Almost as soon as the pandemic hit us earlier this year, businesses across the globe raced to relook at their communications strategies and devise the best way to reach out to their consumers and reinstate trust for brands. At a time when everyone was plunged into a wave of uncertainty and turmoil, communicators made sure to shift their focus to address crucial subjects of public information, safety, and health - with emphasis on remote accessibility and availability of essentials - as opposed to creating a desire for the brands.
This period has been even more decisive for niche brands, who face a much bigger onus for maintaining customer trust and engagement, in comparison to the more mainstream consumer companies. In a market like India, where niche brands don’t and can’t often resort to advertising as their go-to strategy, this was an opportunity for them to weave unique and distinct forms of communication to effectively address industry challenges, client relationships and consumer anxiety.
Given the ongoing scenario, we take a look at how this changing communications dynamic has shifted the needle for niche brands in India:
Plan for the known unknowns
With consumer patterns making a shift every month, budgets on a tight noose and rapid demand, every brand will plan for recovery. Niche brands, however, will have the opportunity to explore behaviour shifts and go beyond product experience to pivot rapidly and build new commerce. Men’s grooming industry, for example, which was earlier dominated by physical salon chains, saw a significant shift to DIY product brands such as The Man Company, LetsShave, MensXP, etc. Earlier catering to only a small, dedicated audience, these brands had the first-mover advantage once salons and stores shuttered during the lock-down. Having carved a niche for themselves in a so-far untapped space, these brands managed to rake in anywhere between 33-200 per cent increase in revenue post lockdown, all by identifying the gaps and anticipating consumer demand in the sector.
Moving from Customer Experience to Consumer Intimacy
Increasingly, consumers are willing to share data in exchange for personalized attention and customised offerings. The use of an umbrella strategy may not be the wisest move for an effective communications model anymore. Brands will need to identify the differentiated needs of each consumer cohort and build a strategy that can help assess these unique requirements to help gain the trust of the consumer at ground level. Personalization, prediction, and adaptability are three presiding consumer expectations that are helping brands build virtual customer intimacy. This does not just mean taking a proactive approach, but about targeting a specific subset of consumers, whose desires you know you can fulfil. This pandemic might just be a test of how well brands attune themselves in creating value that addresses the 3 key pillars of consumer communications right now - sharing verified and valid information, addressing anxiety with tailored product and service offering, and lastly, keeping the consumer spirit alive.
Once everyone buckled up to treat the lock-down as the status quo for the foreseeable future, the cravings set in. The foremost being - fine dining experiences. Now that dining out was out of the question, some premium restaurants and celebrated chefs broke into the niche DIY meal-kits market in India, to offer personalised gourmet meals at home. Hunger Inc. (parent company to Bombay Canteen and O’ Pedro), known for its niche menus, capitalized on this opportunity by curating DIY meal kits. This was coupled with online cooking workshops - so people could cook along with pro chefs and recreate luxury gourmet meals at home, customized to their preferences.
Staycations have also witnessed a surge in the last couple of months. Independent hospitality brands like the Tamil Nadu-based bed & breakfast “Surf Turf”, and “Porcupine Castle” in Coorg has launched offers for private holidays. Several similar brands have realised the need for private and self-contained spaces, and offer vacations and “work-ations” packages where people can unwind away from home. Boutique hospitality chains such as SaffronStays, Kyo Spaces, NomadGao, in Goa, Halli Berri in Karnataka, the Belgadia Palace in Odisha, among others, have launched these work-ation offerings which provide guests with well-sanitised workspaces, peaceful environment, premium hospitality, and most importantly – high-speed internet.
For niche brands that have innate experience in marketing to an exclusive audience anyway, this will be a boon, as they get a headstart from conventional brands in customising communications for their consumers - all without deflecting from their core message in the process of evolving and adapting to the new normal. What will be critical though, is driving this intimacy despite the lack of proximity.
Another crucial area that will demand personal attention and customized services is travel planning, once people can travel again freely. Travel companies that are already ahead of the curve with services that offer visas at the doorstep, e-visa applications etc. will be well-prepared to tap into this growing market effectively.
Choosing mediums more judiciously
Traditionally, brands in India have always been fighting for a place in the very small pie that is the traditional media. Even as millennials and Gen Z have long moved on to digital platforms as their primary source of information, entertainment, and recommendations, a majority of consumer brands have found it hard to let go of conventional marketing and advertising routes. The lockdown and subsequent pause in access to print and OOH media was a harsh wake-up call to everyone in advertising and media. Compelled to now adapt to online media, incumbents found themselves having to keep up with niche brands that have been digital natives. While this has cluttered the digital territory, niche brands have the home advantage of having established their online audience well in advance. However, they will now have to capitalize on their digital assets by appropriating their presence on high-value and high visibility platforms on the internet, through videos, podcasts, webinars, etc. - platforms that are tailored to reach their distinct audience through all the muddle on the internet today.
In this age of living services, digital campaigns, and diverse commerce, ROI will take on a new meaning as a return on individuals. Metrics will see a shift to advocacy and contribution to brand health as performance indicators, making the traditional ROI concept less transactional. Undoubtedly, this proves to be an upper hand for niche businesses that conventionally thrive on communities and loyalty. Overall, the current phase will truly be a Darwinist test that pushes brands to compete and strengthen their hold on their audiences and sustain it till we surf the COVID2019 tide successfully.
*Source Link for statistic cited in article: Men’s Grooming D2C Brands Go Eco-Friendly As Lockdown Shifts Male Beauty Trendss
(The author is VFS Global corporate communication global head Sukanya Chakraborty. The views are personal and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)
