MarketPlace

Value-added products help brands to woo, retain buyers

selfie

Rise of smartphones has hit demand for cameras. PHOTO | NICHOLAS KOMU

Imaging and optical products company Canon, this year shifted its strategy from a brand that is focused on showcasing its latest hi-tech products in a bid to influence purchase to one that seeks to provide a memorable experience to consumers when they use its cameras.

In this, Canon is marketing its cameras, which have lost relevance globally over the years due to the rise of smartphones, as products that one buys not because of utility but as something they want to be a part of their personal identity.

In Kenya, for instance, the demand for cameras declined by 37.3 per cent between January 2017 and April 2017 from 1,200 to 763 cameras, according to consumer data company, Data Fintech. Therefore for brands such as Canon to reach its target market with such declining demand it has to show consumers that it has added value.

“The market has changed and Canon’s competitive set has been redefined from Nikon and Sony towards Apple, Samsung and even Snapchat. We knew we either had to become a niche business for the photography geeks or we could reposition ourselves into a brand millennials connect with,” said Lee Bonniface, Canon’s EMEA marketing director, in an interview with online business magazine, Campaign.

“We had to ask: how do we coexist with smartphones and embrace the new imaging world? Customers want the world to be simple and we have to make our products and services more simple to engage with, our offerings are now focused around: shoot, remember and share.”

By leveraging on memories created when using the product, Canon is seeking to attract consumers with an emotional hook where the product’s specifications are secondary to the experience provided by using the camera.

For the Kenyan market, the demographic that is currently buying cameras, are in the market for a product that gives them the freedom to express themselves and fits into their lifestyle to the extent of earning them a living.

“The purchasing power of cameras in the country is not high and the market that is demanding them is mostly young people who are venturing into businesses such as blogs and wedding photography. They do not have the economic muscle and so one of their main deciding factors when buying a camera is price,” said Justus Thuo, an electronics market analyst.

“Also, as smartphones will not be considered professional for a business that relies on photography, in order to achieve this and win new clients, a camera is needed because no one will hire a wedding photographer who takes pictures with their smartphone despite how advanced its camera abilities.”

In her paper, how consumers express their identity through the choice of products that they buy, Catherine Philips from the University of Bath in the UK, revealed that choosing products for consumers become relatively easy when an object strikes them more symbolically more harmonious with their goals, feelings and self-definitions than another.

“Demand theory suggests that consumers should choose the product which provides maximum utility for the disposable income they have where utility is the satisfaction or pleasure derived from consuming a good,” said Philips.

“An alternative to this view is that consumers choose products which closely match their current or aspired personalities. Consumers’ possessions and consumption habits are important to knowing who we are and provide a sense of being.

They may still choose products based upon their value but given the variety of choice in the market may, for example, choose a pink kitchen appliance because they feel it fits in with their warm personality.”

Therefore, for Kenyan brands, to still maintain market relevance even in the wake of innovation, it is key to align their strategies with their target consumers’ identities.

- African Laughter