Humanizing the Consumer-Brand Relationship. A Humanização da Relação: Marca-Consumidor. Submission: June/20/2014 Approval: Apr.

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1 PMKT Revista Brasileira de Pesquisas de Marketing, Opinião e Mídia ISSN: (Impressa) ISSN: (On-line) Editor: Fauze Najib Mattar Sistema de avaliação: Triple Blind Review Idiomas: Português e Inglês Publicação: ABEP Associação Brasileira de Empresas de Pesquisa Humanizing the Consumer-Brand Relationship A Humanização da Relação: Marca-Consumidor Submission: June/20/2014 Approval: Apr./7/2015 Cristina Jensen Bachelor s degree in Social Sciences from PUC/SP. Has 15 years of experience in market research (qualitative and quantitative). Has worked at GfK, IBOPE and Research International (now TNS). Currently Director of Brand and Customer Experience working mainly with Management of Advertising Efficiency, Brands, Satisfaction and Loyalty Studies. cristina.jensen@gfk.com Professional address: Rua Gomes de Carvalho, 1.510, 8 th floor, São Paulo/SP Brazil. Roberta Zanini Bachelor s degree in Social Communication, with emphasis on Advertising, from Universidade Anhembi Morumbi. Has 13 years of experience in market research. Has worked at IBOPE and IAM&M. Currently Manager of Brand and Customer Experience at GfK Custom Research Brazil, working mainly with Brand and Satisfaction Studies. roberta.zanini@gfk.com

2 ABSTRACT It is increasingly difficult to control and measure the consumer-brand relationship in a multichannel context. Although the eminence of online media can direct the thinking to build colder relationships, brand relationships are increasingly relevant. In collaboration with Dr. Susan Fournier, GfK Verein developed and validated a universal benchmark that allows us to understand the brand relationships using human relationships as metaphors. KEYWORDS: Relationship, humanization, management. RESUMO A relação marca-consumidor em um contexto multicanal está cada vez mais difícil de ser controlada e mensurada. Ainda que a eminência do meio on-line possa direcionar o pensamento para a construção de relacionamentos mais frios, as relações com as marcas são cada vez mais relevantes. Em parceria direta com a Dra. Susan Fournier, a GfK Verein desenvolveu e validou um marco de referência universal que permite entender as relações construídas com as marcas, a partir de metáforas das relações humanas. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Relacionamento, humanização, gestão. V. 16, p , abril,

3 1 INTRODUCTION We currently live in a time when it is increasingly difficult to control and measure the consumerbrand relationship. One might think that the eminence of online media leads to colder relationships, but brand relationships are increasingly relevant and complex. Based on intense literary study, GfK Verein developed and validated in collaboration with Susan Fournier PhD in Marketing and MBA professor of Branding at Boston and Harvard Universities a universal benchmark that allows us to understand the relationship that people build with brands, using human relationships as metaphors. A simple solution, adaptable to different markets and countries that assists marketers in the challenging brand management. 2 DEVELOPMENT 2.1 MEANINGS When interacting with people, brands follow a path that goes through several stages: from the slightest knowledge to trial, to the actual development of a brand relationship. In order to understand this universe, this study will address the changes that the media have gone through in recent years, relating it to the impact of this development on actual consumer relationships and, more than that, on consumers relationship with brands. 2.2 BACKGROUND Technological advance strongly impacted interpersonal relationships, which was first influenced by the spread of the Internet and subsequently by the development of technological means, with the social media boom. In recent years, there has been a profound change in the way people relate to each other. This change, however, was not limited to the interpersonal level, but also extended to people s relationship with brands. Since consumers are increasingly up-to-date and tech-savvy, new ways of relating to brands were developed with greater intensity. Technological advances accelerated, strengthened and made this form of contact with the world even more dynamic: while watching soap opera, we post on Facebook or Twitter comments about the characters, the clothes they are wearing, their cars, etc. However, in this network of connections on the surrounding world, the brands are often included in the comments regarding the soap opera, the car and the clothes. Brands that used to enter consumers homes through traditional and controllable means (TV and radio), are now being discussed by the consumers themselves during a scene in the soap opera, in real time. Today, businesses watch (playing the role of spectator) how their brands are discussed. They observe, monitor comments and create action strategies, or interaction, to try to control (defend, support, solve) any comments that reaches major proportions. V. 16, p , abril,

4 With technology advances and the relationships that change from it, it is important to look back at some data that contextualize today s new scenario: according to the National Household Survey PNAD (2011), between 2005 and 2011, the number of people 10 years of age and older who used the internet increased 144%, while the population in the same age group, grew by only 10%. In another study conducted by the Center of Studies on Information and Communication Technologies CETIC.br in 2012, about 46% of the households in Brazil already had computers, and among A/B social classes that number exceeded 80%, as shown in the Graph 1. Base: Total households 2012 (17.380). Source: CETIC.BR. Survey on the use of Information and Communication Technologies in Brazil - ICT Households and Enterprises Available from: < Accessed on: 2013 GRAPH 1 Proportion of households with computers by Social Class. The Graph 2 shows that, surprisingly, the number of internet users was even higher (49%), mainly among D/E social classes. V. 16, p , abril,

5 Base: Total households 2012 (17.380). Source: CETIC.BR. Survey on the use of Information and Communication Technologies in Brazil - ICT Households and Enterprises Available from: < Accessed on: 2013 GRAPH 2 Proportion of internet users by Social Class. The most frequently used type of internet connection is fixed broadband, as shown in the Graph 3. Base: Total households 2012 (17.380). Source: CETIC.BR. Survey on the use of Information and Communication Technologies in Brazil - ICT Households and Enterprises Available from: < Accessed on: 2013 GRAPH 3 Most frequently used type of connection. V. 16, p , abril,

6 Whereas the Graph 4 shows that internet use on smartphones already represents ¼ of their activities. Obs.: In 2010 the wording of Send text messages and Send photos and pictures changed. Until 2009 the wording was Send or receive text messages and Send or receive photos and images. Base: Total households 2012 (14.568). Source: CETIC.BR. Survey on the use of Information and Communication Technologies in Brazil - ICT Households and Enterprises Available from: < Accessed on: 2013 GRAPH 4 Activities carried out on the cell phone. 2.3 CONSUMER-BRAND RELATIONSHIP If the world has changed, consumers have changed, and brands must also change the way they relate to these consumers. Consumer's relationship with brands is increasingly diversified, both in format, content, but also in environments that are more and more impacted by technological advance. In the past there were the traditional media, with one-to-many communication, today we have a more interrelational media, with many-to-many communication. In the past there were advertising materials, today we have customer touchpoints. Finally, in the past we talked about brand image and positioning, today we also have brand relationship. Within the brand relationship context, consumers experiences with the brands are of the utmost importance. Between brand awareness and usage, there are several ways consumers might come into contact with a brand, which we call customer touchpoints. V. 16, p , abril,

7 All forms of brand contact are part of building that brand s identity, and help to strengthen (or weaken) the bond between consumers and brands. Every day, with every contact, this consumerbrand relationship is taking shape. It is a living cycle, constantly changing. Customer touchpoints are found throughout the customer journey, either before or during the purchase, during use or after the purchase. During this process, some touchpoints can be controlled by the brands, but many of them are still led by the consumers and their social networks. The wordof-mouth communication, which now has a broad scope due to the increased internet access and the social media boom, is an existing, eminent form which is extremely important in shaping a brand s image and also in building people s relationship with the brands. The high point in the discussion is that the brand positioning is not only a result of what it does and delivers, but it s the result of the relationship that it is able to build with its consumers, through the lived and shared experiences. Thus, understanding and unraveling these relationships enable brands to build extremely strong bonds and manage their relationship with consumers in the long term. This is because a relationship does not change fast, while functional benefits can be more easily replaced or superseded by the competition. Therefore, brands have been working on the relational context with consumers for some time. The focus is on strengthening the bond and identification with consumers. In this sense, an important step taken to strengthen this bond was the quest for a much more emotional communication. As a result, we often see brands talking with their customers, as human relationships. More than ever we hear about passion, being together, with you, for you. The consumer-brand relationship became increasingly humanized, as shown in the following examples. V. 16, p , abril,

8 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 RESEARCH MODELS AND THE NEW MARKET CONTEXT Despite the observed humanization of the consumer-brand relationship, one can say that research models for brand management that talk about brands, are no longer as relevant, and can no longer read as deeply into the actual brand positioning. What is needed is a model that speaks WITH the brands, since consumers today do not talk about them, but interacts with them. Branding studies generally measure the brand strength from rougher KPIs, such as awareness, consideration, usage and preference. In addition to these metrics, they identify touchpoints, more precisely, customers touchpoints, measure the positioning of these brands and their competitors, and map the image from the perceptions and claims of the investigated target. However, it is known that a brand s strength is increasingly guided by how it builds its relationship with consumers. We can say that today, brand relationship is much more dynamic than before, which makes us think that the most traditional brand funnel metrics are no longer enough to develop a brand strategy. V. 16, p , abril,

9 But how can we understand the relationship between people and brands? A brand does not deliver only functional benefits to consumers, it does much more than that, as it plays an extremely important social role to which consumers attribute extreme value. How is it possible to sort the feeling of status through product usage, for instance? Status is not a concrete and easily measurable feature, but rather a feeling instilled in one who uses a particular product. It is a value that s built and incorporated into a brand or product from the moment it is identified as such by consumers. If the group (social) starts to attribute a particular value to a product and/or brand, acquiring this product instills in the individual (one) the feeling that the group (all) attributed to the product. What is noticeable is that the feeling of belonging to a particular group plays an important social role, and brands have developed, over time, this important role. Thus, strong brands are not those that deliver only the best functional benefits, but those that deliver what one might call social benefits. According to Fournier (2009): We forget that relationships are merely facilitators, not ends in and of themselves. A strong relationship develops not by driving brand involvement, but by supporting people in living their lives. To that end, Precourt (2013) reinforces the social role developed by brands: People often develop relationships with the brands in order to create new social ties or to maintain their ties in a significant path. A brand has the potential to grow strong among consumers when it understands the needs of these consumers, both in the practical context (functional needs) as well as in the emotional context (also social needs). Understanding the consumer-brand relationships helps to understand the space and the role that brands play in people's lives. One can often find a category that features well-known brands, which are considered and used in a similar way, but with completely different social roles. Understanding the role that the brand plays in consumers' lives is essential to manage brands, as it helps to understand what one may call the brand DNA. The mapping and identification of brand relationships bring important tools to understand, qualify and deepen the most raw metrics that are commonly studied, such as a traditional brand funnel, for example. What we intend to clarify here is not that traditional brand mapping does not work, but that understanding the consumer-brand relationships enables a better, leaner and more thorough knowledge of brands, to ensure safer and remote brand management. 3.2 HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS AS METAPHORS FOR BRAND RELATIONSHIPS After noting the importance of understanding the consumer-brand relationships and the need to develop a tool to support this identification, GfK Verein in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Susan V. 16, p , abril,

10 Fournier, developed a globally validated research model, able to measure in a simple way, consumers relationship with brands: Customer Brand Relationship CBR. In order to develop the human relationships mapping model, an extensive study was carried out in countries with wide cultural diversity and applied to 11 categories and 250 brands. The study was conducted using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, and it was divided into four major steps, which are explained below. 1. Qualitative step: This step was aimed at exploring and identifying possible human relationships, considering the relationships that could fit in the marketing context and that are relevant in several categories. As a result, 53 types of relationships were identified (from qualitative and marketing literature). 2. Understanding the types of relationship: A cultural analysis of the relationship structure was conducted in order to identify the best set of relationships; Furthermore, the 53 relationship types identified in the previous step were reviewed in order to reduce it to the most relevant relationships, excluding homogeneous types that were characterized by the same set of attributes. This analysis reduced it down to 27 types of human relationships, with similar meanings anywhere in the world. 3. Brand study: The study was conducted in four countries (Germany, USA, China and Spain), comprising 4,400 online interviews (1,100 per country). In this step, the set of 27 most relevant types of brand relationships were tested among consumers. Each consumer described his/her relationship with more than 200 evaluated brands in 11 different categories; These relationships were characterized by completely different poles: from colder relationships such as complete strangers, enemies and former friends, to neighbors, lovehate relationship, teacher and student, until reaching warmer relationships such as best friends, husband and wife, and old friends. Examples of the meanings found in some of the identified relationships are shown in Figure 1. V. 16, p , abril,

11 FIGURE 1 Examples of the meanings found in relationships. 4. Brand study: Based on the research and on the key KPIs of each market, such as share, price premium acceptance and preference, we identified a strong correlation between relationships deemed healthier/ stronger and the best outcomes in share, market potential and price premium. Despite the complexity of mapping and identifying relationships, the model was designed to provide a simple, easy to use and manage tool, which can be tailored to different markets, with comparable measures in various countries. A simple solution to a seemingly difficult management problem. 3.3 A REAL CASE To illustrate the tool s potential, we present an example from the automotive category in the European market. In research conducted by GfK in 2012, the Customer Brand Relationship CBR was applied to an important European market, where the BMW brand has been present for many years (Graph 5). V. 16, p , abril,

12 Source: GfK. Automotive category in the European market. Research GRAPH 5 GfK Research automotive category in the European market June 2012 Specifically evaluating the BMW brand, the main relationships are admired intimate partner, with 32% mentions, and the second most important relationship, with 20% mentions, is old friendship. In this scenario, we may say that consumers relate to the BMW brand mainly for the trust they have in the brand. The other two main competitors, Ford and Porsche, show the same level (11%) of old friendship. However, while Ford built the relationship mostly by being close ( admired intimate partner, 38%), Porsche is related to more active and aspirational feelings ( hero, 36%), maintaining its price premium positioning in this market. The third competitor, Kia, had a more distant relationship ( complete stranger, 41%). Even when it reached a level of casual acquaintance (10%) it had difficulty to raise its relationship to the level of admired intimate partner (10%). Also in Kia, there was a high level of broken relationship (33%), which led to a discussion about the quality of this consumer s experiences. The consumer-brand relationship mapping allows to deepen the knowledge of the market and create insights so that marketers can better target the brand strategies. 4. CONCLUSIONS Just like strong relationships bring people together, brands succeed when they build strong consumer relationships, and these strong relationships drive customer loyalty and business profitability. V. 16, p , abril,

13 However, it is important to pay attention to the fact that every consumer-brand relationship, despite being primarily determined by individual factors, is always inserted in a sociocultural context and the brand strength is increasingly determined by how it builds its consumer relationships. If the brand relationship is built from consumers brand experience, it is essential that the conveyed message is uniform in all brand touch points (from physical to digital), so that consumers can recognize and, above all, strengthen the bond with the brand in each of these lived experiences. Brands that understand, measure and manage their evolving consumer relationships at each touch point will certainly be more likely to become winning brands. Therefore, identifying the relationships that best drive the growth or decline of customer bonding, and managing customer touch points, enable brand managers to design, more assertively, the ideal path they want to follow in the pursuit of creating customer bonding: a path that is solid, strong and long-term. 5. REFERENCES CETIC.BR. Pesquisa sobre o uso das Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação no Brasil - TIC Domicílios e Empresas Disponível em: < Acesso em: DICIONÁRIO do Aurélio Online. Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa. Disponível em: < rhttp:// Acesso em: FOURNIER, Susan. Lessons learned about consumers relationships with their brands. MacInnis, Deborah J. (Ed); Park, C. Whan (Ed); Priester, Joseph R. (Ed). Handbook of brand relationships. Armonk, NY, US: M E Sharpe, GFK. Categoria automobilística no mercado europeu. Pesquisa GFK. Marcas precisam se humanizar para conquistar a lealdade. Entrevista de Helen Zeitoun, Global Head of Brand and Customer Experience, concedida ao Mundo do Marketing, PNAD. Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios Disponível em: Acesso em: PRECOURT, Geoffrey. How Lowe s discovered a path to passionate consumer-brand. Relationships Event Reports. The Market Research Event, October V. 16, p , abril,