Unlocking Experiential Marketing

Indian market has entered into a new world of globalization and technology advancement. The new market dynamics have shaped the way we perceived and see things like never before which has given rise to a whole new breed of consumers. Today consumption is no longer about available choices but getting what you want on your terms. The era of “one size fits all” has moved to “Custom made”, it has now become imperative for the Businesses and Brands in India to create differentiation and break away from the clutter and make a space in customer’s mind space which has multitude of choices. Excerpts Prateek N. Kumar, Managing Director& Chief Executive Officer , NeoNiche Integrated Solutions  in an exclusive interaction with Faiz Askari of SMEStreet. In this exclusive interaction, he highlighted the market trends and potential of experiential marketing.

How the concept of experiential marketing is evolving in the Indian market?

The market dynamics is changing and has given rise to the concept of “Experiential Marketing” which is constantly evolving with the aim to form memorable and emotional connection between the consumer and the brand aided by smart devices and better infrastructure like electricity, roads and broadband connectivity not only in Metros but even Tier 3 cities and villages it is bound to evolve more where Customer will truly be the king and context the queen.

SMEs are usually cash crunched when it comes to marketing, do you recommend them for marketing process?

For a Company or a Brand of any size it is necessary to be sustainable and to create "Top of The Mind" recall it is not only necessary to have a “Brand Promotion” at the heart of its "Marketing Mix" as it helps in establishing relevance, grab eyeballs, raise awareness, build relationships at a personal level, create memories, increase loyalty, encourage interactions and stimulate positive WOM among its target audience. While SME segment is a potent force to reckon with it usually businesses do suffer from lack of funds and resources that a large enterprise enjoys; that does not mean having a marketing strategy is expensive, SMEs just need to find the most cost effective way to promote their brand. First they need to do a little research work and decide what will be the best medium to reach their target audience. Think of some unique ways to communicate with their target audience. They do not need to cross the limits of their existing budget in order to create a sellable brand. Try innovative approach like Profit sharing rather than cost based model with "Agencies", or Utilize Social Media, Online Tools to create experience.

How this marketing technique helps businesses as compared to the conventional marketing techniques?

For the closer connection with their potential customers businesses have started looking for more robust Marketing mix, one which will interact with consumers in unbelievable ways at various touch points, allowing brands to come alive for the target audience by creating connections between brand and consumer, in their personal world. These connections should be formed by experiences that are personally unique but relevant to the consumer, it should be memorable for them, it should be interactive, and it should invoke emotion and lead to sales and brand loyalty. Today dynamics of marketing has changed from traditional marketing mix of Product, Price, Place and Promotion (4Ps) to Consumer, Cost, Convenience and Communication this is where Experiential Marketing creates an edge.