Moments 1-3
How can brands use microns? There are 6 opportunities (“micron moments”) that brands are missing out in their communications with customers. In most cases, the cost of sending the emails could be an inhibitor – a barrier that is overcome by MyToday with its near-free microns.
First, microns can play a useful role in the pre-purchase persuasion. Today, when I visit a book page on Amazon, they typically send me an email after a few days saying you had shown interest in this item, and here is a link to make the purchase. There is nothing exciting in this other than serving as a reminder in case I had forgotten to buy, which is quite rare. Here is an alternative path to pushing for a purchase. Imagine if Amazon sent me short snippets from the book as microns for the next 5 days – these will not only educate me, but very likely also nudge me towards a purchase. Of course, Amazon offers the “Look inside” option, but how many of us click on it? We don’t always buy a product the first time we see an ad and need to be prodded. Microns can be very effective as nudges – besides being informational and interesting.
Second, brands can connect with customers immediately after a purchase to tell them about the product they just purchased. Let’s say I just bought a cold press juicer via a marketplace. The seller has no idea about me. If they offered to send me a 30-day micron series on how to use the juicer right, I would definitely opt-in – and this way they also get to know me. After I buy a new car, the auto company should be sending me a month-long series on all the interesting features in the car. The same can be done by every gadget manufacturer. The key is to continue the relationship after purchase rather than treating the transaction as the culmination of a process. A decade ago, most customers only had a mobile number and sending SMSes was an expensive proposition. Customers have since become digital and email has now become identity. Microns even remove the cost element by making the communications near-free.
Third, microns can open up the world of unknown customers of a brand. Colgate does not know I am a customer and neither does Kellogg’s or Cadbury. Samsung also seems disinterested in a relationship with me despite me having bought 2 Smart TVs and 3 mobile phones in the past 3 years. Yeti does not know I am a customer of their microphone. None of the pharma companies whose medicines I use know me. Because they do not know me, they need to do continuous spending in the digital and physical world to catch my attention – again and again. Now, imagine if Colgate’s packaging can offer a QR code (linked to an email ID) where I could subscribe to receive dental care tips. Kellogg’s could offer nutritional suggestions via their microns. Cadbury’s could alert me on important days so I could gift chocolates to friends and family. Pharma companies could offer advice linked to the medicine or pills I am purchasing. In each case, a hotline is being set up with me. They know my email ID which gives them right of way to reach out to me. Microns offer an alternative to repeated bombarding of promotional content by sending small nuggets of information that can help me live better.
