The task of marketing appears to have evolved tremendously from the basic process of making a product recognizable to the process of helping customers to relate to the brand on a deeply emotional level. The described situation applies fully to the progress made by BabyCenter since the organization has developed a very sophisticated and rather brilliant approach toward marketing its goods. By using the power of online influencers as the main vehicle for promoting its brand, BabyCenter has managed to embrace a huge number of people living in different locations, thus allowing its product to become recognizable not only in the United States but also across the globe.
The approach that BabyCenter adopted in order to create brand awareness is very compelling since it places emphasis on the role of modern media, particularly, the increasing impact of online influencers, at the same time promoting innovativeness. What strikes specifically about the efforts made by the organization is its decision to use the power of the word of mouth in its modern form, namely, by recruiting online influencers (“Editorial and advertising policy,” n.d.). With its ubiquitous nature, modern media serves its function of spreading awareness perfectly, which has helped in constructing a massive online presence for BabyCenter.
Additionally, one should give the organization credit for visualizing its brand development process as a larger entity consisting of several key elements. Namely, apart from the focus on promotion and the creation of awareness, the organization has put a lot of effort into employee relationships and the creation of trust in them (Chatzigeorgiou, 2017). The described endeavor is worth appreciation as the sign that BabyCenter is willing to invest its time and resources into supporting its staff members and developing an intricate talent management framework. Finally, the creation of customer communities was a bold fundamental step in cementing the brand and ensuring high recognition rates for it.
However, the approach that BabyCenter has chosen may have several weaknesses. For example, the reliance on modern media may lead to overlooking some of the other important strategies for promoting the product. Moreover, the lack of control over how online influencers portray the service offered by BabyCenter may lead to misrepresentation and, therefore, the failure to create the necessary brand image (Glucksman, 2017). The results may vary from attracting a smaller range of customers to failing to meet the expectations that buyers set when viewing the product being advertised by online influencers.
Nevertheless, by establishing proper communication channels, a company can avoid the specified difficulties, as the experience of BabyCenter has shown. However, BabyCenter can achieve even greater outcomes by creating customer communities. By putting a significant effort into the conversation with its target buyers and using a system of classification to build communities based on customer types, BabyCenter will build the needed attention and enthusiasm in target audiences, delivering the expected product of the required quality (Khamis, Ang, & Welling, 2017). As a result, the organization will enjoy tremendous success in its chosen market.
With the inclusion of modern media and particularly the power of online influencers as the essential vehicle for advertising its products and services, BabyCenter has created a huge online presence that has spread not only across the U.S. but also all over the world. Although one should also give the company credit for developing an application that is highly usable and very effective, the selection of the marketing model is what makes BabyCenter stand out from the rest of the firms offering similar goods. Overall, BabyCenter has achieved stunning success in the creation of a social brand.
References
Chatzigeorgiou, C. (2017). Modelling the impact of social media influencers on behavioural intentions of millennials: The case of tourism in rural areas in Greece. Journal of Tourism, Heritage & Services Marketing, 3(2), 25-29. Web.
Editorial and advertising policy. (n.d.). Web.
Glucksman, M. (2017). The rise of social media influencer marketing on lifestyle branding: A case study of Lucie Fink. Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, 8(2), 77-87.
Khamis, S., Ang, L., & Welling, R. (2017). Self-branding, ‘micro-celebrity’ and the rise of social media influencers. Celebrity Studies, 8(2), 191-208.