look at some of the major decisions regarding place strategy: 

Place of sale

The product’s place of sale can play a role in the image t projects to the customers. You can have your cosmetic products available off the counter at different stores. However, it is not a very good idea to keep a luxury product as a commodity in smaller stores. This would reduce its appeal. 

Distribution channel exclusivity 

The distribution channel also plays an important role in creating and sustaining demand for a product. A product that is exclusive will have a different set of demand, while those that are commodities will have a different one. Therefore we may have different distribution channel strategies. Typically, commodities require an intensive channel to reach out to more people. Similarly, a differentiated product and the luxury item will benefit from an exclusive distribution.  

Direct versus indirect distribution 

The manufacturer has greater control over the direct distribution channel. However, it also presents financial challenges and risks. In indirect distribution, we would various intermediaries. Some of the most common intermediaries are wholesalers, dealers, and stockists. 

Place of sale

The product’s place of sale can play a role in the image t projects to the customers. You can have your cosmetic products available off the counter at different stores. However, it is not a very good idea to keep a luxury product as a commodity in smaller stores. This would reduce its appeal. 

Distribution channel exclusivity

The distribution channel also plays an important role in creating and sustaining demand for a product. A product that is exclusive will have a different set of demand, while those that are commodities will have a different one. Therefore we may have different distribution channel strategies. Typically, commodities require an intensive channel to reach out to more people. Similarly, a differentiated product and the luxury item will benefit from an exclusive distribution.  

Direct versus indirect distribution 

The manufacturer has greater control over the direct distribution channel. However, it also presents financial challenges and risks. In indirect distribution, we would various intermediaries. Some of the most common intermediaries are wholesalers, dealers, and stockists. 

Place strategy in marketing mix example 

Amazon Go 

Amazon is one of the most well-known brands in the world. Since 2015 it is also the largest online retailer. Online dominance brought in immense valuation for this company. However, there is still an untapped offline market. The place strategy helped them to penetrate into the offline market. However, a firm needs differentiation to stand out from the competition. There should be a unique offering that compels people to migrate from like of Walmart into Amazon. 

Amazon Go is an example of such a proposition. Amazon Go is a futuristic large-format store that was opened in Seattle. This store has a unique design. It makes the buying process seamless. The buyers can simply purchase items and leave the store and they are billed automatically from their registered credit card. Amazon Go is a strategic entry into offline retailing for the company. Firstly, and most importantly, it got extensive coverage in the news. Getting free publicity is not a bad thing. Secondly, it positions the company as a forward-looking, high-tech giant. Thirdly, it would reduce the operating cost in the long run. Therefore, delivering higher ROCE for the company compared to its peers. 

Apple store  

Apple store is a trendsetter in place strategy in the marketing mix. It was conceptualized by the SVP of retail, Ron Johnson. The first store was opened in 2002. This paved the way for the success of iMac and iPad. One of the key differentiators for this store was that the entire core of the marketing mix was designed around the product and place. The store was the place not just for ‘sale’ but also ‘interaction’ with the customers. A humanistic approach made this store connect extremely well with the customers.  

Here are some of the key objectives of the place strategy at the Apple store: 

1. Innovation in merchandise display. One of the first stores in its category to spend a major part of the budget on aesthetics. They brought in the experience of an upmarket boutique to a boring computer shop. This changed a lot of things.  

2. Conversion of transaction into interaction. Allowing visitors to use the newly developed devices allowed them to get the first-hand experience. This leads to a lot of conversions too.  

3. Focus on increasing footfall. The exterior of the store was made of glass, revealing the insides. This made it quite attractive to the passersby. 

4. Enhance the time spent inside the store. The store was designed to make people use computers and devices. This increased the time spent inside the store. Today we talk a lot about customer engagement. Apple stores were the pioneers of this. 

Telenor Banka 

Traditional banks relied upon massive facades to project a sense of security. Many of the banks have not embraced digital banking as a full-fledged option.  The systems are still designed keeping the brick and mortar bank branches at the core and digital services at the periphery of their place strategy. Nevertheless, with changing times, customers do not need to visit the banks for their day to day needs. Therefore, it is only a matter of time when convenience becomes more important for customers. 

Telenor is a European telecom giant.  They saw a gap in the potential market and jumped right in. A relatively new place strategy in their marketing mix. They launched Serbia’s first mobile only bank called Telenor Banka or Mobi Banka. One of the key drivers of their success has been the synergy between banking and IT. Here are some of the major benefits of their strategy: 

1. Use of data analytics 

2. Social media marketing 

3. AI marketing 

4. Customer experience management  

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Multiple channels of marketing are necessary for any firm to succeed but tracking down the individual contribution of a touchpoint is difficult. The multitouch attribution analysis helps firms keeping a track of the different channels. However, only about 32% of managers know about this powerful analysis method(iab.com).  

What is attribution? 

One of the most powerful changes in marketing has been the infusion of information technology. This enabled us to tap into different platforms of sales, promotion, retail, and customer service.  This is done through managing the 4Ps of marketing mix or sometimes through marketing mix modeling.

However, when we spend our money on different channels we also need to audit their effectiveness. The process of linking each channel to a specific outcome is called attribution.

As an example let’s say that a person walks into a Samsung experience store. The person checks out the phone and decides to buy a new phone. However, the store does not keep the specific color that he desires. Consequently, he searches online on the Samsung website. He finds his model and color of choice available. However, before finalizing his purchase, he also checks out some reviews on social media. Consequently, he makes the purchase online through Samsung’s website. 

Now, in this case, we will find it very difficult to attribute the sale to a particular channel. Was the store important in making his purchase decision? Or social media reviews? Attributing the conversion to a particular channel becomes exceedingly difficult when we have multiple touchpoints for the consumer. 

Single touch Attribution versus multitouch Attribution

One of the simplest ways of understanding this particular journey is to simply assign the Attribution to a single touchpoint. One can say that either the visit to the store was extremely important and hence all of the credit should go to the store. Alternatively, one can also say that the website was critical and one should give the credit to the functional website. 

We call this attrbution as single touch attribution.  

Now let us consider the multitouch attribution analysis. In multitouch attribution, we assign a certain weightage to each of the different touchpoints. For simplicity, let us consider that we assign 40% weightage to the store and 40% weightage to the website. Consequently, we shall assign 20% weightage to the social media website. 

This kind of assignment brings a bigger challenge. Firstly we need to have some kind of rule to assign specific weightage to specific touchpoints. These rules need to be static. Also, it is logically driven. Secondly, we also need to have a robust method of tracking users through their journey. The second challenge is taken care of by the different kinds of cookies and tracking ID. 

Types of multitouch attribution

As we briefly discussed, there can be different ways in which we can assign weights to two different touchpoints. Now we will look at specific methods that can be used for assigning different multiple touchpoints.  

1. First interaction – This is a simple model. Here we give all the credit to the first touchpoint for the customer. It is fairly easy to understand but may not provide a true picture of the customer journey.  

2. Last interaction – Another model very similar to the first interaction. However, it is quite a common method as it is faster just like the first interaction. 

3. Second last interaction – As the name suggests, here we give all the credit to the second last interaction. This is commonly used for search engine clickstream data. Typically useful for inorganic search campaigns like Google Adwords.   

4. Linear attribution – all the touchpoints get equal weightage. It is also known as raw attribution. 

5. U-Shaped – In this attribution model, the first and last points get the maximum weightage of 40% while the rest 20% is shared between all other touchpoints. 

6. W-shaped or Full Path Model – In this attribution model, the first, third, and last stage are considered the most important. That is the visit, lead generation, and the final conversion stage. Typically, these touchpoints get about 90% of the weightage, while the other touchpoints get a total of 10%. 

7. Triangle shaped or time decay model – In this model, we assume that each marketing touchpoint has an impact for a limited time. Its effect on consumer decision diminishes. Therefore, we assign a higher value to the last touchpoint while assigning progressively lower value to the earlier stages. This assignment is done based on a mathematical equation derived from the hazard function. 

8. Custom model – These are the most advanced models of the lot. In this type of multi-touch attribution, we assign separate weightage to each touchpoint. This is the most trickiest and involving method. This is where all the advanced analytics and AI wizardry comes into play. 

Methods for multitouch attribution analysis 

1. Bagged logistic regression method – This is one of the simplest methods for multitouch attribution analysis. Here we use a special type of regression model for assigning weights to the different touchpoints.  
    
   The basic premise of this model is that there are two kinds of customers. On one hand, we have those that end up buying the product, while on the other hand, we have those that do not end up buying the product. Therefore, we use a logistic regression model that is used for the prediction of this type of binary behavior.  Secondly, we use the bagging technique. Bagging means that we use subsampling without replacement. You can read a conference research paper that discusses this method. 

2. Maximum likelihood regression – This type of model is also very similar to the bagged logistic regression model. However, the approach is different. Let us say, we observe a certain pattern from the data we have. This type of model attempts to provide the scenarios that would have most likely lead to the data we have.  
    
   For instance, let us that when we look at the conversion data and find out that there is YouTube influencer who gave rave reviews about our product. We notice that of all the conversions, there is a high proportion of people who have watched her video in their information search stage. On the other hand, we also notice that of all the people who were interested in the product and did not buy the product. Most of these people did not watch her review video. Intuitively we would give her a lot of credit for the success of our product. A maximum likelihood regression will also get to a similar conclusion. Albeit, with some higher reliability in the results than our intuitive model. 
    
   Link to the conference paper that discusses this model in detail. 

3. Survival function based attribution – This model is based on two concepts: survival function or hazard function and probability. Here, we assume that the most recent interaction will have a higher impact on consumer decisions than earlier ones. The memory, recall, and priming of touchpoint fade as time passes.  
    
   You may read more about this model in research by Wang and Dalessandro et al. 
    

4. Deep neural network model – As the name suggests, this model is based on the neural network. It is one of the most advanced models for a couple of reasons: Firstly, some of the neural net-based multi-channel attribution models are more difficult to develop. Secondly, the results are easy to interpret, however, there can be issues with transparency of the model as well as tractability. This type of multitouch attribution model can be quite helpful if we want to develop a custom model for multitouch attribution analysis. 

5. Game theory model – This is also a unique model that can be used for MTA. Here, we may use a cooperative game developed by Lloyd S Shapley. In this model, the contribution of different touchpoints is distributed as a game theory output.  
    
   You may refer to this post on Medium by Jacky Yuan to learn more about this method.  

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