1.Your mobile device is a force to reckon with: No matter how distracted she is, or how restive; a flash on the screen of my mobile and she leaves everything she is doing and comes hunting for that something she could fancy.

There are different figures on how many hours we spend peering at our mobile screens, but even if you were skeptical about all those figures, your personal experience can tell you it is not less than 3hours.

2.Packaging is as important as the product: May be more… I can’t remember her taking to a toy or a gift the way she does to the packaging. In fact, she has to engage herself with those flashy wraps and cardboards before she starts noticing the actual thing.

There is a lot of marketing literature available that tells us the potential of proximity senses–touch, taste & scent –to establish bonds between the consumers and brands. The contoured Coca-Cola bottle is considered a classic case to drive this point. The cosmetics and the wine industry are two among many examples of how the sense of touch can manipulate the consumer’s behaviour and lure him/her into buying a product. You can imagine what good packaging can do for your brand.

3.Consumer taste is a journey not a destination: What she is completely in love with today, becomes a drab tomorrow. From food to toys to her activities, she grows over them so fast, you have to have a vision of a foreseer to keep pace with her.

A delight for a consumer today, becomes a given tomorrow and then he/she expects further augmentation. An air-conditioner, at a time, was luxury. Yesterday, it was a given and today people have expectations to control their air-conditioners through apps from remote locations.

4.No matter how hard you tried, you can’t make sure your consumer is never hurt: What do we not do to protect her? But does that protect her from banging her head on the wall? No! Does that mean she has never slipped and fell on the floor? No!

A consumer is a human being; even if you treated him/her like a member of your family, he/she will still end up being hurt, some time or the other. All the brands have tried, Apple & Google included, but a 5-star rating on a considerable base is impossible to achieve, unless you have rigged it.

5.A consumer can demolish your treasured assets: I can’t keep count of the number of my books she has torn. Or how many ironed shirts she has crumpled! Bed-sheets, furniture… the list is endless.

In a world of internet & social media, a consumer can wreak havoc on your most treasured assets. Jeff Jarvis’ blog post in 2005, on Dell’s ‘Computer Lemon’ is a testimony to the power the consumer enjoys today in this world of Internet.

6.You can’t strictly decide the use the consumer is going to put your product to: Whenever she has a free run, she mops the floor with my clothes. My slippers, to her, look like a sandwich. She thinks my laptop is a platform for her to sit on.

Horlicks –the milk supplement by GSK –in some parts of India is used to fatten up cattle. Godrej hair dye is used to colour buffaloes so that they can be auctioned at a higher price. Iodex, the pain relieving balm, comes in handy to massage the domesticated animals to relieve them of body aches at the end of a tiring day.

7.You might be ecstatic about your offering but the consumer can’t care less: We bought her two soft toys –a cute Minnie Mouse and a Rabbit. She doesn’t touch them. She hates them.

All of us have been to town halls, to those ‘high profile’ meetings where the company leadership can’t get over the ‘greatness’ of their new or yet-to-be-launched product but when it hits the market, all the consumer gives it is a cold shoulder.

8.No matter what the consumer does to you, you can’t give it back: She digs her nails on my face, every now and then; kicks me in the face while sleeping. Does it matter what I feel?

You will cringe at the some of the things the consumer does to you or says about you. Relish it, detest it but live with it, lest you want irrevocable damage. Google Ryanair’s social media disasters and you will understand what I mean.

9.You may think your actions are not being noted, but it will all come back: One of those days, when you took a shortcut. Or one of those when you spoke loudly to your spouse… it is all being registered. And she will take it out when you least expect it.

Don’t have time to respond to your customer’s message? Or to address their issues? Wait till your karma gets back at you.

10.It is NOT impossible to win your consumer back: I might lose her attention for a while or she may getangry with me because I am taking a little longer in dressing her up, but she comes back and gives me a huge hug time and again, keeping aside all the grudges she, at one moment, held against me.

With enough efforts, you can have your consumer back. Unless you are in funeral services.