It's all about the customer experience!

In the age of the internet, instant communication, and social media, creating a great product is not enough anymore. Consumers have choice; they can support their local small business, a national or multinational retail chain, or shop online. A great product is a good start, but it might not get you very far. 

I think the shift from the 4 P's to the 4 C's is a great way to encouraged companies to consider the consumer throughout the product development process.  This consumer-centric focus should run from product conception to post-purchase experience, as the consumer's needs and wants are king! As a consumer, you can guy a great product and have a great retail experience, but if you cannot get your item fixed under warranty are you likely to purchase from that company again? Probably not. Are you likely to post on Facebook, tweet, and tell your friends about it? Probably!

The internet and social media are both a blessing and a curse to companies and the marketing industry. Approaching your product or service with a consumer-centric mindset should lead to success in this competitive world!

What do you think? Is consumer-centric really the way to go? Should companies be expected to forgo profits to provide better customer care? 

Back to Basics ~ Wind Mobile

If there's an industry in Canada that suffers from lack of transparency, it's the cell phone industry! Fees for everything, extra costs, high charges, etc... we all love to hate our cell phone providers! Wind Mobile is trying to change that.

Wind's customer engagement strategy stands out to me as innovative, yet so simple; Wind listened to their potential customers! They set up an online forum where they encouraged consumers to vent their feelings about what is wrong with the cell phone industry. Wind then built their cell plans and overall service around the weaknesses of their competitors. This approach built a great foundation of consumers, who feel that they helped build the Wind Mobile brand, and therefore built brand loyalty before they even provided cell services! So simple, yet so effective!

Market Share of Canadian mobile network operators in Q3 of 2011 (CWTA), Sourced from Wikipedia

The main challenges facing Wind are coverage and cell phone compatibility; the popular iPhone cannot be used on Wind's network. Although there are many challenges ahead, I feel that Wind has positioned itself well in the Canadian cell phone market, has connected with its target market through advertising and the use of internet forums, and will continue to build a strong nationwide brand.