Can your customers recite your brand messages?
Yesterday I overheard some friends having a conversation about shoe shopping, and Zappos came up. All but one were familiar with the online shoe store, and those who were familiar are avid fans.
The Zappos Zealots, as I’m calling them, made specific points about the advantage of buying shoes from the online shoe store. She spoke of the wide selection, good pricing, free return shipping, and regularly having her standard shipping upgraded to overnight.
She did such a great job selling the brand, you would have thought she worked for Zappos herself.
This got me thinking – how well can your customers speak to your brand benefits?
To help get them there ask yourself the following:
- What makes your company better?
- This is probably the toughest question to answer. Unless you offer truly unique benefits, you are better off asking how you do it better than your competitors.
- Are your benefits ones that matter most to the customer?
- Or do you have benefits that you can make matter to your customer? Perdue did this by promoting the yellow hue of their chicken means it’s a better tasting chicken.
- Are your benefits communicated in a clear, concise manner?
- They need to be simple and straightforward, so your Zealots can speak on your behalf
- Are your benefits communicated consistently in all customer contacts?
- Are your benefits communicated through your actions?
- Zappos wants to be known for its service and thus upgrades shipping for customers.
No matter what business you are in, you have the opportunity to create evangelists for your business. You just need to give them the right message and experience and they’ll take care of the rest as they share with others.
Off The Grid
Enjoying a summer break before the kids go back to school. Recharging for the Fall. Look for our next post the week of August 9.
Microsoft Gives Employees Windows Phone 7
Back in April I wrote about the importance of making your employees ambassadors for your brand. The blog entry was prompted by a WSJ story talking about Steve Ballmer of Microsoft being frustrated by the number of employees using iPhones.
Fast forward three months. According to Stan Schroeder on Mashable, Microsoft will be giving its 90,000+ a new Windows Phone 7.
What better way to get people talking about your product then to get your employees talking about it first.
Why You Might Want To Consider Having An Active Facebook Page
There is significant debate over whether creating and managing a Facebook fan page is worth the time and investment.
A recent study conducted by Syncapse and Hotspex suggests it is. In their June 2010 review of 20 consumer brands, ranging from Nokia to Secret to McDonalds, they found:
- The average Facebook fan spent $71.84 more than the non-fan on a given brand
- They are 27.7% more likely to continually use the product
- They are 40% more likely to recommend the product
- Affinity for the brand is 2.5 times that of the non-fan
Furthermore, Syncapse and Hotspex positions the average fan value at $136.38 versus a non-fan, using a formula that incorporates actual spend, loyalty, recommendation, earned media value and acquisition,
It’s no surprise that people who “like” a brand on Facebook have a greater affinity for a brand; Syncapse and Hotspex has now assigned a dollar value to it. The whitepaper can be downloaded from Syncapse.
If your audience is on Facebook, it’s time to reevaluate how you can interact with them.
Timing is Everything
Last week I wrote about having a crisis communications plan for when your competition is having a crisis.
In light of the recent events with BP in the Gulf of Mexico, Shell is taking an aggressive proactive approach touting the work they are doing to improve fuel efficiency and alternative sources of energy.
With this in mind, imagine my surprise when I saw a billboard in Atlanta announcing Gulf Oil. The Legend Is Back.
It appears that Gulf Oil, much like Shell, is trying to leverage BP’s misfortune to their advantage by expanding into the Atlanta market.
I know Gulf Oil is a reputable company – with no involvement in the current crisis – and has been serving the Northeast for decades. Unfortunately, their timing is off. I’m just not sure this is the best time to put the words “gulf” and “oil” together – especially in the South.
Is Shell Exploiting BP?
In recent weeks, Shell Oil has increased its media presence through aggressive advertising. Ads highlight Shell’s Eco-marathon car race where this year’s winner was able to travel “8,870 on the equivalent of one gallon of fuel”.
As a marketer, you have to appreciate the speed in which Shell got their message out, and their approach to differentiate themselves against the backdrop of BP’s Gulf disaster.
Companies tend to have crisis communications plans in place when they are the ones in crisis. Equally important is having a plan in place when your competition is in trouble.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Are you prepared to take advantage of your competition when they stumble?
- Do you have a strategy in place to set your company apart if your competitors’ actions hurt your industry’s image?
- What are your plans to assure your customers that what happened to your competition won’t happen to you?
Being prepared isn’t exploitation. It’s smart business.
What are you reading?
There are so many good business and marketing books available that it is impossible to read them all or even determine which ones are worth reading.
I am currently reading Charlene Li’s Open Leadership. The author of Groundswell talks about the opportunity to built trust with your audience by moving your organization from one that shares little or no information a la BP to one that is willing to be open like the Red Cross.
Let us know what you are reading and why someone else might want to read it.
How is BP’s Beyond Petroleum Resonating Now?
Nice perspective by Jim Gregory, CoreBrand, on getting your brand aligned with your business. Aspiration is okay, but don’t over shoot your skis.
Is your customer experience your worst advertisement?
Sports Authority recently announced it is putting its advertising account up for review to find partners to “help define our brand and bring it to life with our customers”.
My first thought (and I wasn’t the only one, based on the comments left on the article) was that a more aggressive effort might only bring more people to discover a horrible shopping experience.
Many businesses are again focusing on topline revenue growth after making all the cuts they can. However, before investing in sales and marketing, are you sure you are providing the best possible product or customer experience?
Some examples of good advertising hurting a poor product:
- McDonald’s heavily invested in advertising to drive people to try the McDLT, which generated lackluster sales because it wasn’t a good hamburger.
- Kinko’s (now FedEx Office) advertising creates an expectation of generating great things with their printing capabilities, but the actual experience left you wanting for more, opening the door for Office Depot, OfficeMax and Staples to steal share. Even with new FedEx branding, the customer experience hasn’t changed.
The average grocery store trip is 10 minutes longer than it was just two years ago, indicating consumers are spending more time making buying decisions. With this in mind, make sure your company or product not only meets their expectations, but exceeds it whenever possible.
What are you doing to ensure you are providing the best customer experience?
Are You Listening?
Listening to the customer is the core of every sales training manual and customer service seminar, yet companies often fail to hear what is being said.
I recently attended the IIR Social Media conference, and heard many times over that corporate leadership didn’t want to hear about negative feedback from customers.
With social media playing a greater role as a resource to provide instant feedback, the customer voice is becoming more and more difficult to ignore.
- Betty White appeared on SNL two weeks ago due to an outpouring of support from fans on Facebook (probably the most entertaining SNL episode this season).
- Nestle recently announced a zero deforestation policy, after ignoring organizations like Greenpeace regarding their sourcing of palm oil
- IKEA’s typeface change caused an uproar that IKEA wasn’t aware of until Lisa Abend, a reporter for TIME International (and my sister), brought it to their attention
Even if your company is not actively participating in social media, here are some ideas to monitor what your customers think of your company, your industry and your competitors:
- Yelp, Kudzu, Citysearch – Regularly monitor these rating sites
- Search.Twitter.com – Twitter’s search engine. Just type in what you are interested in or use hashtags (#) before your word to see what comes up
- Social Mention, Alterian SM2 – free tools that give you a nice snap shot of what it is being said across social media channels
- Ripoff Report – when people are very unhappy, they’ll post it here
Social media may not be the right marketing tool for your business, but it is the right tool to help you listen to what your customers are saying.
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