Physics & Digital Marketing- Part 2; Doppler Effect

The simple premise of doppler effect is that the frequency and velocity of a wave varies depending on the distance between the source and receiver.
Imagine, Social media as a huge lake and all the brands and people are floating on it. Each conversation is an action that starts a ripple and the same can be felt in the area of influence surrounding the source. The intensity of the wave changes depending on the distance between the source and observer or in this case the receiver. The frequency of the wave being higher when the distance between the sender and observer is near (or coming closer) and lower when the distance is far or receding.
In a digital marketing scenario, when an user starts a conversation involving a brand, depending on the frequency of the conversation, we can judge whether the user is coming closer to the brand or receding away from it. Here we have to negate the type of conversation (positive, neutral, or negative). The following scenarios could be played out:
  • Once the brand gets to know about the incoming wave (through monitoring tools), it can move closer to the source, so that the frequency increases & the relationship becomes stronger
  • If the brand knows that the frequency of the previous wave and current wave is decreasing, it means that the person is moving away from the brand. Remedial actions can be taken to keep the person within the optimum distance of the brand, through service or enticement
Doppler’s effect in marketing can be best used for customer service and relationship management. I had experienced this a long time back, when I did data analysis for a telecom operator in India, in terms of churn management. It was found in customer service, that whenever the frequency of interactions with the company increases, it implied there is an issue. The cluster data co-related to two outcomes:
  • When interaction ceased abruptly. The person continued to be an user
  • Interaction frequency gradually reduced.. Most person dropped out of the service after a particular time period
Doppler effect is used in various fields like astronomy, electromagnetic, radar, etc.. Maybe it is time we use it in Digital Marketing too

Picture courtesy: Rob Cartwright

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