Like any other country under the sun, Zimbabwe has entered into the internet of everything led by artificial intelligence (AI).
This transition from the Internet of Things (IoT) is no longer a speculative proposition but a sinking reality. The runaway internet revolution has also transformed how brands communicate and interact with customers by drifting from the control-centric focus on brand management towards business-customer co-branding.
Yet this remains the most complex process in the era of brand multiple touchpoints with the customer and companies’ quest for competitive advantage.
In these complex environments of intense competition, the brand promise and brand experience become the defining differentiators.
Where businesses can now easily create monopoly dominance through AI-branding settings.
This entails that the only guarantee that leverages the brand’s existence is its ability to be consistent in its promise and somewhat exceed the customer expectations in delivering the brand experience.
This requires that companies operating in the digital age embrace the truism of a total marketing organisation.
As a marriage between the internal and external marketing efforts led by the internet of everything to marshal repeated purchases.
Through data decentralisation and intelligence that creates brands with a reflection of what the customer really anticipate.
That is when the brand promise will exceeds the expectations of its targeted markets, thereby building a ring-fence of loyal customer base whose needs are satisfied profitably.
In most instances, companies spend the bulk of their marketing effort targeting external stakeholders only such as the customer and how best to share competition in the battle for brand space.
Of course the customer is the king but AI can go a long way in coming up with a collaborated effort towards brand vibrancy where there will be maximum buy-in of internal brand drivers including the general employee.
Configuration of AI in branding makes every member a brand ambassador. The brand marketing effort needs to be calibrated to focus on both internal and external stakeholders.
In doing so, internal branding mechanisms must be built that enable the company’s employees, top management, and directors to be brand ambassadors and facilitate the unlocking of customer experience in line with the communicated brand promise.
It should, therefore, be noted that brand experience is the responsibility of every person in the organisation, as they are the brand experience enablers.
The management brands of through silos has been overtaken by AI calling for no walls, boundaries and borders.
Networked satellite systems and dark fibre are increasing brand visibility by getting into the closer space of customer where all responsible stakeholders have their input towards the promise(s).
This is even more pressing and demanding in the 21st century, given the brand clutter in the different categories.
Customers are confused when choosing brands in any category and rely on previous experiences with different brand touchpoints, such as the employees and communication channels.
As brand ambassadors, the employees have a critical say on whether a customer will repeat a purchase.
The process of helping us understand the importance of collaborated effort in the branding process is best understood using the brand alignment framework.
The model locates a complex relationship among the internal teams (employees), the marketing effort (brand visionaries), and the customers (brand believers).
The marketing effort should focus on employees through education initiatives and aligning the internal stakeholders behind the brand promise.
The marketing will also express the brand promise externally and create the brand experience.
On the other hand, the employees will be geared towards co-creating the brand experience and delivering on the brand promise to the customers.
Therefore, the marketing teams must create the enabling branding materials for external and internal stakeholders to fulfil the positioned brand promise.
Suppose the employees, as brand drivers and ambassadors, need to have the correct mix of support branding materials.
In that case, they will end up improvising and, in the process, compromise on the brand promise and experience.
This experience unlocks repeated purchases and loyalty, which drives the company’s positive revenue performance.
Corporate reputation and brand position have become indispensable assets in this digital era.
The brand experience is a harmonious marriage between the brand promise and the customer experience.
This is the interaction that customers have with the brand at every touchpoint, be it in virtual space or brick-and-mortar.
It should contribute to a unique experience throughout the customer’s decision-making journey.
The delicate gap that frequently exists between brand promise and experience is brand perception. Remember, in the branding world, perception becomes the living reality!
Companies should, therefore, realise that a brand is more than a logo, corporate colours, or slogan.
It is, instead, the most valuable asset at the business’s disposal. The competitive advantage is the most difficult for competing forces to replicate.
This is so because brands that are self-conscious of their net worth are, by their own nature, a relationship between the company and the customer through the value proposition exceeding the customer’s expectations.
In summary, we recommend companies employ AI to manage the brand to fulfil its promise consistently. This can be done through the following:
AI-powered brand monitoring for sentiment and competitor analysis
Personalisation at scale to enhance targeted campaigns and dynamic content delivery
Enhanced customer experience through chatbots, virtual assistants and omnichannel support
Brand guidelines enforcement through automated compliance checks and style guide automation.
Data-driven insights through analytics reports and trends analysis
In conclusion, one has to argue that the digital era has opened the floodgates for brands and companies to either succeed or fall through unlimited exposure.
Our argument is that there is a need for building the marketing effort from an “inside—outside” proposition to build a colossal brand that is able to exert its promise and experience to the customer competitively, thereby building a league of loyal customers whose repeated purchases catapult the company’s revenue performance way ahead of competing offerings.
*Dr Farai Chigora is a businessman and academic. He is a senior lecturer at the Africa University’s College of Business, Peace, Leadership and Governance. He is lso a global business modelling practitioner. His doctoral research focused on business administration (destination marketing and branding major, UKZN, SA). He is into agribusiness and consults for many companies in Zimbabwe and Africa. He writes in his personal capacity and can be contacted for feedback and business at fariechigora@gmail.com, www.fachip.co.zw, WhatsApp mobile: +263772886871.
Dr Tabani Moyo is an extra-oordinary researcher with the University of North West, South Africa’s Social Transformation School. His holds doctorate in business administration (Research focus on new media and corporate reputation management, UKZN), chartered marketer, fellow CIM, communications and reputation management expert based in Harare. He can be contacted at moyojz@gmail.com @TabaniMoyo (X)