One of the first campaigns that stuck in my memory was the launch of the ‘Pepsi Challenge’ in Mexico in the early 90’s. What a gem! We all wanted to go to Plaza Universidad to be a part of the challenge and of course, be on TV. It was starting to seem that, like in the United States, Pepsi was going to come out ahead with point that Cola-Cola would never be able to recover.
But 20 years later, pre-diabetics in Mexico continue to drink Coca-Cola, despite the appealing Pepsi campaigns with Cain Velásquez and El Brody Campos. Coke has something that Pepsi does not: a unique product, with incomparable flavor, available anywhere and in any form of presentation one may need. It is a clear example that in marketing, the product really does matter – and in fact, it makes all the difference.
In the no longer existing Substance Blog, Rafael Jiménez wrote “Fix what you sell. It is the central experience that someone has with the brand.”
In recent months, I have meet with more clients who more often than not, consider the results of digital campaigns, organic or paid, as completely unrelated to what your product or service is offering to its customers. As if, in a restaurant where they do not wash the cutlery, it would be the fault of the Community Manager for the influx beginning to fall.
As experts in the digital environment, it is a part of our work, and our primary responsibility to the user, to make our clients aware of the areas of opportunity that consumers repeatedly and clearly share with us about their products.
We collaborate closely so that this – not so new – feedback channel goes beyond advertising, and allows you to make improvements that benefit your business, both in reputation and in sales, by providing a better experience to your customers.
And of course, it should be a part of our ethics not to advertise commitments that are not within the possibilities of our clients at that time. Otherwise, we would become what Seth Godin has fought hard against: liars.
Rafa sums it up nicely. “In the hyper-connected world in which we live, it is increasingly naive to suppose that we can deceive people with advertising, that we can cajole, sell, and get away with it.”
Because at the time of purchase, the client is not the one with reason, the consumer is.
And if we want to extend the impact of our strategy on social networks or e-mail marketing campaigns, the best we can do is sensitize our customers to the positive impact of driving improvements to our service by listening to requests and complaints from users, and the destructive power of negative word-of-mouth in the digital world.
Andrea Herrera is a Digital Strategist with Mijo! Brands digital agency with offices in CDMX and Puerto Vallarta, visit us at www.mijobrands.com or contact us.
