Monday, April 4, 2016

5 Ways to get followers on Social Media


Finding it hard to grow your followers? It is no rocket science and anyone can do it. You can also bag a handful of followers and become an influencer by practicing few basic tips. Try these basic techniques and we will get back with some more social media hacks.

Complete your profile

Incomplete profile appears fake, unreal and dummy. First step to earning more followers on Social Media is to accept the community whole-heartedly. Don’t just be there for the sake of existing. Open up and share what you think is important about you. Complete all the sections that you have answers to or would like to share with the world. This builds authenticity and opportunity to connect with your target audience or customers. For businesses it is almost inevitable. Be genuine. All the time.
Also, know what to share. Don’t share any kind of private information like phone numbers, address and others that can be used against you by stalkers.

Always share useful content

Re-sharable content is the best type of content. Give your connections something of value, useful information, a tip from your expertise, a fact or that touches human emotion. Do not sound pushy in your content and designs; forget the product for a while. Let’s just connect, talk and share about something common.

Give them something useful to come back and follow you instead of random selfies and gags. Make them hit follow button by being valuable. Reflect your brand or product in a subtle way.

Talk like a real person

People like talking to real people, just like you. Be what you are. A real person. Yes! This applies for businesses too. If you build a personality around your brand, the chances of people trusting you are higher. People like to know the man in action, the person behind any ide and real life stores that they can relate with.

Create a persona on social media channels and live by it. Whenever you follow your favorite star on facebook, what excites you most? Seeing a real time update from them like “Going for the shoot” and “weekend hangout with my lovelies”, where you can see them hanging out in real-life. You never fall for obsessive fan pages that post almost everything.



Value Consistency & Trends

Social media is about now and wow! If you want to rule this world with class never ever forget to be consistent. Post regularly on your schedule, whatever you decide it to be. People like to interact with only those who are alive, interested and keen on social media. It is not for those who like to post once in a while or as they please. Social audience cannot be taken for granted.

Monitor trends and talk about what interests a group of people to increase your chances of getting followed. Find trending topics and include it in your content to increase your reach. But, do it wisely! Find a way to link it to your post seamlessly, to seem relevant. For businesses, occasional posts like “#mothersday”, “#HappyChristams” works wonders! 

Show back Love

This is the most important factor of being loved by people on Social Media channels. If you like some post express it by following or commenting, engage with others to be liked. It’s a two-way communication between you and your followers.

Make them feel important with direct interactions and respond to messages as soon as you can. Treat every connection preciously and you will see how your channels grow.

Get started with these quick tips to increase followers. Share your experiences how it turned out to be for you or your business.

Keep it digital.


Thursday, January 14, 2016

Samsung Smart phones Kano model Analysis

Kano Model Product Attributes description of Samsung smart phones is what you will find in this blog. If you are interested in analyzing Samsung smart phones as a brand considering the Kano model is very essential. 

So, lets get started.

Threshold Attributes- Must have attributes that doesn’t provide opportunity for differentiation
Performance Attributes- More is better. Customer weighs different products against each other and closely tied to what price customer is willing to pay for it.
Exciting attributes- Unspoken and unexpected attributes that can contribute to higher customer satisfaction
Samsung Smartphones are known for evolving at a faster pace, every year or twice a year you hear about a unique function being included in the latest model. Samsung continually “differentiate” its product form the competition by giving an exciting feature that has never been seen before.

Samsung has created some of the most outstanding “product functions” like Samsung Edge6 screen edge gives an outstanding design, 100% water and dust resistant feature, Smart switch to transfer data to an android device, ultra power saving mode and the latest one of built in wireless charging. This section on the Galaxy S5 website describes how unique are the product features and where it can be used #Expectmore. It talks about the various situations where a Samsung S5 can change the way we used smartphones. (Samsung S5 website)
Lets categorize Samsung smart phone features according to the Kano Model (developed by Dry Noriaki Kano in the 1980s)-

Threshold AttributesPerformance AttributesExcitement Attributes
Calling & ReceivingHigh Mega Pixel Camera (F & B)Samsung smart switch
Text MessagesHDR (Rich Tone)Multi Window display
AppsFast Auto Focus CameraHeart Rate Sensor
GamesSelective focus cameraFitness tracker
Camera Mega Pixel (F & B)Ultra Power Saving ModeBuilt in wireless charger
Web BrowserAir Command menu
In-Built High memoryMore RAM
Operating SystemDust & water Resistant
Quality DisplayEdge screen
Gorilla Glass
Bluetooth
Editing Office documents
Editing Photos
Touch Screen
Phone Book
(Rehmat, Aug3, 2013) (Samsung Galaxy S5, galaxy Note 5, Galaxy smartphones and tablet Websites, 2015)

Samsung has provided many product functions, which customers are almost unaware of and can’t imagine at certain point of time in the market. With excitement attributes of finest quality like built-in wireless charger and multi-window tasking customer Samsung is coming up with interesting attributes that not only differentiates its product but excites the consumer. Samsung smartphone buyers are looking for such attributes and  as it allows them to enjoy a product that has something "more" than they can see or imagine.  And it eventually contributes to higher customer satisfaction.

Samsung is also delivering on their brand promise, the kind of message they pass through product taglines, by bringing in fresh features.
Samsung S4- life Companion
Samsung S6- Six Appeal
Samsung S5- My life, powered by Samsung Galaxy S5

Sharing some researches related to customer satisfaction-
A survey of 70,000 customers in the United States conducted by the American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) from September 2013 to March 2014 shows Samsung topped the list of smartphone companies when it comes to keeping its existing customers happy. (Arce, Jan 2, 2015)

In American Customer Satisfaction Index’s Customer satisfaction benchmark of Smartphones (June2, 2015) , Samsung Galaxy note 4 is leading the category with the score of 86. Also Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S5 shares the rank with iPhone 6 plus at the score of 82. 

The above model study and latest customer satisfaction reports from 2013 & 2015 suggests that Samsung is continuously providing great product features/innovations and earning higher customer satisfaction than other established competitors.

Using the Kano Model, we list out the attributes in performance, Threshold and Excitement classification. According to Kano Model Analysis by university of Calgary, To apply the Kano Model Analysis, we must conduct a research to get consumer satisfaction feedback. For each attribute we should as 2 simple questions to the selected customers-
1-    Rate your satisfaction level about the product with this attribute?
2-    Rate your satisfaction level about the product without this attribute?
And customers should be asked to answer each questions with one of theses options-
a.     Satisfied
b.     Neutral
c.     Dissatisfied
d.     Don’t care

This research will give an idea of what gives which level of satisfaction to the customer and how important is a particular attribute? Some basic and threshold attributes will get “Neutral” for the question 1 and “Dissatisfied” for question 2. Removing such attributes may have a severe impact on the success of the product in the market and competition.

Performance or excitement attributes are critical to analyze because they differentiate your product and lead to the customer dissatisfaction or satisfaction level.  This often requires a trade-off analysis against cost. As Customers frequently rate most attributes or functionality as important, asking the question “How much extra would you be willing to pay for this attribute or more of this attribute?” will aid in trade-off decisions, especially for performance attributes.

Also the “Don’t care” results should be dealt with care, as they do not contribute to increased customer satisfaction or convenience the customer to pay increased price for the product
We can definitely prioritize the attributes in accordance with customer satisfaction level, especially excitement attributes.

The content marketing articles clearly defined how each brand is using the strategies better. Apple doesn't have a twitter or Facebook page, which is taken as a weak marketing move in today's digital world. And Samsung is handing all the accounts to run interesting campaigns and make most out of content driven marketing.

I would say the reason is because bite the brands have different approaches, product position and target customers. Apple believe the brand is strong enough to encourage users to drive cultural conversations for the brand and Samsung feels to do things the other way. 

As a brand i feel Apple has more impact on the audience without spending huge budget on advertising and sponsorships, whereas Samsung is still hitting the sweet spot of the mediocre audience that is attracted by similar advertising moves and limelight.

Carmi Levy, vice president of marketing at multinational agency Voice.com said-

About Apple-  "the rare example of a company that doesn't market itself as a tech company but as a solutions company. They sell the emotional connection with consumers"  

About Android- "Even though Android sells the vast majority of devices and tablets in the U.S. today, it still doesn't have that psychological hold on consumers to the same degree. Android devices are largely sold on the basis of price, features and performance, not on emotional connection" 

The smartphone market is divided in two major segments of iPhone and Android users with different type of requirements. Samsung rules the market of Android phone users worldwide. Apple & Samsung are in a competitive market space for their performance & excitement attributes. Apple's performance attributes are rates very high contributing to its higher perceived value of the product but Samsung enjoys its own share of easy going fans and affordability. 

While doing the brand personality assignment i came across some facts that clearly shows that personality of iPhone users is very different from Samsung users. Apply users are more design oriented , professional workers, wants to stay home and are safe players but Samsung phone users are willing to take risks, open to changes, like to play video games.

iPhone owners are heavy mobile phone users. They are extroverted, they enjoy international travel, entertaining at home and enjoy the luxuries of life, such as getting a facial or a massage. They also like to play sport.
Samsung folk are moderate users of their smartphone. They are conscientious, agreeable and open to new experiences. They like working out but they also like playing video games. (news.com.au., 2013)

Federico-O'Murchu (Jan19, 2015) included a excerpt from Author Barbara Findlay Schenck's book, "Branding for Dummies", where she summed up both the their product attributes-

Android users- "affordability is the biggest reason [it] is the No. 1 most purchased system in the world. It also has a really great operating system"  

Apple- Apple's appeal is somewhat more abstract.  Apple stands for smart, fun, sleek. It makes people feel good about who they are and who they want to be" 
In other words: "Android is a commodity platform, Apple is a brand," she said. 

References



Samsung S5 website. #ExpectMore. Retrieved November 6, 2015 from http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxys5/expectmore.html

Rehmat, S. (Aug 31, 2013). Kano’s Model Smartphones. Retrieved November 6, 2015 from http://www.slideshare.net/Sheikh_Rehmat/kanos-model-25776194

Samsung website for product attributesRetrieved November 6, 2015 from http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxys5/features.html

Arce, N.(Jan 2, 2015) Samsung Topples Apple in Smartphone customer satisfaction Survey in U.S. Retrieved November 6, 2015 from http://www.techtimes.com/articles/24162/20150102/samsung-topples-apple-in-smartphone-customer-satisfaction-survey-in-u-s.html

ACSI (June 2, 2015). Benchmark by smartphone brand. Retrieved November 6, 2015 from https://www.theacsi.org/customer-satisfaction-benchmarks/benchmarks-by-brand/benchmarks-for-smartphones

A Study by University of Calgary. Kano Model Analysis.  Retrieved November 9, 2015, from http://people.ucalgary.ca/~design/engg251/First%20Year%20Files/kano.pdf

News.com.au. (Nov 29, 2013) Personality matches smartphones choices, says study. Retrieved November 9, 2015, from http://www.news.com.au/technology/gadgets/personality-matches-smartphone-choice-says-study/story-fn6vihic-1226771710816

Federico-O'Murchu, L. (Jan 19, 2013) Why people pick Team Apple versus Team Android. Retrieved November 9, 2015, from 
     http://www.cnbc.com/2015/01/19/why-people-pick-team-apple-versus-team-android.html

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

7 Tips to Find Samsung's Brand Personality


Finding any brand's personality can become too easy if we try to identify the characteristic in right ways. Samsung Smartphones are one of the popular android smartphone brands competing with another industry giant Apple. Although, some of the smartphones by Samsung and Apple may have almost same price range, they vary big time in features and functionality. In this piece we will be evaluating Samsung's brand personality in 7 ways that really works.

Brand personality is a set of human characteristics associated to a brand name. These traits are with which the customer relates the brand and builds the image of the brand around it. A Brand should try to maintain the personality by keeping the consistent set of traits to build a stronger brand image & brand equity.

Samsung and Apple smart phone owners have totally different segmentation in the market with distinct requirements. The brand personality that a brand possesses is visible in the 4 P’s of marketing mix and every thing related to the brand like users, partner channels, advertisements, communication, mediums, messages and others. As the brand establishes the personality in the market, it pulls customers with similar personality traits towards the brand and vice versa.


M. Rawlings (March 17, 2015) while analyzing different Smart phone users personality describes Samsung as “Samsung: Cultivating the Cool Crowd”, saying that the brand has cultivated an image that its customers are “cooler” than Apple users.

Lets use following 7 Tips to define Samsung’s brand personality.



Car Analogy

If Samsung Smartphones are to associated/ represent by a car, it would be a BMW Sedan M Series 2015 model in royal blue color. And keeping in mind Samsung’s innovation in smart phones I suggest upgrading this choice with a new BMW at every launch.

A research says, Samsung folk are moderate users of their smartphone. They are conscientious, agreeable and open to new experiences. They like working out but they also like playing video games. Samsung users are a little more willing to take risks. (news.com.au, Nov 29, 2013)

Samsung Smart phone users choose it because it’s new, smart, interactive and innovative with unique features. BMW M series stands for performance, comfort, gadgets, playful, reliability and power. So, Samsung Smart phone’s car analogy can be illustrated by BMW model fairly well.


Celebrity Analogy

If the brand needs to have a face it would be the NFL superstar Tom Brady! Earlier also Samsung has picked sports personality to endorse the brand or a new product launch but I feel it should have a phone as the complete brand.

When Samsung paired comedians Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen with basketball star LeBron James in a 2013 Super Bowl ad, Brand Keys research showed that Samsung had overtaken Apple in customer loyalty engagement. Marketing campaigns promoting Samsung products with large screens such as the Galaxy S4 have satirized the size of Apple’s products to convey the message that Apple is outdated. This also means that tech-savvy users prefer Samsung. WDS research shows this strategy has helped Samsung retain 58 percent of its own customers while attracting 34 percent of users switching brands. (Rawlings, 2015)

I choose Tom Brady because he is defines the energy, performance and competitiveness of the brand appropriately. He is one of the most favorite sports personality in U.S. and a very popular celebrity. Brady has been compared to legendary quarterbacks of all times in the NFL.

Samsung stands for a brand that is very lively, innovative and surprising, leading the android market by giving users an amazing experience. Tom Brady is known to be a leader, modest, tough, competitive, and motivated and go-getter.


Animal Analogy 

If Samsung smart phones were to be an animal it would be a HAWK. Because they are known to be one of the most intelligent birds with broad wings and sturdy builds. Their important characteristics are intelligent and exceptional eye-sight, which depicts far-sightedness and vision. They not only have the ability to perceive visible range but ultraviolet part of the spectrum. They have 4 types of color receptors in the eye.

February 2005, the Canadian ornithologist Louis Lefebvre announced a method of measuring avian " IQ" in terms of their innovation in feeding habits. [6] Hawks were named among the most intelligent birds based on this scale. (Wikipedia)

As Samsung smart phones also stand for innovation, intelligence and vividness in the market I think Hawk would be a perfect match to show the brand image of sharp perspective, growth and freshness.


Ideal Spokesperson

It would be Ellen DeGeneres the famous celebrity and host of a popular TV show. Forbes (2015) ranks Ellen DeGeneres 12th amongst top 100 celebrities in the U.S. She has the character of a lively, fun loving and out going person that goes with the image of Samsung smart phones.

She is a public figure with a huge fan following, people trust her as is visible in her TV show growing success and viewership. She is quick witted, smart and a independent celebrity who people look up to. When she speaks people listen up and value her suggestions, comments and analysis. She also has a great presence on Social media, advertising and media overall, which can be very helpful for Samsung as a brand. Remember the famous Ellen Oscar selfie?

Ellen would be a great spokesperson for Samsung.


Archetypes

In the 2-dimension system I would put Samsung Smart phones on the lower semicircle and in the category of “magician”. They might have been accused of copying Apple’s technology but whatever they offered as product to the consumer has challenged biggest giants in the industry.

They have created amazing products and improving continuously standing tall as the magicians of smartphone industry.

B. VanAuken (2014) categorized Samsung as The magician/wizard – one who practices magic or who displays amazing skill or accomplishment. Famous magicians/wizards: Merlin, Nikola Tesla, Lucent Technologies, Samsung Electronics


Personification Exercise

We know Samsung’s brand identity is not as clear as Apple, where Apple has distinct & defined characteristics; Samsung’s communication lacks the clear brand identity.

Samsung’s phone business is feeling pressure from Apple on three key fronts: brand identity, software simplicity, and hardware sophistication. (Ion, 2015)

If Samsung Smartphones would be a person it would be a guy in his late 20’s dressed casually or semi- casually. Wears trendy and colorful clothes that compliments the style and is latest. He will carry a new look everyday in vibrant colors, design style and patterns. He is young, enthusiastic and a challenger by nature. Plays video games, ready to take risks and willing to change.

At next management meeting he sits at the head of the table and the host of the meeting. They hold a master’s degree, smart and young businessman with progressive mind.


Exploring Adjectives

Keeping in mind the innovation, product line and technology Samsung Smart phone reflect or will portray in the future the list of adjectives will be Versatile, Lively, Spontaneous and innovative.

Rating the attributes given below has supported this choice; Boldfaces are the selected adjectives-

• Conservative or progressive?

• Urban or outdoorsy?

Casual or professional?

Funny and playful or serious?

Big or small?

Leader or underdog?

Stylish and fashionable or plain and practical?

• Thrifty or affluent?

Outspoken or reserved?

Dynamic or stable?

• Predictable or surprising?

Stable or fluid?


References

Rawlings, M. (Mar 17, 2013). What your smartphone says about your personality Retrieved November 8, 2015, from http://www.business2community.com/mobile-apps/smartphone-says-personality-01184982

News.com.au. (Nov 29, 2013) Personality matches smartphones choices, says study. Retrieved November 8, 2015, from http://www.news.com.au/technology/gadgets/personality-matches-smartphone-choice-says-study/story-fn6vihic-1226771710816

Wikipedia. Hawk. (Nov 7, 2015) Retrieved November 8, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawk

Forbes. #12 Ellen DeGeneres. Retreived November 8, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/profile/ellen-degeneres/

Ion, F. (Jan 30, 2015) These are three smart phone strategies Samsung should borrow from Apple. Retrieved November 8, 2015 from http://www.greenbot.com/article/2877491/these-are-the-3-smartphone-strategies-samsung-should-borrow-from-apple.html

VanAuken, B. (Jan 23, 2014) Brand Archetypes Defined. Retrieved November 8, 2015, from http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2014/01/brand-archetypes-defined.html#.Vj_lCYSQz8E