'Brands need to show empathy and pay attention to customers needs': Study

21N78E has rolled out a report which reveals that brands must not only look to target their consumers by being hyperlocal, but should be hypersensitive.

 

The report sheds light on how the people of India are reacting to the situation post the lockdowns and analyses their current state of mind. This report was created with the help of a survey with 376 Indians across the country and of all age groups. The agency used the Kübler-Ross five stages of grief to do this analysis. The five stages are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

 

Denial

70 per cent of the audience has accepted and crossed this stage. A higher number of females (39.89 per cent) as opposed to males (28.72 per cent) have accepted this and moved on. The balance are trying to move on.

 

Anger

Among the 376 respondents, 63 per cent do not show signs of anger with regards to the consequences of the crisis. Among the respondents who show anger, men are marginally more with (22.86 per cent) vs women at 21.01 per cent.

 

Bargaining (false hope)

54 per cent of the respondents seem to have accepted the situation and are looking to move on. More men have accepted the situation (29.25 per cent) compared to women (26.86 per cent).

 

Depression

Close to 60 per cent of the respondents have been able to cope with the situation and don't show overt signs of depression. Females are coping better with 21.01 per cent coping with the situation compared to men at 18.61 per cent.

 

Acceptance

Close to 93 per cent of the respondents have accepted the situation and the consequences related to it. More men than women (51 per cent) have accepted this situation.

 

The study concluded that with people feeling vulnerable and low, it is important for advertisers to frame their messages appropriately.

 

Brands need to show empathy and pay attention to their customers in the need of crisis and build a messaging framework that offers support, comfort and hope to their customers.

 

Sudhir Nair, founder and CEO, 21N78E, said, “There has been a lot of talk around the new normal. However, I do feel, the new normal is an accelerated version of the world that was waiting to happen. While the ground realities of business and operations are witnessing a fundamental shift, a lot of it is driven by a shifting consumer mindset. The research is to understand the impact on consumers and look at pointers that can help brands to better communicate with the intended TG. It is akin to fast-forwarding a few years to get to an impending reality. The research has thrown up some very interesting findings.”

 

Don Bosco, CSO and branch head - South, 21N78E, added, “For all us, the current time has come as a surprise and we are trying to cope with this current situation. We wanted to look deeper into the emotional aspects with this initiative. This research will help brands to broadly understand the stage of grief Indians are going through currently and craft narratives accordingly. Brands planning to communicate to their consumers should have empathy as their core value and start getting into the shoes of the consumers to be on their side as a friend in need and co-exist. This can go a long way in building long term relationships with the consumers.”