Delight consumers. Show you care. Make them talk about you.

Delight…this is what brands should be doing to their consumers - but sadly they often don’t.

This is the final D of the PDD model.

It can be the magical part.

Brands that genuinely delight their consumers tend to get rewarded by securing greater levels of consumer loyalty and advocacy.

It is simple.

They make a compelling promise and deliver it…then aim higher by finding surprising ways to delight their consumers. Brands that do delight are generally the ones that win (as evidenced by the Net Promoter work done by Fred Reichheld).

The challenge for all brands is to find ways to delight their consumers. To show that they care…to surprise them…to reward them…

This work is often in the hands of customer care departments and not integrated into the strategic efforts of the marketing team.

This needs to change.

The global turmoil is changing everything. Consumer confidence and spending has fallen off a cliff. As a result brand organisations are looking closer than ever before at marketing budgets and effectiveness.

In these difficult times it is sensible to ask whether you are delivering winning brand experiences at each stage of consumer journey to advocacy. Do you have the right PDD balance?

Brand Delivery - the moments of truth

This stage of the PDD framework is simply about the brand delivering the (brand) promise that has been made to the consumer.

The first part of it occurs when they go into the store to buy. Ideally they buy without distractions of competitor brand offers. It is sometimes referred to as the first 'moment of truth’ because it is the first time the consumer discovers whether the brand delivers the promise.

The second part (‘second moment of truth’) is when the consumer uses the brand; not just when they unpack and use for the first time, but every time they use it.

The delivery at both these parts is vital. If the consumer intents to buy but is switched to a competitor brand, or the brand doesn’t deliver when being used, then the marketing effort is wasted.

If a brand is successfully delivering the promise then the next thing it should focus on is delighting the consumer, to cement consumer loyalty and motivate them to become advocates.

Sounds straightforward…but why do so many brands get it wrong?