The traditional top-down business model is completely wrong for the 21st Century, and marketers employing tactics from the last millennium are in danger of following the dinosaurs into extinction… along with their companies.

At Duxton we talk a lot about putting the customer at the heart of a Company. Few Companies that we talk to disagree with that philosophy. Unfortunately few Companies are also prepared to make the changes and commitments that true customer centricity requires.

We recently talked about niche brands and how they needed time to establish trust and long term growth. Becoming a niche brand can be a result of a specific marketing strategy, or it can happen by accident. Sadly, many brands become niche players by accident.

We’ve recently been talking about the importance of trust for a brand. High levels of trust lead to greater loyalty, preference and advocacy. But some brands we have measured have a high trust score, but are failing to attract new users. Why?

In the past, when I worked in the ad biz, we spent a lot of time with clients discussing the functional benefits of a brand versus non-functional attributes. Rational versus emotional. Getting this balance right was essential for great communications.

My tracking study tells me that brand awareness went from 92% to 93%. Wow! Big deal. It’s also telling me that perceptions and attitudes towards my brand haven’t really changed over the past 3 months. Or in fact, the past 6 or 12 or 24 months. Hmm…

Market management consultants Stefan Grafe and Alan Fairnington provide Research News with their thoughts on segmentation, bringing a three-pronged perspective – as a client, user and supplier.