CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Brand Vs. Customer
Experience
By Carolyne Gathuru
T
he Marketing Society of Kenya’s
(MSK) Gala Awards that aim at
raising marketing excellence in
the country, sported a very interesting
theme this year dubbed “Brand Vs.
Consumer experience”. Interesting
because of the very elements within the
theme, and even more interesting because
of their juxtaposition.
Much has been said by management
professionals world over about experience
being king, and what remains to be
harmonized depending on the lens
through which it is viewed, is whether
brand experience, consumer experience,
customer experience or just plain corporate
e xperience are birds of the same feather or
feathers off the same bird.
Taking a close look at each of the elements
within the gala theme, uncovers each of
them as hardwired with inputs that cut
across each aspect. Brand experience in
itself, with the brand being the center of
focus, is a combination of the different
factors that come together to define
what the brand really is, what the brand
stands for and the interaction of different
stakeholders with it to make up their
experience of it.
With regards to all these experiences,
it is brand experience that is generally
associated with what could relatively be
referred to as ‘superficial’ elements such
as look and feel, and the more visual
elements, as against the others that are
bandied together towards touching on
‘user experience’.
Brand experience is the parameter that is
most associated in the brand user’s eyes
with marketing and advertising, and other
external facing elements, much more than
its counterparts. The word brand sets
Much has been said by management
professionals world over about experience
being king, and what remains to be harmonized
depending on the lens through which it is
viewed, is whether brand experience, consumer
experience, customer experience or just plain
corporate experience are birds of the same
feather or feathers off the same bird.
12 MAL21/17 ISSUE
expectations and carries with it whatever
perceptions exist out in the world as what
the brand actually stands for, governing
the customer’s mindset as they interact
with the brand from the onset.
It is only those that truly understand
the true definition of what a brand
represents, and what it really does depict,
that then hold brands to account for
the entire spectrum that a brand should
be accountable for; up to and including
delivering on all promises made by the
brand both overt and nuanced.
Consumer experience on the other hand
as captured in the gala’s theme, focuses on
the consumer of the brand. Consumers
are said to be the actual users of the brand
that interact with the brand directly, and
who make use of the brand be it a physical
tangible product or service.
Once again much has been said about
customers and consumers, and in several
instances these may very well happen
to be one and the same person, but not
exclusively so. Does that mean therefore
that referring to consumers and handling
customers as consumers then ostracizes
the constituents that are customers but
not consumers?
Consumers are customers indeed,
whether they physically buy the products
or subscribe to or partake of the service
offered by a brand, but customers are not
always consumers. Focusing therefore on