Came across a quote – “The decent method you follow is better than the perfect method you quit”.
Everything needs a method and a process. I recall the time when my grandfather used to take me with him to kirana stores and hit up conversations around different topics that I got to listen into and found interesting. I was also addicted to the bedtime stories (I pestered him till I was in 6th grade) as those stories are so precious to me. He used to make me the hero of his stories, where I used to play different characters .My favourite being, I in the role of a police inspector. He way he came up with different situations and variations in his stories daily was incredible. For him, his consumer was me and he manifested his narration in way that made me believe that I was actually a police inspector. I still recall, there were gaps that he closed his eyes took a pause and I was so impatient that the moment he took a pause, I told him in my mother tongue – tarpore ko holo? (translates to – what happened after that? I am sure those pauses were his fast-thinking mode to improvise and continue the story.
Let’s face the truth. Today is different and tomorrow is expected to be even more different in multiple aspects. It is important to have a single view of the individual customer and the buying journey may not be the same after few years.
One of my favorite is how LEGO till date does storytelling and the consistency they have. Their tutorials on YouTube is something I keep going back to. It is a powerful community today and it is something that according to me grew with consistency in delivering the message. Moreover, think of LEGO’s target audience today. It is not more only children!
I strongly believe that marketing is the ability to craft a compelling story, that is compelling for your target audience. That also comes with experimentation as at times improvisations are required to continue to trigger the curiosity and keep nudging at the same vibration. So even before selling, in this era of information overload, here are my top 3 simple steps to weave a riveting story, assuming that we have already done the exercise of understanding our target audience and personas, which forms the pedestal. I think of this as the 3 pillars to building a bridge. Remember it like an acronym – ACD
There are other hands and legs that could be added to this bridge, the below will form the key ones to manifestation.
1) Authenticity is the DNA
I am not sure if there is a crash course in ‘how to be authentic’ , well there rather not be, because it is like an egg that when it cracks open from inside , it generates life, rather than breaking from outside, it ends life. So bring in the idea from inside out approach, not outside in approach. It will automatically lead towards authenticity. This also stems from the competition research that we must do to identify – what gap we want to address in the mind of our consumer. Narrative must not be a sales pitch , unless that is the only task at hand with rest all taken care of already.
2) Capturing one emotion
Human beings are emotional creatures, however logical may they seem. This is what I believe in. Hence, bringing in that one emotion that becomes a pillar to building our bridge. Do not focus on the product. Focus on what the product brings in to the life of your consumer. That becomes addressing the ‘Reason to Believe’ (RTB). In this process it is also important to think and answer this question- in how many words and in how much time would we want to communicate our message to audience ? Consumers today have access to information that we did not have 20 years back, so the ‘depth’ of the emotion needs to be addressed well. In my opinion, Less is Always more , if done with focussed thinking in the ‘script’ phase.
3) Disseminating
Now that we have captured an emotion and have a script with the backbone of authenticity, it needs a pillar to complete the bridge to allow your consumers to walk through. That pillar is choosing the most relevant platforms and then also have a surround plan to disseminate our creation. The beauty of martech ecosystem is that it empowers us to catch our consumer at the right time, right moment. Here comes the selection of the mix- Owned, Earned and Paid media.
At the end, lets remember, that our story and message must inspire our audience to take some action, be in any stage of the funnel, that attribution needs to be tracked and measured, which in turn will help in building the strength and consistency of the ‘bridge.
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Extending beyond academia; Ankoor has been honoured with the "CIRCLE OF EXCELLENCE 2024" award by Passion Vista and recognized as the "MAN OF EXCELLENCE, 2024" by the prestigious Indian Achievers' Award. Additionally, he received the "LEADER 2.0 AWARD, 2023" from adgully and was named a "DIGITAL KAIZEN LEADER by DigiAdCon 2024”, Dr. Dasguupta's contributions to the field of marketing are widely acclaimed, marking him as an inspiring thought leader in his domain. Ankoor is also a member of IMA India’s CMO Forum.
Most recently Dr. Dasguupta has been selected and felicitated with the national level award -Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam Inspiration Award 2024 in the category Youth Icon of the Year.
Dr. Dasguupta is a key member of the esteemed International CMO Council and keeps delivering lectures at top Business Schools and also colleges at University of Delhi. As an industry expert, Ankoor has also been a member of the interview panel at MICA for their PGP Group Exercise & Personal Interview PI process for PGDM-C/PGDM selection for two consecutive years. Dr. Dasguupta is also on the Advisory Board of the Marketing Department at ISBR Business School, Bangalore. Recognized by DMA Asia as a marketing Ace, Dr. Dasguupta is a LinkedIn Top Voice, advocate of social impact, driven by kaizen, Ankoor believes in the power of Energy and Energize
Dr. Ankoor is practicing his PCC (Level 2) coaching from the gold standard International Coaching Federation [ICF]. He is a people's person and has worked across functions in senior leadership positions in marketing, advertising, media & communication with a pedigree of 24 years and ongoing exciting journey. Trained from Dale Carnegie in Mentoring to Develop Talent, Ankoor is a marketing practitioner, a coach, a knowledge manager, a team builder, a thought-leader, an avid writer with close to 100 published articles / interviews and is a Thought Leader. Dr.Ankoor wears the hat of a CMO as well. His leisure pursuits are reading, effective listening and percussion. Follow Dr. Ankoor Dasguupta on LinkedIn| https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankoordasguupta/
Extremely practical and actionable advice Ankoor.