In Business 2 Community (@B2Community), Cheryl Burgess (@ckburgess) writes, “In the future, a brand’s success may depend on whether it’s perceived as having a social purpose.”
Customers are no longer satisfied with just lodging complaints or casting opinions. Instead, they’re voting with their social capital and turning away from companies that fail to listen and respond.
In this rapidly changing landscape, marketers are challenged to humanize their brands and seize opportunities to engage customers across a multiplicity of touch-points and social media channels. With the rise of social media, the consumer is able to drive the conversation with or without the brand’s input. Only brands that are authentic and transparent will succeed.
Here are some of the accelerants she lists and explains how they’ll transform brands into the future:
1. Engaging
2. Relevant
3. Accountable
4. Collaborative
5. Voice
6. Creative and innovative
7. Purpose driven
8. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
9. Simplicity
10. Reflective
11. Your Culture is Your Brand
12. Listen
13. Brand Advocates
14. Millennial bonding
15. Crowdsourcing 2.0
16. Mobile