Make Your Brand Matter (eBook)

STEVEN G. SOECHTIG has worked for several industry-leading brand and experience strategy firms throughout his career. He has served as CEO of Ogilvy Experience, as an Expert Partner at McKinsey & Company, and as a Managing Director at Deloitte Digital. In each role, Steve has been instrumental in the creation and expansion of the Digital Experience practice, working closely with marketing and digital leaders to shape their strategies and drive both top-line growth and unparalleled customer loyalty.

Introduction xi

Better Lucky Than Good xiii

What to Expect from This Book xvii

Chapter 1

A Far Too Brief History of Brand Strategy 1

The Emergence of Modern Brand Strategy 2

The Intersection of Brand and Experience 3

The Criticality of Experience 10

Chapter 2

The Dawn of Digital 15

The Birth of the Internet 17

Online Advertising Begins 18

Personalization of the Online Customer Experience 19

The E- Mail Explosion 23

Customer Expectations and Technological Innovation 25

Emerging from the Digital Transformation Era 29

Chapter 3

Focusing on the Modern Consumer 31

Millennial Expectations 32

Generation Z Expectations 35

The Customer Funnel 36

Awareness 37

Evaluation 40

Transactions 43

Engagement 44

Loyalty 45

Chapter 4

Believing in Your Brand and Redefining Your Strategy 47

Experience Defines the Brand 48

Building a Culture Through Data Analytics and Engagement 53

Location Through Data Analytics 55

Leveraging Technology to Drive Engagement and Growth 56

Turning Brand Promise into Reality 58

Chapter 5

Selling Experiences, Not Products 61

Commoditized Brands Become Invisible 62

Customers Control Branding 63

Replacing Products with Experiences 64

A Foundation of Innovation and Performance 65

Creating an Engaged Community 69

Pivoting to Gain Market Share 74

The Fusion of Digital and Physical Personalization 76

Customer Connection, Personalization, and Omnichannel Strategy 81

Chapter 6

Time Is the New Currency - Anticipating without Being Invasive 85

Collapsing Time 86

Time- Saving Conveniences 90

Data- Driven Innovations 93

Making Quick Service Quicker 97

Post- Digital Data and Loyalty 101

Four Time- Based Lessons 103

Chapter 7

Finding a Novel Approach to Solving a Market Need 107

Ambassadors of Innovation 109

Strategic Innovations in CRM 112

Novel Omnichannel Engagement 116

Building Innovation into Your Brand Strategy 118

Chapter 8

Humanizing the Experience 123

Understanding People's Needs 124

Expanding an Exclusive Market to Everyone 128

Human- First Engagement 130

Risking Controversies for Growth 134

Humanizing Effectively 137

Chapter 9

Connecting Your Customer with Your Cause 141

Embracing Corporate Social Responsibility 142

Shifting from Brand Identity to Social Cause 145

Authentic and Proactive Leadership 148

Engaging and Inspiring the Community 149

Committing to the Cause 151

Chapter 10

Looking to the Future 155

Innovation with a Large I 156

Predictions Sometimes Miss the Mark 157

Emerging Experience Trends 160

AI- Enabled Conversational Interfaces 161

Augmented Reality 166

The Metaverse and NFTs 169

Chapter 11

Where You Should Begin 179

Three Approaches to Assessments 179

Three Prerequisites for Assessments 181

Three Areas of Assessments 182

Agile Experience Innovation 184

Notes 187

About the Author 197

Index 199