When it comes to sharing on social media, there’s you and your network of friends and contacts. These are all the people that you’re connected with on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, email, etc. And like you, these people have their network, in other words, your network’s network. The big secret of social media, not just for your personal brand but for your company is that it’s not about your network per se. It’s not even so much about reaching those in your network. It’s about reaching your network’s network.
So every message you put out there should be something that your network wants to forward. If your network doesn’t want to forward it along to their networks, then your brilliant post or exciting news dies with them. It’s like telling a room full of people you know something wonderful that you would hope they would tell others…but the word never gets out. On the other hand, if you put out content that’s surprising, that teaches, that adds to the conversation, that provokes thought, that taps into a bigger discussion, then people will forward it. In a sense, they reward you for being oh so clever and smart.
For example, I’m of that age where I’m taking more of an interest in insurance-related matters, so I’ve found myself going to New York Life’s Facebook page. There they ask questions, have polls, allow you to fill in the blank on things that directly have to do with insurance; but many other times the content is peripheral – what do you want your legacy to be? How old is the oldest person you know and what makes them special? It’s stuff people comment on a lot. As you may know, what happens then on Facebook is that those comments show up on people’s individual pages as commenting about something on New York Life’s page. So it becomes viral… which is the art of reaching your network’s network.
So what kind of messages are likely to be forwarded, or maybe more importantly, what kind of messages are boring and least likely to be forwarded? Well one kind is the “cat” status update kind you find on Facebook. You know…”I just fed my cat.” “My cat is playing with her new toy.” Cat, dog, people, whatever. We all know this stuff hardly ever gets forwarded. But you know what, brands do the equivalent of “I just fed kitty” updates all the time. How many times have you read “we just got a new product,” or “we’re moving, ” or “our company just hired 10 more people,” “we just painted our building,” etc. Yaaaawn. While it’s not at all wrong to give out that info, just know you’re saying something about yourself that’s not adding value and thus this update goes no further than your immediate circle of connections, if they’re paying attention at all. Oh, and then there’s the type of messaging that you find on LinkedIn and Twitter a lot…the over-populating of meaningless updates and posts without cessation. One post or tweet after another to the point you get tired seeing this person’s face show up on your screen ever again! If the idea of social media marketing is to form relationships with people, then why would you want to undo what you’ve accomplished by over-marketing your company to the point where people say, “I’ve had enough. Buh-bye!”
So what kind of messages generate traffic for business and does get forwarded to your network’s network? It turns out you already saw this in high school when a message of great personal value went out there and was forwarded. I’ll call this “My parents are out of town…bring your own beer” message. This type of update breaks through the rest of the “ho-hum” messages because it does two things: it produces a high emotional response and people like sharing practically useful content to help out their friends, as well as business customers or prospects.
Now I’m not a psychologist but I’ve found through personal experience that the likelihood of sharing content seems to hinge on things that produce an emotional response by means of wonder, joy, anxiety, fear and surprise. I’m sure there are many other motivators but let’s just talk about these for a moment.
As we know, the idea of social media is to create and strengthen relationships with people. We do that by sharing information that they’d like to get, read and pass along to others. That doesn’t happen if what you have to say isn’t interesting and you won’t be interesting until you say and do things imaginatively, originally, freshly.
When I first started out in this crazy world of advertising and marketing, I had a co-worker who had been in the business for a while (think of the show “Mad Men”) who would pass on “things to know” in endless supply. One of those things that I’ve remembered over the years has to do with the difference between knowledge and wisdom. It goes like this: knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing that you shouldn’t put it in a fruit salad. I’ve said this so many times to friends, co-workers, my kids, etc., that I’m surprised I’m still not tired of saying it. But there’s so much truth in it and it applies especially to the discipline of marketing.
As marketing folks, regardless of the industry or size of the firm or marketing department, we’re busy trying to learn as much as we can so as to stay up with the times. And there’s so much to learn. Whether it’s new research telling us about how certain demo groups are behaving towards specific marketing channels, to new online tools, to the best lead-generation software, it’s all coming at us at lightning speed. But we have to remember the need to use good judgment given all of this knowledge. You see knowledge – having specific familiarity or understanding about something – is a bit different than having wisdom – being able to discern or judge what is true, right or lasting. In short, to be wise.
So, while all of this knowledge is important — and it is — we need to know what we can depend on and what is just a fad. What will apply tomorrow after “the next best thing” in marketing has burned out and we’re on to the next “next big thing.” So indulge me in the passing on of some marketing wisdom. Think of it as Marketing “Chicken Soup for Soul,” if you catch my drift.
Marketing wisdom is knowing…
So, when you open up your next Google Alert about a specific marketing subject or if someone from upstairs decides to drop off an industry trade journal with a Post-It note saying “maybe we should try this,” it might be worth remembering “Marketing wisdom is knowing what to put in your fruit salad or keep out of it.”
####
Rolf Gutknecht is vice president, director of account services for LA ads. To discuss your thoughts with Rolf on this blog or any marketing matters, email via this link, or visit www.LAadsMarketing.com. You can also connect with Rolf on LinkedIn.
“The truth isn’t the truth until people believe you, and they can’t believe you if they don’t know what you’re saying, and they can’t know what you’re saying if they don’t listen to you, and they won’t listen to you if you’re not interesting, and you won’t be interesting until you say and do things imaginatively, originally, freshly.” – Bill Bernbach
Over the past couple of weeks, in both my personal and business life, it just seems like everywhere I turn, I’m seeing the most uninspired, blah, boring, and unenthused advertising and marketing messaging. From credit unions to food products to retail delivered through TV, direct mail, outdoor, one-sheets/brochures, whatever. You know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s as though A LOT of people got the same memo: create only lifeless, sigh-inducing marketing that doesn’t say anything. As a result, I recall something that the comedian Billy Connelly once said about people who create this kind of stuff. He called them “Beigests” – as in the color beige.
For the purposes of painting a picture of who a “Beigest” is, let’s describe them as constantly striving to turn everything around him or her lukewarm and mediocre. The kind of person who’ll suck the life out of all meaningful messaging, attempt to censor or dilute anything that they don’t get (forget that their audience does get it), water down any sort of strong rationale with weasel words & steer it towards the middle, and constantly strive for “consensus” as they make the world “user friendly” (i.e., rather than make an executive decision, they ask everyone for their opinion. I sometimes wonder if people making the advertising or marketing decisions are genetically incapable of recognizing messaging that stands out, that they simply default to that never vibrant but never offensive color beige.
Let me ask: who loves the color beige? Not many people will respond saying that beige is one of their favorites. But it’s a color, right? So why aren’t more people expressing their love for it…like they do for reds, blues, purples, or whatever your favorite color is. Because beige is insanely boring! It totally lacks enthusiasm which makes the marketing messaging as dull as an accountant’s office.
Our lives are way too busy for us to be attracted to “beige” things. Yet, too many marketers don’t project that same line of thinking toward attracting customers. Decisions are made daily to keep producing and running the same run-of-the-mill, uninspiring stuff…week after week, month after month, year after year.
Keep in mind that when you as a consumer see anything from a company, either your opinion of that company is enhanced or it’s not. There’s no middle ground. You either like them a bit more or you go in the other direction. So, if that’s the case, why do too many marketers turn that compelling, money-making value proposition into a beige “me-too” that each and every one of your competitors could say. Why do you think for one second that someone is going to acknowledge your message? And not only acknowledge it, but take the time to respond, and make a purchase.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been bored into buying something. And I’m even going to say that 99% of your customers are with me on this. The marketing you do for your company is an extension of you. You’re the person who’s responsible for communicating the passion of your company. When you talk about your business with others, hopefully your eyes twinkle, your heart begins to race, your voice becomes more dynamic and people are instantly attracted to you. When that show of enthusiasm and excitement happens, no one would confuse you with being boring, right? Of course not. So look at your marketing stuff and see if it reflects that same level of specialness. Or you could always ask friends, colleagues, suppliers or anyone who will be candid with you, “Does this marketing make you want to pick up the phone and call us or know more about us?” If the answer is not an enthusiastic “yes,” then it’s time to start over. Because spending money that can’t produce results never makes CEOs happy. They’re eventually going to see what you produced for the market.
Save your company from being seen as beige. Be a welcomed splash of red. And listen, not only is it possible for you to create a business that is as fascinating as you are, it is necessary. Life’s too short to settle for “blah.”
Businesses everywhere are searching with ever-increasing frenzy for the wonder drug that’s going to help their businesses do more sales. A few years ago it was search engine optimization. Today it’s social media marketing. My take on this is to do your company a favor and save your money because using social media as a pathway to sales is almost certainly not going to work to the degree you want. What? Heresy you say?
You see, while social media can be a valuable marketing tool, it’s not magic, it is not a miracle, and it cannot and won’t replace everything that came before it. By itself, social media doesn’t work well. I realize what I’m saying is not likely to be well-received, especially with the hundreds of people who have set themselves up as social media experts over the last year. I can understand why people think social media will cure everything, but I challenge anybody reading this to produce a real success story that has led to an actual increase in sales.
Just take a look at the top brands on Facebook (www.fanpagelist.com/category/brands) to see which brands people Like and Follow on Facebook and Twitter respectively. It’s hard not to be amazed. The #20 brand (Skittles) has more fans than there are people who live in Texas! Yup…Texas. Wow! Who needs paid media when you can reach a mass audience for free? Surely that’s an opportunity just too good to miss, right? Surely it makes sense to place a chunk of your limited and stretched marketing budget on a social media expert who promises to get your message out there so that the profits will roll in. Right?
Well, hold on for a reality check. One significant fact is that most of the top social brands continue to invest heavily in traditional media. Coke is near the top of the top brands on Facebook with more than 70 million followers. WalMart has over 30 million. The route to social media success, it seems, runs through traditional channels. Even the exceptions like YouTube and Starbucks are worth looking at. They obviously didn’t grow into superstar brands using Facebook and Twitter but rather use social media to capitalize on brand equity they have already built-up. In fact, when Google started getting serious competition, they started running TV ads. When there’s a product launch, a sale or just about any other occasion where you need to reach a mass audience quickly and effectively, there’s still no substitute for paid media…and the dot com’s know it.
Social media is a long, hard row to hoe. There’s no quick success and very few programs break through. Ask any company in the country and they’ll tell you they have some kind of social media program in place. Some of the more active companies write a few blog posts a week; reply to comments and questions on a daily basis; and update their Twitter and Facebook feeds repeatedly. A tiny, tiny proportion of them are having anything that resembles significant impact. Fact is, Coca-Cola says it can find no correlation between “buzz” on Twitter and actual unit sales. Auto manufacturer Nissan admits it has no idea if social media helps it shift cars. MasterCard can’t tie its social investment to revenues. In fact, there remains little evidence social media does anything to boost brands’ bottom lines.
Our firm’s experience has been pretty much the same. Although LinkedIn groups were helpful in the beginning, Facebook and Twitter were almost useless for the first year. It took awhile to build a following and learn how to develop it before we saw any benefits that justified the effort.
Oh, and let’s not forget about that group of mysterious online people out there that supposedly hold all the cards … the “Influentials.” Tap into them and they’ll disperse your message to the masses, or so some would have us believe. The fact is that in-depth research into the matter finds this whole idea completely baseless. Brands like Apple, Harley Davidson and Trader Joes, for instance, have been able to build an army of passionate followers without an “influencers” strategy.
That doesn’t mean that influence doesn’t exist. It does. TV show host Oprah Winfrey is very influential as doctors are when it comes to health issues, clergy for spiritual issues and so on. However, there’s nothing mysterious about them. Marketers have long used celebrity endorsements, trade marketing and community outreach where appropriate. The truth is that brands are not built by influential people, but by influential ideas. The problem is that so called “influencers” aren’t that much more influential than anybody else. Don’t take my word for this. Go online and do your own research and see for yourself.
Again, social media by itself is not a great way to build a brand. You’re just inserting yourself into an ocean of jumbled voices and are unlikely to stand out. Marketers like to complain about the clutter in traditional media, but in social media it’s so much more cluttered.
So then why use social media at all? The reason is that it is an impactful vehicle for empowering advocacy and we know that’s extremely important for brand health and profitability. Social media, if done right, can capitalize on what brand equity your company has already built up.
So when I hear social media “experts” who make outrageous claims, who state misleading research, who use everything from stories to rumors to masquerade as facts, whose bias renders them short of perspective, and who completely dismiss the power of ‘traditional’ advertising… they’re ONLY, ONLY, voicing their opinion and not “showing me the beef.”
While social media is a vitally important component of an overall effort, it’s no replacement for sound marketing principles.
A few weeks ago, I was faced with needing to find a new dentist. So, the search began and the more I looked around, the more it showed just how many touchpoints came into play prior to – and after – a selection being made.
As we know, customers experience your brand in numerous ways and each of these touchpoints molds the customer’s impression of your company’s brand. If the brand is a promise you make, then the customer experience is the fulfillment of that promise. The customer experience can’t be left to chance. It has to consistently reinforce the brand promise across every customer touchpoint or the value of the brand itself is at risk.
So, after thinking about what your brand stands for and what sets it apart, it’s time to look outward. After all, if a brand is built and nobody hears it, does it make a sound? In not-so-distant marketing past, reaching consumers meant connecting through just a few channels: a catalog, a radio spot, a store visit, a customer service line, a salesperson…You get the idea. However, the number of channels for reaching customers has exploded in recent years. Think about it: when was the last time you made a major (or even not-so-major) purchase decision, personal or for business, whether a product or service, through a single channel? In fact, it’s more likely that your purchasing decision was made after being reached through a variety of interconnected touchpoints, from social media, to word-of-mouth, to advertising messaging, to conducting research online, to comparison shopping in the store.
Despite the desire to “silo” marketing channels, they’re far more effectively used together than individually. In a Forrester’s research report, it was noted that 33% of new customers involve two or more “trackable touchpoints,” and nearly 50% of repeat customers visit three or more “trackable touchpoints.” And despite the fact that nearly a 50% of the surveyed people believed that social media channels are a great place to discover new products, less than 1% of sales resulted directly from a social media referral. Online search (i.e., Google) and email were much more effective at closing a sale.
That said, your ultimate goal is to have each touchpoint reinforce and fulfill your marketplace promise. The best way to do this effectively is to look at each of your marketing, selling, and servicing processes which then allows you to create a simple touchpoint chart or map that defines your customers’ experiences with your brand.
Keeping this in mind, let’s use the process in looking for a new dentist:
That said, all touchpoints are not created equal. Some will naturally play a larger role in determining your company’s overall customer experience. To determine the touchpoints driving your customers’ overall experience, your organization can use a wide array of techniques ranging from quantitative research to institutional knowledge.
Yes, it’s simple….almost absurdly simple. But stepping into consumers’ shoes is an exercise absolutely too many executives neglect when marketing. We forget to become our own customers–with real, day-to-day concerns–and in the process, we lose sight of the most valuable touchpoint opportunities. Each one is a chance to present your brand and what you stand for.
In other words, having a more refined sense of “touch” has a big impact on how your prospects feel.
What does this popular country song by Johnny Lee have to do with this blog post? Well, this week my neighbor received a really attractive offer from a company with whom I’ve had a long standing relationship. When I called the company and asked if I could get the same offer, I was told “Sorry. That’s for new customers only.” When I then asked what offers did they have for current customers, I was told they’d get back to me on that. I have yet to hear from them.
So, with that in mind, have you noticed how many companies offer deals only to new customers? Sign up for our new program and the first month is free! Special gift for new customers only! Try our new product and we’ll give you more than you asked for! Here’s the problem with those type of offers: They focus on new customers and not the ones you already have. As a loyal customer of that business, it would be nice if you could take advantage of some of those special offers too. Trouble is that they’re for new customers only. You, on the other hand, have been supporting the business for years but you get nothing. Nothing for your dedication and loyalty.
Most people think that growing a company’s sales means getting new customers. Well, yes and no. Yes, new customers are constantly needed, but truly successful companies prosper on their ability to keep the customers they’ve already acquired. The reason is simple. Finding new customers is expensive and time consuming. For example, let the following research statistics wash over you….
Not to mention that current customers give invaluable feedback on “how we did” or “how the product/service is doing” along with being a major source of referrals, etc. That’s why losing a good customer to the competition is always a bad thing. You have to work more than 10 times as hard to get enough new customers just to make up the revenue lost with your departing one, and forget about profit.
Which brings me to the question that begs to be asked: “Why do customers leave?” Curiously, most business owners and managers have the exact wrong idea about why customers leave. Most people believe that customers leave because:
(Drum roll please)…Wrong!
According to an in-depth study by the research firm CRMGuru, the reasons customers give for taking their “business down the road” are:
As you can see, when it comes to keeping your existing customers, customer service is 3 times more important than price–and 5 times more important than functionality. Which obviously means that if you want to keep the customers that you’ve got, you should think about reversing priorities and pay more attention to customer service and quality–and, consequently, less attention to functionality and price. I fully realize that this runs contrary to 90% of what most people think is important, probably because price and functionality can play a large role in new customer acquisition.
So what can be done to maximize the value of your most valuable asset? Here are five quick thought starters:
Regardless of what you’re selling, your long-term profitability is largely dependent upon your ability to keep current customers, rather than acquiring new ones. While it’s fine to try things to attract new customers to your business, be sure to spread a little love around to those who are already in your camp and are supporting your business. Don’t forget, every now and then, to “dance with the one that brung ya.”
The year is 1913. The automobile is more than a novelty by this time. It is here to stay, and already, in the big cities, cars are beginning to outnumber horses on the major thoroughfares. Every young and growing family of any means has one of these contraptions. And the Ford Motor Company is pumping these babies out as fast as his factory will allow. In fact, if you’re Henry Ford, in 1913, you can’t imagine that ANYONE would want to be without a car, given its obvious speed, convenience and ability to vastly improve commerce.
But that same year, anyone who is over 50 has grown up with the horse and buggy and they are far from abandoning the most dependable and affordable form of transportation there is. Out in the countryside, they’re even more locked in to the old ways. Of course, they’re all a dying breed – literally – and one day, maybe in another decade or two, Mr. Ford will be right. But in the meantime, it still pays to be a blacksmith.
The year is 2013. Social Media is more than a novelty. And the digital universe will continue to play a growing role in how one makes choices in every area. But there’s a market divide here as well: those under 50 who, growing up, depended on television and now the Internet as their major information sources, and those over 50 who grew up with newspapers, books and encyclopedias, news magazines, radio and eight channels of TV to inform their world view. Those gray-haired Baby Boomers and pre-Boomers aren’t ready to give up the old medium forms or use the full potential of Internet the way their younger counterparts are. They still rely on traditional media and the power of face-to-face relationships to form their opinions. It’s how they’re hard-wired, even though many Boomers and older seniors may have Facebook accounts and smart phones.
For the visionary marketer under the age of 50, little wonder that he or she sees the future the way Henry Ford did in 1913. Soon, EVERYBODY will be wired, interactive, and engaged in the multiplicity of online touch points.
But whoa! If you’re reaching buyers over 50, which is the absolutely dominant market for health care, retirement living, destination travel, hospice care and funeral services, it still pays to know how to shoe horses!
I spoke last week to a senior services industry group, most of whom were Boomers or older, and they were very clear on the fact that for the next decade at least, Boomers and the older generations will remain the primary target audience. In fact, it was fascinating to note how many of these industry professionals struggled to understand how to use Facebook. Well, they’re over 50, just like their buyers!
If you’re under 50, you might chuckle at these old codgers and say their ways are fast coming to a close. But do remember, if you’re selling anything to Baby Boomers and older, these old-school marketers are more on-target than you are.
Young emerging marketing directors need to know how to employ the technological and social changes that are underway. But if you’re marketing to Boomers and older, automotively speaking, this is still 1913, not 1930. The changes that should be happening right now aren’t so much about how to use Facebook and Twitter but how to speak to the Baby Boomer better, understand their culture better, speak their language better and show up where they are. That means more relevant branding, more choices of products and services, adroit use of surprise, humor and respectful irreverence in marketing, and the avoidance of anything that reeks of clichés and stock or traditional messages.
Visionary thinking is wonderful, but while you’re looking well down the path, it pays to watch where your very next step will be as well.
“Did you hear what I just said?” my wife asked me as I was busy doing the chores this past weekend. Fessing up, I admitted that I heard her but wasn’t really listening. I think it had something to do with the dripping bathroom faucet.
There really is a difference between “listening” and “hearing” as my wife occasionally reminds me. Hearing is passive and requires no effort, while listening, on the other hand, requires focus, attention and concentration. So with that as the backdrop, as a marketer, “Are you merely “hearing” your customers or are you “listening” to them?
In today’s world, we’re all stretched for time and the need to get done everything that needs to be done. But too many marketers are becoming so technology-addicted to their iPhones and email that they forget to listen the old-fashioned way to what their customers are saying and learning what it is that they want. They’re hardly even asking them. Attention spans have compressed to seconds, and face-to-face conversations (where body language plays a big part) are avoided in favor of texting and anonymous Internet surveys. It shouldn’t surprise you then that a Harris survey found that about 25% of all Internet users think it’s okay to be “plugged in” during their honeymoon, and just under 10% think it’s alright to surf the web during religious services. Do you really think that any of these people are taking the time to listen to their customers? Hardly.
So how do you know what your customers want? One of the most common answers I hear is, “Because they told us….” Yet, for me anyway, this answer only calls for more questions. Who? When? What did they tell you? How did they tell you – online? in person? Are you sure you really understood what they were telling you? Have their wants changed?
Think about this: if understanding what your customers want is the foundation of your marketing strategy, listening to customers is going to require more than a one-time investment in classic market research tools like focus groups and customer surveys. (Can I get an Amen on that?)
It’s no big secret that the markets in which you compete are evolving. Customer preferences and wants are continually changing. New competitors are showing up. But the one constant is your customers are talking. The key to truly understanding what they want is continual engagement – through social media, one-on-one interactions, and even sales calls. Getting in front of your customers and engaging them in conversations should be a required part of every marketer’s job – from the CMO down to the marketing specialist. And this applies to both B2B and B2C companies.
Ever wonder what causes customers to flock to one brand while remaining coldly indifferent to another—even when the offerings of the companies in question aren’t substantially different? Well, my experience working with varied sized organizations in all sorts of industries says that the single most important factor that separates the good companies from the great companies is the ability to listen to their customers. Great companies are maniacal about listening and differentiate meaning from the information given. In other words, they’re doing more than hearing what their customers are saying. They’re spending quality time listening. And they’re deriving their direction from what their customers are saying.
On that note, with social media being what it is, here are a couple of things to consider to help bring home the point of how important listening really is: Almost 50% of consumers want businesses to listen to them to improve their products while 60% of consumers want businesses to respond to their complaints. And, 66% of consumers across age groups want companies to respond to online comments on social media platforms.
Here are 5 quick tips on listening to your customers, and please, share this with your staff:
Now that all said, it’s also important to understand that not all customer comments are of equal importance and listening to them without some discrimination can be dangerous. Sure, they provide valuable feedback, advice and criticism, but the stuff some customers tell you can be distracting, unfocused, self-serving and a waste of time. You can’t please everyone and you can’t meet the needs of all your customers. This is when “hearing” them is a better course of action.
At the end of the day, if you don’t care, or can’t convince your customers that you listen, you can bet they will find a competitor who does. Successful businesses walk the walk and listen to the talk,
I had a phone call with a previous client last week and during our talk she told me more than once how she felt like the role of her marketing department was being marginalized. Apparently, over the course of the last few years, various internal departments who relied on the marketing team to support their activities are now more or less telling them what they want said and how they wanted it represented in the various forms and channels. They’re playing Copywriter and Art Director. The reason why this has happened was summed up by what more and more people in organizations think: “Anyone can do Marketing.”
Unfortunately, there are people in C-suites around this country, self appointed ‘marketing experts’ on the web (who are generally selling something), etc., who believe that to be the case. In fact, the marketing department is also occasionally to blame. How’s that? Well, have you noticed any of the job postings for marketing people? Some of the position descriptions are impressive and ask for proficiency in a number of specialties like SEO, CRM, social media, Photoshop, along with more traditional marketing areas. And then comes the kicker: 2-4 years experience required. What??? Obviously, marketing management who wrote the job spec doesn’t view its role as that complicated or requiring suitable experience to do the job correctly. No wonder respect is hard to come by.
As we know, businesses depend on professional attorneys to oversee their legal affairs and experienced accountants to manage their finances. But some executive level business people don’t think twice about turning over their revenue-producing marketing efforts to someone who doesn’t have a clue what the 5 P’s of Marketing are. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say “Troy, I know you’re a engineer by training but you took a class in junior college about law, didn’t you? Hey, would you mind doing some international patent registration for us?” Yet a very similar conversation happens with marketing.
Misguided companies everywhere assign the marketing role to anyone who they think is “creative” or can write. And people in your company know people outside of your organization who fit that bill. So why should they think that you’re different? What’s been done to offset that perception?
In the organization I mentioned, the marketing department first let some things go that they shouldn’t have and ultimately as a result they’ve abdicated their role as experts and brand stewards. They’re now seen as mere fulfillers. In their zeal to make people happy, they took the thoughts offered up by the internal stakeholders as the easy way out in order to get through the work in their queue. Having overseen a creative services team for a large financial services company, I know how this can happen and how tempting it can be when it “just needs to get done ASAP!” But you’re just opening up Pandora’s box when you go down that road. So what are a few ways for people to better understand the value that marketing offers? Here goes:
At the end of day, the value of your department or specifically, your job, is more at stake than you might imagine. A so-so marketing plan, a mediocre tradeshow booth or ad or collateral piece, a ho-hum status quo “integrated” campaign…they all make you look more like a fulfiller of marketing needs and less like the marketing professional that the company is counting on to drive revenue, awareness, brand preference, etc. In fact, not showing value is the quickest way to have the work you do be discounted as nothing special.
So if your organization believes that “Anyone can do Marketing,” consider whether or not you have a role to play in that notion.
Over the past 5 years or so, it’s it happen more times than we care to remember …maybe even at a company that we once worked at. (For me it was Countrywide Home Loans.) I’m talking about a company or brand that was once a familiar part of the business landscape which is now no longer around. Disappeared. Gone and forgotten. From Oldsmobile to Borders bookstores to more big city and community newspapers than one can count.
The fact that “going out of business” has become such a growth business, it got me thinking about a question I’ve posed time and again to the marketing leadership of companies during this “New Normal.”
The question is simple and insightful — and it’s worth taking seriously as you evaluate your approach to strategy, competition, and innovation. Here it is: If your company went out of business tomorrow, would anybody really miss you and why? Let that swim around in your brain for a bit.
If that question didn’t concern you…maybe it should. What’s being done in order to make your brand important enough and invaluable to your customer so that they feel they could not live without, or at worst not want to live without you? Here are 5 ways to help make your company or brand so meaningful that your various customers would notice if you went out of business.
First, you must provide a product or service so different that it can’t be provided nearly as well by any of your main competitors. Mercedes would certainly be one, maybe even Ritz-Carlton and Southwest Airlines as well. But really, how many products or services fall into this group? Do your customers see you as a “must” or a “they’ll do”? How many viable options are there to what you offer? Do they trust you to follow through on what you’re telling them? What makes you so special…really?
Second, meaningful brands are created by people with a vision and a passion, and destroyed by “caretakers.” Perhaps the founder of a company identified a niche or angle that was unique and pursued it with passion. But once the brand is relinquished into the hands of “caretakers” more focused on the financials and preserving the status quo, it can tend to be slowly destroyed. Marketing, and I mean the kind of marketing that moves people to act, is something seen getting smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror. Former President Reagan once said “Status quo is Latin for the ‘mess we’re in’.” Amen.
Third, make sure that the company continues to innovate and not stand still when the brand realizes some success. When something works, either because it was thought through or, more times than not, by other factors, the “don’t fix it if it is not broken” philosophy kicks in. The growth of the brand or company stalls, instead of constantly trying to evolve, improve and adapt to the changing world. One cannot win a race by standing still. Vanilla/mediocre advertising is a big contributor to — or perhaps the result of — standing still.
Fourth, your company must forge a uniquely emotional connection with your customers that other companies can’t copy. Apple is an obvious passion brand in the performance-obsessed technology world. HBO is a brand in the fussy media market that doesn’t just have viewers but devoted followers. But in a world of endless choices, how many companies and brands do you know that have achieved the status that inspires “loyalty beyond reason?” Is there a reason why your brand shouldn’t one? Can your company be an Apple, Starbucks or HBO to your customers? If your answer is “we can be a brand like that”… good for you!
Lastly, look at the marketplace and understand who you’re competing against. Many companies and brands define their business too narrowly just like stagecoach owners did. They focused on offering the best stagecoach service, the cheapest stagecoach service or the fastest stagecoach service. Eventually other forms of getting people from “A” to “B” came along, like when the jet plane destroyed the lucrative transatlantic ocean liner business. You need to define what business you’re in and who the competition really is. Food for thought: If Google’s the one ranking your business against your peers, then it makes sense to understand who they think you’re similar to, right? Type in your own URL in the search bar and see what comes up. You may be surprised.
The fact is, a very few companies meet any of these criteria — which may be why so many companies feel like they are on the verge of going out of business. So the next time someone at work urges you to think small and settle, ask them why they believe that playing it safe is playing it smart. That’s what they thought at Saturn, E.F. Hutton and House and Garden magazine — and look how it worked out for them! For, as they found, their customers could live without them.
At the end of the day, if your customers can live without you, eventually they will. If you do business the way everybody else does business, you’ll never do much better. If your answer to the question of whether anyone would notice if your company or brand went out of business is “no” or “not sure” – you need to focus on how to ensure it doesn’t happen. What is your marketing doing to make sure that doesn’t happen?