CROSSFIRE
You Can Do Something!
When Love Loses Fire And
They Won’t Do Anything For
Love!
By Herman Githinji
J
ohn is a single young man. He is of
average built, dark, tall, and handsome.
He’s got a decent accounting job.
haven’t seen John with many girls, but there
is one he has intensely been dating. She is
a next-door neighbor in an apartment in
the upper suburbs of Nairobi.
John is one of those guys who love in
stages. He meets a lady, he likes, he
engages and he eventually gets submerged
into deep love. He has been disappointed
on many occasions sometimes even before
he gets into the upper stages of love.
John’s loving process is not different from
how customers fall in love with products.
That process progresses from awareness,
to acceptance, to adoption, and finally to
adoration. To nurture and grow this love,
marketers will advise you to grease your
skids with quality, delivery, price, and
awareness.
In late 1990’s Pilsner Larger sales were
heading South. Everything in the trade
was nevertheless perfect. Products
were available in the bar, they were
appropriately priced, and well displayed
on the shelves. Customers also heard the
ads and loved them. But they still wouldn’t
drink the Larger.
What was the problem with Pilsner?
Sometimes, brands get to a point where
they just lose fire. They lose that emotional
connection with their customers. That
is the point where consumers become
lethargic. They won’t actively and
passionately engage. They latently sit there
waiting to be ignited. When a product is
new don’t expect much love because it
hasn’t worked hard to be adored.
In such a situation, some marketers will
advise you to carry out more awareness
campaigns. But is the problem that your
customers don’t know your existence,
your capabilities, or your differentiation?
Why would a company like Airtel waste
money advertising? We know who they
are, we know they are cheaper on data and
When John wanted to take this relationship to
the next level, the lady said she likes him so much,
but as a brother. She told him that she appreci-
ates his efforts and she has no issues with him
whatsoever, but she says she has no fire in her
belly for him. John lacked the spark that would
ignite that friendship into a burning love thing.
His love mission aborted somewhere along the
way and lost fire. Why do customers and ‘lovers’
reach that state of lethargy?
04 MAL23/18 ISSUE
airtime. But that is not what makes me
not buy Airtel products and services. I am
just not switched on.
Back to my friend John and his love
matters. This day he called me for a drink.
He wanted to vent. He seems to have an
issue with the love relationship with his
neighbor.
John has been a good man to her. He has
done everything a gentleman would do
to a lady he admires and loves. John has
bought flowers, cooked for her, taken her
out, and on several occasions, gotten her
out of ‘situations’. Above all these good
deeds, John has expressed his objectives
and intentions.
When John wanted to take this
relationship to the next level, the lady said
she likes him so much, but as a brother.
She told him that she appreciates his
efforts and she has no issues with him
whatsoever, but she says she has no fire in
her belly for him. John lacked the spark
that would ignite that friendship into
a burning love thing. His love mission
aborted somewhe