DMAi 2014 Convention: Day three - ‘60 pc of buyer’s decision is taken before they choose to engage with a brand’

On day three of the Direct Marketing Association of India (DMAi) Convention 2014, Nishant Rao, country manager, LinkedIn India, offered a perspective on marketing strategy and fundamental shifts in consumer behaviour.

“As a result of which, it is causing discontinuity in marketing. So the past is no longer a good predictor of the future in terms of the marketing strategy. The consumer behaviour has changed forever,” he said.

“Almost 60 per cent of a buyer’s decision is taken before they choose to engage with a brand or a company. They have the information at their fingertips,” asserted Rao.  He mentioned that while previously a linear way of marketing was followed, in the social age, everyone has an opinion and they wish to share it. He cited the example of a Dominos video that went viral. It was created by their employees where they were adding wrong ingredients. Dominos saw an immediate drop in sales.

Rao added, “We have gone from centralised marketing to decentralised marketing. These conversations are happening; it’s not a choice that we as brands have now. The most dangerous part is to assume that talk is cheap.”

Concluding his presentation, he reflected on content marketing in the social age. “Pictures, videos and infographics is something we should share in the form of content marketing. All you need to do is add perspective to the third party content and just be the editor,” he surmised.