Customers Are the Most Important Part of the Business - Essay Example

Introduction: It is very clear in today’s competitive scenario that s are the most important part of the business. Hence it is crucial that the businesses understand the ways in which customers have an interaction with the company. Every single interaction with the customer holds equal importance and a careful note of it can help boost the revenue. There are three pillars of effective customer satisfaction leading to customer loyalty resulting in the return of the customer. These are mentioned as below. 1. Customer Insight: “Who are my [the] most valuable customers and how do I [service provider] build relationships with them?” 2. Customer Experience: “How do I [company] create interactions that maximise the profitability of each relationship?” 3. Customer Alignment: “How do I [company] structure the organization to deliver on the promise of customer-centricity?” (Peppers & Rogers, 2005). As widely known, customer loyalty is always directly proportional to customer satisfaction as well as customer delight. According to Salvati (1999, p6), till a customer remains satisfied with the service, there are no major chances that he/she may drop or switch to another service provider. It is a fact that in a highly competitive atmosphere just as in the profit making sectors, customer loyalty is to be given a deep thought. Moreover, actions are to be taken to have a continuous improvement in the level of customer loyalty (Hsieh, 2002). This paper will deal with an important concept of brands and the Australian charities. The paper will be divided into two main parts; namely, Part A and Part B. Part A will deal with the simple literature of branding and a brand personality. The section will also deal with an overview of the Australian Charity. The overview of the Australian Charity Industry will allow a better understanding of the various players in the markets and the non – profit making sector as a whole. Part B of the assignment will deal with three advertisements/ marketing techniques that have been used by the Australian Charities to help build and develop a strong brand image and brand identity (Jobber, 2004). Each of the three examples that have been taken for this study will be studied on three main basis, a) the personality of each brand and what the brands can be characterized into, b) reasons why brands use a certain characteristic and who they aim as their target markets, and c) the possible changes and recommendations for change for the brands and their personality (Franzen & Bouwman, 2001). Part A: Branding, Brand personality, and Australian Charity Sector: Australian Charity Sector: The Australian charity industry is a wide spread market with over almost 700,000 organisations with a wide range of activities that they deal with. These organisations range from different activities like environment conservation, youth assistance, help for the blind, or disabled, and several other activities. Most of the organisations that have been recognised by the government and the only ones that are endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office alone classify as the legal charities in the country. The charities that are present although are mainly non profit making organisations, the organisations aim at raising as much as they can to provide assistance to the needy people. These organisations also provide assistance for education, scholarships, and other issues where individuals have been struck by natural disasters. As discussed earlier these organizations are very diverse and hence the fund raising or each of these activities need to fight to among themselves to gain the attention of the investors and contributors. Hence the importance to brands and branding is very high. Also Aaker’s principle of Brand personality is a major part of all branding activities by the charitable organizations. Before moving into analyzing the organizations, it is essential to gain a better understanding of brands and brand personalities. Branding and Brand Personality: Comparing the experience economy and the top of the pyramid of Maslow’s hierarchy theory, the one common top desire is that of self – actualization (Buchanan & Huczynski, 2004). This means to make the best use of the existence and it is to make people the best of what they can be. This is one of the biggest issues of economic reality. In the book by James H Gilmore and Joseph B. Pine – The Experience Economy, there has been a great discussion of what businesses need to take care of in the current economic era (Davis, 2002). This defines the actual and exact situation at present and provides a clear picture of how the businesses need to focus on their businesses due to the current consumers in the markets. From the above statement made by the authors, it is clear that the marketing of a company is mainly set down on making the experience very memorable and the transformations very effective for the customers. These form the basic rule for all marketing in the new economic era and play a very important role for the companies to be able to survive in the recent times. The use of this as the basic rule will provide the companies with a stronger market presence and also will increase the brand awareness among the customers thereby letting the companies grow to their best and perform well (Kotler & Armstrong, 2007). Every brand has a certain image that it created for its product and the quality that it provides. Consumer perceptions of brands and their attitudes toward strong brands are the core element of this question, as it all boils down to figuring out consumer preferences and what consumers actually expect and how they behave. This part is better as it also throws light on the best practises to win a customer, from a company’s or a manufacturer’s perspective. This example indicates that strong brands are important to both companies and consumers. Though product qualities and prices are given great importance, strong brand overrules all these elements, and can influence the decision making process of the consumers to a much greater extent (Rio, & Iglesias, 2001). Hence distinctive brand identity is the most important element in creating a successful and strong brand. It is evident that a successful brand should win consumer trust and should add value to the companies and positively affect the customer perceptions of the brand. Consumers also gain, as strong brands assure them of the quality of the products and act as a certification. I feel that the ‘distinctive identity’ element should be given more weight age, as far as a successful brand is concerned (Hsieh, 2002). Part B: Branding and Charities: As has been discussed above Australian Markets are flooded with numerous charities and there are almost over 700,000 charities in Australia. This section will choose three such charities and the aim here is to find the brand personality that these charities adopt and the main target markets that they focus on. The three charities that have been chosen for this study are: a) CURE – Cancer Australia Foundation; b) Aid For The Blind – Independence for the Blind; and, c) Open Family Australia - Providing outreach support and services to young people at-risk. The three charities have been chosen based on their vast reach to the needy and the wonderful assistance that these charities provide to the different sectors of society. To gain a better understanding of each of these charities, the study has been based on their websites and the work that these charities have performed. Each of these charities will be discussed in the following sub sections and apart from a brief overview of the charities, an attempt has been made to discuss the personality that these charities have adopted and why they adopt a certain personality. The following sub section also deals with the main target markets that these charities deal with. This will be followed by a sections which recommends for change and ways to improve the over brand image and personality. a) CURE – Cancer Australia Foundation: Overview: CURE is a foundation that was introduced in Australia after the death of Leo and Jenny due to leukaemia. The families of these individuals together developed a foundation to help find a cure for cancer and for leukaemia. The foundation was introduced as Leo & Jenny Leukaemia and Cancer Foundation and over the years went on to be known as CURE – Cancer Australia Foundation (CURE 2009). The organisation mainly deals with providing an innovative approach to solve the complex cancer research. The organisation supports the post doctoral researchers and aims at being Australia’s leading independent foundation for research on cancer. The organisation raises money using their fundraising approach to gain as much funds from the corporate and individual donors (CURE 2009). Personality of Brand: CURE has built a personality which portrays a clear picture of being sincerity and competence. The website of the company highlights high levels of sincerity and the fact that the organisation was begun as a way to find a solution for cancer due to the death in a family highlights the high levels of sincerity and commitment that is present in the organisations. The website of the organisation also highlights in a sincere manner, ‘We raise funds through our innovative approach to fundraising and with the support of valued corporate and individual donors.  Each year, funds raised are directed to Australias most promising research talent to enable them to pursue vital project work in any area of cancer.. The difference between funding through Cure Cancer Australia and funding an institution directly is the input of the members of our Medical Grants Advisory Committee (MGAC).  They have a long history of selecting projects with the greatest potential and are able to select funding purely on the basis of excellence.  They are able to be entirely independent’ (CURE 2009). The clear main intent of the organisation and as seen from the website is to find a cure for cancer and to assist people with this issue come through more successfully. b) Aid For The Blind – Independence for the Blind: The Aid for the Blind organisation was built almost 40 years ago by Reverend Elsie Dodd and Gordon. The main aim of the organisation has been to help the blind achieve a strong and balanced life. Their mission reads as follows: ‘to improve working conditions and provide affordable self-contained living accommodation’ (Aid For the Blind, 2009). The organization is now operating in over 32 independent living units is Fairfield and Brisbane and has also provided a grant for almost $100,000 – 00 for research in the field of educational methods, development of old technology to newer and more developed. Personality of Brand: The brand image that the organization has been able to develop and spread across the country is one which is ‘Excitement’. Here this is the classification based on Aaker’s Brand personality dimensions (Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000). The brand can be classified into this classification as the brand is in continuous efforts to ensure that they are up to date with the operations. Also the organization is very spirited and aims at ensuring that the blind are provided with the best at all times to help improve their lives and futures. This is very clear and evident from their website which states, ‘We are a self-funded charity who needs your help to achieve the highest possible expectations for meaningful employment and future opportunities for the vision impaired. The more of you who join our vision the stronger we can become to achieve these goals that are affordable and readily available to all vision impaired persons. Aid for the Blind is asking for your interest and involvement to better the lives and futures of the vision impaired by raising their expectations for the future’ (Aid For the Blind, 2009). The organisation however does also participate in several activities which involve providing the needy with a proper accommodation and this is clear from the website which states, “Aid for the Blind operates 32 independent living units at 10 Cameron Street Fairfield. Each unit is fully self-contained with its own bathroom, kitchen and laundry” (Aid For the Blind, 2009). c) Open Family Australia - Providing outreach support and services to young people at-risk: According to the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities - ODPM 2002, ‘Someone is statutorily homeless if they do not have accommodation that they have a legal right to occupy, which is accessible and physically available to them (and their household) and which it would be reasonable for them to continue to live in. It would not be reasonable for someone to continue to live in their home, for example, if that was likely to lead to violence against them (or a member of their family)’ (Tameside, 2006). This organization aims at helping the youth who have moved to become homeless due to several different factors like inability of relations or friends to assist the youth, relationship breakdown, mortgage arrears, loss of the rented house, loss of job and many more. The organisation is clearly focused on assisting the youth to ensure a higher level of security for the youth (Open Family 2009). Personality of Brand: The brand image that has been created by this organisation is one which brings out the sincerity and competence of the organisation and the attempts that they make to assist the homeless people. The brand has built an image where the organisation has been recognised to be helpful, down to earth, wholesome, cheerful, intelligent, successful, reliable and also cheerful. Although the organisation works with such a serious cause, there is always a sense of cheerfulness and excitement that is present across the organisation. This is clearly evident from the fact that the organisation keeps so many different events and events like Soccer Noodles, Redskins Basketballs Club, Go Ride a Wave, Recreational activities and many more events that help promote themselves and also allow the organisation to gain more number of sponsors (Remember Me, 2009). Recommendations for Change and Conclusion: The earlier types of marketing that was adopted by companies were very focused on the commodities that need to be delivered and the various services provided. However in the recent age there is a need for a complete different approach. Along with the improvement of products and services based on the new technologies, the marketing efforts of companies also need to get a facelift. The important aspect of business in the current times is not that for lower prices and new features only however it is the experience that helps satisfy the soul (Bader, 2008). This has turned out to become the most essential part of every business and if a business wants to survive in the markets it is essential that they follow this change and move in sync with the change. Considering each of these organisations individually and aiming to provide a recommendation based on the current position of these organisations, as a marketing manager for these companies there are several changes that I would implement to help these companies provide a better brand personality and to bring out the best qualities of the brands to ensure that the sponsors and investors increase to a greater extent (Haynes, Lackman & Guskey, 1999). Firstly in the case of all the three organisations my first advice would be to make their websites more interactive and more informative. The companies could make their websites more e – commerce oriented by selling goodies and the organisation t shirts and other items of interest as these. I would recommend the company to improve its website and include an e – Commerce facility. This would prove to be quite beneficial for the company as it will not only allow for the company to increase the sales, but would also provide the company with a solid form of marketing. The cost for the company will be very minimal as the companies already have well developed sites (Albarran, Olmsted & Wirth, 2005). Hence it would only mean an inclusion of the E – Commerce feature. The benefit for this however will be more than just an increase in the sales thereby increasing the levels of money that they collect for the working of the organization. It would prove to provide a good marketing for the company, and the company can also include its banners in other websites which would provide for as a strong advertisement (Low & Lamb, 2000). The benefit of the website is more of the non monetary along with the monetary benefits. There is a greater deal of advertisement and a good will which is created for the company. The return on investment is very fast as this would help the company save up on the monies it would otherwise need to spend for the advertisements. This will also meet the growing use of the internet and the growing use of the e – Commerce websites. Secondly, the organisations can all aim at developing and holding events where several different organisations can come together and work together to form a fund raiser. This could include inviting some of the major stars or important people and using this as a chance to raise funds from both the major individuals as well as the general public (Swaminatham, Fox & Reddy, 2001). Although the levels of expenses might be a little high, it is essential to also note that the returns on this will also be high thereby providing the organisations with higher levels of funds for the operations. Finally, it is essential that any marketing activity that the companies adopt it is necessary to ensure that the organisations use all the latest techniques to try and reach out to the customers rather than having an old technique which is not useful at all in the present time. In conclusion it is safe to concur that the personality of a brand has a major impact on the brand perception of people. Hence if a brand intends to bring out and attract more number of customers then it is essential that the brands provide a more strong and effective brand personality that actually are the traits of the brand (Thakor & Lavack, 2003). Bibliography Aaker, D. A., & Joachimsthaler, E. (2000). Brand Leadership: The Next Level of the Brand Revolution. Free Press. Aid For the Blind (2009). HomePage. Retrieved from < http://www.aidfortheblind.org/index.php> (Accessed on 2nd January 2010) Albarran, A. B., Olmsted, S. M., & Wirth, M. O. (2005). Hand Book of Media Management and Economics. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. CURE (2009). Funding Australian Research For a CURE. Retrieved from < http://www.curecancer.org.au/Content.asp?z=1&c=376&p=814> (Accessed on 1st January 2010) Davis, S. (2002). Brand asset management: how businesses can profit from the power of brand. 19 (4, p. 351 - 358). Franzen, G., & Bouwman, M. (2001). The Mental World of Brands. World Advertising Research Centre: Henley on Thames. Haynes, A., Lackman, C., & Guskey, A. (1999). Comprehensive brand presentation: ensuring consistent brand image. 8 (4, pp. 286-300.). Hsieh, M. H. (2002). Identifying brand image dimensionality and measuring the degree of brand globalization: a cross-national study. 10 (2, pp. 46-67). Jobber, D., 2004, Principles and Practice of Marketing, 4th Edition, McGraw – Hill, Berkshire Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G., 2007, ‘Principles of Marketing’, 12th edition, 9 March 2007, Prentice Hall Low, G., & Lamb, C. W. (2000). The measurement and dimensionality of brand association. 9 (6, p. 350-68). Open Family (2009). Open Family Australia. Retrieved from (Accessed on 1st January 2010) Peppers, D. and Rogers, M., 2005, ‘Loyalty Programs Must Create Real Value’, 1to1 Magazine, 29th August 2005 Remember Me (2009). Open Family Australia. Retrieved from < http://www.rememberme.com.au/Homeless/Open_Family_Australia-141-28-0-0.html> (Accessed on 30th December 2009) Rio, A. B., & Iglesias, R. V. (2001). The role of the brand name in obtaining differential advantages. Journal of Product & Brand Management , Vol. 10 No. 7, pp. 452-65. Salvati, T., 1999, ‘The Interactive Imperative’, Banking Strategies, p6-7 Swaminatham, V., Fox, R., & Reddy, S. (2001). The impact of brand extension introduction on choice. 65 (October, p. 1 -15). Tameside, 2006, ‘Tameside Homelessness Strategy’, 19th October 2006, Accessed on 23rd May 2009, Retrieved from http://www.tameside.gov.uk/homeless/strategy Thakor, M. V., & Lavack, A. M. (2003). Effect of perceived brand origin associations on consumer perceptions of quality. Journal of Product & Brand Management , Vol. 12 No. 6, pp. 394-407. Read More