Opinion: Keeping Community Engaged in Difficult Times

The Covid-19 pandemic has been an eye-opener if anything. This period of disequilibrium has forced a sense of vulnerability to dominate most decisions being made by countries, companies and brands. Optimistic farsightedness may lose to myopic pragmatism.

Significant changes are inevitable not only in how we work but also how we engage with our customers. Brands have to ensure there is continuity and comfort and yet they need to rapidly adapt to the circumstances whilst presenting a responsible, socially-conscious stance.

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Brands need to be credible and sincere

New-age consumer behaviour

With classic buying patterns paused and old certainties disrupted, the interaction with stakeholders will now be fundamentally different than what it used to. Keeping the core purpose and values intact, brands need to stay with fast-changing consumer behaviour. With digital transformation taking the forefront, there is perhaps a need to create virtual outlets for engagement and expression which are credible, optimistic and reinforce the brand connect. That customer engagement has become an altogether digital process was amply evidenced in this period. The world was not on the roads but the wheels of consumer engagement and e-commerce were turning nevertheless. This is here to stay.

Through this innovation and reinvention, it becomes all the more important for businesses to stay authentic. Brands need to stay true to their character and not merely jump on the bandwagon just because the others have done so. If a brand can't be seen as credible, it risks being seen as opportunistic; that is something to guard against. The sins of insincerity, puffery, gimmickry and vanity are worse than that of inaction or inattention.

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Royal Enfield has a 7 million strong community

Customer engagement

At Royal Enfield, we realized the need to connect with our 7 million strong community and strike up a conversation that was optimistic, confident and convivial. We did not waste time in regrouping and engaging customers with what we do best - 'pure motorcycling' themed content.

The niche, but esteemed community of custom builders are of great significance to motorcycling enthusiasts the world over. We have had a program of Royal Enfield Custom World for a few years and we felt this was very attractive content which needed exposure. It adds esteem to the Royal Enfield brand, both as the facilitators of such custom work as well as curators of such content. With our Royal Enfield Custom World Live program, we released a 10 episode series of live chats with 10 eminent custom houses from 6 countries across Royal Enfield owned channels. More than 35K enthusiasts joined us for the first session.

Royal Enfield Custom World Episode 1:

We are reaching out to this community across the globe to learn their stories, inspirations and journeys. The aim is to create a knowledge-sharing platform to educate our riders, promote engagement and keep the Indian custom builder community abreast of the global trends. The initiative stays true to our brand purpose while we engage with one of our key stakeholders with optimism, assurance and authenticity.

Feel-good campaign

What we also understand is that people want to stay engaged with what is real and relevant to them especially in times of crisis. It is a source of relief, hope and inspiration. People want a respite from constant depressing information and news. A feel-good campaign with hope for a better future is good - but what can be great for a brand is letting people themselves drive this narrative. Giving consumers the opportunity to share and engage within the community and relive joyful memories can shape constructive conversations. For brands with strong, vibrant and engaged online communities, this is a golden opportunity to deepen loyalty.

Royal Enfield's #TripStory is one such campaign planned to keep the riding community engaged during these extraordinary times. The campaign is based on the insight that, during the lockdown, digital engagement and content consumption is at an all-time high. It's a call to all those who love the wind in their hair, and two wheels on the tarmac - all they need to do is to share their memorable ride story and tag their friends to share theirs. The overwhelming response to this campaign is a testament to its simplicity and ingenuity. We have received participation from over 14.5K Royal Enfield riders driving a very healthy digital engagement of 5.2 Million.

Transforming times

Times of crisis are almost always times of momentous transformation. Companies are re-looking at business models, disrupting established rituals, focusing on robust continuity plans and becoming far more conscious about going digital. In fact, the acceleration of change during this pandemic reminds me of the tech transformation of the year 2007. Apple launched the iPhone, Android was released, Facebook and Twitter went global and it forever changed the way brands and consumers interact and perhaps how we live.

The impact will be significantly bigger this time as we enter the unprecedented 'new normal' that markets and the stakeholders are likely to ease into. It will be interesting to see how consumers behave in the post epidemic world. As brands reimagine their communications, the strategies will have to be behaviour-led and digital-enabled.

It will be important for brands to frame this scenario, not in terms of what they have lost, but what will be gained. The biggest job to be done would be to restructure the traditional and emerge out of this crisis as better, more responsible brands. Nurture the spirit of resilience and be prepared for unexpected changes. And as we say, Keep Riding!

(Shubhranshu Singh is Global Head, Brand and Marketing, Royal Enfield)



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