What kind of branding sticks?

May 17, 2016

What kind of branding sticks?

There have been some shifts in how brands are perceived as of late. The change has been triggered by the availability of so much data in the forms of ratings, reviews and Internet searches and the lasting impact of viral storms that can be triggered by a single angry customer or prospect.

While I don’t discount the new variables and their influence on our perceptions of brands, I also don’t think building a strong brand is a lost cause. In fact, I think all of this bright light of scrutiny being shone on brands is a good thing. Many examples are outlined in the book that triggered all of this (Absolute Value by Itamar Simonson and Emanuel Rosen).  It shows how companies were exposed for claiming a brand that they didn’t truly live or own. I think many companies play that game – they come up with a clever tagline and put it on their website, business cards or ads but that’s about it. It’s a marketing gimmick.

Fortunately, it’s not every organization’s intention to whitewash the public with the public facing façade of a brand. A company that understands that a brand isn’t a marketing slight of hand, but instead is the expression of a deeply held belief and business absolute, can still benefit from a successful branding effort.

So how, as a consumer do you determine the difference? And how, as a marketer do you make sure that your brand isn’t an inch deep and a mile wide?

A brand is genuine and in place to benefit both the consumer and the company when you see it woven into every aspect of the organization. Here are some good signs:

Every employee can tell you how their department and their position impacts the brand: A brand is a organization’s ultimate promise to everyone who comes into contact with that company. It’s easy for the marketing department to understand how they might deliver on the brand but you know a brand is more than skin deep when the accounting department, HR and the guys on the dock also understand and can articulate how they help bring the brand to life.

The brand promise is infused into every aspect of HR from hiring, reviews, employee awards and even in the exit interviews: One of the best ways to help employees understand that the brand is not just the CEO’s passion of the month is to create policies and programs that include it. When the brand is reflected in your interview questions, in how employees are reviewed and rewarded and even in how you separate from team members – that speaks volumes.

The brand isn’t a cliché that anyone could claim: You know the ones I mean. We see them every day. “The difference is our people” or “Your satisfaction is our guarantee” types of brands sound great but they don’t really say anything. Or they don’t say anything unique or specific to that company. No one purposefully hires incompetent, uncaring people or doesn’t want their customers to be satisfied. A real brand of depth is a bold promise that uses strong language to make an audacious promise. Don’t let pretty words fool you and don’t try to use pretty words to fool your customers.

You know a brand is built on a wobbly foundation when 3-5 people sit in a room and decide what it should be. That begs for a superficial brand that’s mostly fluff and little substance. You need to discover and seed a brand that will truly benefit your organization and the people you serve.

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Referrals don’t happen by accident

April 26, 2016

Referrals don’t happen by accident. When I talk to some small business owners they proudly tell me that most of their new customers come to them via referrals. And I congratulate them – there’s no better marketing than having a customer rave about your work.

But relying on your customers to decide that they’re going to actively recruit new clients for you is probably not a brilliant marketing plan.

Think of a product or service that you really like and use regularly. Okay – now, how many people did you talk to today about that product or service? How about yesterday?

For our example, let’s pretend this product/service that you love is your barber. It’s not that you don’t love him. But you have other things going on in your world. So unless someone mentions they’re looking for a new barber or compliments your hair, odds are, you aren’t going to mention your barber. Even though you are a raving fan.

Your clients are the same way. They may love what you do but most days, they’re not thinking about you or telling other people about you. So does that mean growing your business by referrals is a bad thing? No – it just means you can’t leave it to fate or your customer’s undying love. You have to give referrals a helping hand.

Want to figure out how to boost referrals, try one (or more) of these ideas:

Throw an exclusive party: Create an event that your best customers would love to attend. Not like – but love. I’m talking take a day off work to go if they had to kind of love. Send them an invitation and explain that it’s an exclusive event – that only your best customers are being invited. But, as a special thank you for their business – they can invite one guest. The only caveat is the guest cannot be a current customer.

Promise them that they’ll be no sales pitch or selling. You just want to meet more people like them and you want them to be able to share this cool event with someone. Now, you’ve got a buzz worthy event which will generate its own word of mouth marketing and your best customers are walking prospects right to your door.

Love them: At MMG, many years ago we created our own holiday called Who Loves Ya Baby Day. (A hat tip to Telly Savalas in his Kojak days). On that day, which happens to be Valentine’s Day – we shower our clients with love. We let them know how much we value them and their trust in us. We create a special card to thank them and literally to say that we love them. Because we do.

In your own way – you need to let your customers know that they’re more than a buck in the cash register to you. Create something that overtly expresses your affection for them in a way that they can’t help but talk about.

Be shareable smart: Everyone wants to be helpful and be perceived as being on top of their game. Become a reliable resource of useful insights and information for your customers. Send them tools (e-newsletter, infographics, tip sheets, etc.) that they can and will pass along to their peers because of their value. Then, without even meaning to, they’re referring people to you with each share.

Which, of course, means what you send them has to be truly valuable, not self-serving. No one is going to pass along your sales flier or promotional materials. The added advantage of this tactic is not only do you get the referral but your content also reinforces the message that you really know your stuff.

Referrals are an incredibly valuable way to grow your business. But even your biggest fans need a little nudge.

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How are you sharpening your saw?

April 20, 2016

Are you consciously sharpening your saw every day? Maybe it’s just because I’m living through it, but I truly believe that there’s never been an era that has experienced the rate of change that we’re enjoying/enduring now.  It presents us with some remarkable opportunities to explore new tactics and tools but it also presents us with what sometimes feels like an insurmountable challenge of trying to keep current.  With all of this change, how are you sharpening your saw?

A question from a reader (which I love, so keep them coming) got me thinking about all the ways we can and should be sharpening our saw so that we don’t get caught behind the times.

Read: It seems like a good book is published every single day. Even if you only consume a book a month, you’ll be ahead of most. If you can’t get through an entire book, try the audio version. Still too daunting? Then at the very least make a habit of reading a few good magazines. Be sure you stretch your boundaries. Sure, read Fast Company but also grab The Economist for some variety.

Listen: Podcasts have come a long way. Many authors and experts offer their insights in 10-60 minute sound bytes that you can enjoy on your daily commute, while you walk the dog or as a team. One of my favorites is one that’s done by Iowa’s Nick Westergaard and DJ Waldow called The Work Talk Show. Although they’ve put it on hiatus — the existing 100 episodes are definitely worth a listen. Each episode digs into how successful people work – their habits, their tools and how they accomplish so much in a day.

Surf: Of course, you can always go to school by going online. Between all the blogs, free content, online courses, and other sites – you can fall into a rabbit hole that you’d never escape. Find a few reliable sites that focus on marketing and not just digital marketing. But don’t forget to also follow some trending sites and some that focus on your industry.

Watch: YouTube isn’t just for funny videos and previewing the Super Bowl spots. There are some incredible resources that will keep you inspired (Ted.com), on the cutting edge (Trend Hunter’s channel) and informed. Again, be sure to subscribe to a few so you don’t miss an episode.

Meet: Don’t be so overwhelmed by all of the content contained in our technology that you forget that your greatest teachers are probably other people. Seek them out. And don’t be fooled into thinking they have to be heralded experts. Your own peers are a great source for exploration and conversations. Whether you are better about attending conferences, being active in a professional association or just grabbing coffee with a colleague – don’t forget the most interactive teacher of all.

I can hear you now – that’s all fine and good but how in the heck does anyone find the time to consume all of this? I think it’s easier to consume all of this in bite-sized pieces. Find ways to weave the consumption into some new habits. Listening to a book or podcast while you’re on the treadmill means that for as long as you honor your New Year’s resolution, you’ll be learning something new.

One of the best ways to make sure you keep learning is to make it a team activity. It’s the combination of accountability and the camaraderie of learning together that will keep you more dedicated to the task. You can do a book club type of thing or you can create a culture that encourages everyone to not only learn, but also to share what they learned. But however you structure it, there’s value in doing it together.

Honestly, the key to actually doing this is deciding that it’s not optional. Because unless you want to quickly be obsolete, it’s not.

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Bookend Your Customer’s Trust

April 13, 2016

Every business says that they are focused on their customer and earning their customer’s trust. What many of them really mean is that they’re focused on the customer’s wallet. Their strategies are about selling more, not helping more.

Want to stand out from your competitors? Then, commit (or recommit) to genuinely building your business around how to best serve your customers and prospects, knowing that in the end, they will reward you with their business.

Research indicates that in most cases, if an organization’s customers are surveyed about 80% of them will indicate that they’re satisfied. Many business leaders will embrace that number, a little afraid to dig in deeper. But satisfaction isn’t what it is all about. The real metrics are based on these two questions:

• Will you re-purchase this business’ products and services?
• Would you recommend this business to your family, friends and colleagues?

To create a business that earns a resounding yes to those two questions, you should consider implementing a comprehensive program that encourages you to think about the customer at every stage, but especially at the very beginning and right after the actual sale.

Front End: From the first sentence on your website to your direct mail and TV spots – your marketing should be helpful. Think about what your prospects need to know to make an informed decision and help them get there.

Avoid hype and what we call weasel words. Just give them the scoop. Be straightforward and warn them about any pitfalls they might encounter. Even if that means they decide not to buy what you sell.

Create tools (YouTube videos, PDFs they can download, questions they can ask their team etc.) that help your prospects evaluate your offerings and match them to their needs. Give them a number where they can ask an actual human a question or two.

The more honest you are at this stage – the more they’ll be reassured that they can trust you throughout the process. This honesty includes being transparent when someone has something negative to say – be it on your Facebook page, Yelp profile or anywhere else online. Address the complaint right there, in front of everyone so they can see that you’re open to concerns.

Back End: Believe it or not, very few companies make the effort to really follow up after the sale. I’m not talking about the “thanks for your business” form letters. I’m talking about actually asking for feedback via a detailed survey or phone call. I honestly think a lot of organizations are afraid to ask for fear that the customer will actually tell them.

If you have the courage to ask – be sure you follow up on the follow up. Let your customers know what you learned (either directly back to that specific customer or to all your customers) and tell them what you’re going to do to correct the issue, if there was a problem.

People are much more likely to tell you the truth (good and bad) if they know you’re actually going to do something with the information.

Demonstrating that you care about someone else has a lot to do with earning their trust. Imagine how a customer would feel about your company if you had earned their trust from the get go, with honest marketing that genuinely helped them figure out if they should buy your product. Then, you sealed the deal by asking for their candid take on how you did and made course corrections if there’s room for improvement.

That’s a customer who will keep coming back for more and bring their friends along with them. That’s a satisfaction score you can take to the bank.

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Are you ready to podcast?

April 7, 2016

According to wikipedia a podcast is a collection of digital media files distributed over the internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and personal computers.

Here’s my definition. A podcast is an incredible marketing tool and a great way to generate new leads for your business. It can enhance your marketing in many ways. People consume podcasts in a big way.

Apple reports over a billion subscriptions to podcasts via iTunes and they’re hardly the only access point. It’s estimated that over 31 million Americans are regular podcast listeners.

Branding: An effective podcast series is an excellent way to reach our generation’s tech-savvy consumers. Podcasts can be used to position your company as an industry leader, assuming your content is relevant and timely for your target audience.

Lead Generation & Lead Nurturing: These seem to be buzzwords for the coming year. People are thinking more and more about their sales cycle and how to keep moving prospects closer to the sale. Podcasts are a smart way to keep prospects engaged with your brand while you earn their trust by demonstrating your expertise.

External Communications: No matter who you need to stay in touch with — investors, board members, the media, industry pundits, or your current customers, a podcast is a simple and interesting way to do that.

Website Content Improvements: Want your website to be seen as an important resource? Adding content like podcasts will not only add stickiness to your site, but Google and the other search engines will love that you’ve got a mix of media on your site.

If those benefits have you thinking that it might not be a bad plan to think about adding a podcast series to your marketing efforts, then stay with me. I want to give you some tips on attracting and keeping an audience. But even if you follow all of these suggestions, you’re going to have to be a little patient. This isn’t a marketing tactic that you try once or twice and then figure it didn’t work.

Don’t even start this if you aren’t going to give it a good year to take seed and grow. Here are a few ways to help make that happen.

Keep it Short: Most people will have an attention span of 15-30 minutes at the most for any given topic. Don’t be afraid to be brief. Even a 5-10 minute podcast can be very effective. One way to do that is to remember – one podcast, one key message.

Use MP3 for your file format: Most rich media players can play an MP3 formatted file. You can offer other options as well, as long as MP3 is there.

Let Them Subscribe: Don’t count on your audiences continually coming back to your site. Give them subscription options so every time you produce new content, they receive it automatically.

Teach, Don’t Sell: I know this is tough, but if your podcast is a sales speech, no one will stick with you. If you think about what you could teach your prospects and give them that education freely, they’ll gladly endure a little information about your product or service.

Putting together a podcast series does take some effort. But it can yield incredible results too. You can use the same podcast with many different audiences and you can even slice and dice some of the content into blog posts, sales material and other marketing tools. Why not give it a try?

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Creating the perfect landing

March 16, 2016

If you have a generic “we serve everyone” sort of website, there’s great value in adding some landing pages, especially if you are trying to speak with very specific audiences who have unique needs and interests.

Landing pages are ideal if you:

• Want to target specific audiences with different messaging
• Offer different products, information or pricing to different customer types
• You want to test different offers
• Your sales cycle or actual product/solution is very complex
• You have a long sales cycle

If you’re going to use landing pages, there are some best practice rules of thumb you’ll want to follow.

Keep it simple: A landing page isn’t meant to be a reading project. It’s about getting the person who is clicking on the link or entering the URL to take one small action step.

Be very clear about the benefits of what you’re offering and make the call to action obvious and easy to follow. This isn’t the time for a subtle text link. Use a button or some other design element to draw their eye right where it needs to be.

Speed matters: Part of keeping it simple is making sure it’s both easy and fast. In this case, speed is about both load times and ease of use. Believe it or not, our attention span when it comes to our willingness to wait for a page to load is half of what it was a few years ago. So don’t load that page up with big graphics or other complexities.

Consistency is key: If you refer to the offer as a white paper in your print ad or direct mail piece, don’t have the landing page call it a case study. Use the exact same language on the landing page as you did on whatever marketing tool you used to drive your audience there.

Whatever you promised them to get them to visit the landing page – give it to them, clearly and quickly.

Consistency isn’t just about the language you use. The look and feel of the landing page should match the other marketing materials. You want it to be clear that this landing page is a continuation of the existing conversation, not something new or different.

Look legit: You want your web visitors to know that they can trust you so you want your entire web presence, including your landing pages to be very credible. Be transparent and obvious when it comes to who owns the page. Use your logo to identify who is making the offer. Include an About Us page if you think someone might not recognize your company name or logo.

Your landing pages should also look professional.   If you’re a member of an organization like the Better Business Bureau, a local Chamber or trade association – use their logos to lend even more credibility.

Other voices: A smart way to reassure your web visitors of not only your legitimacy but also your value is to let others do the talking. Testimonials from other customers, endorsements from publications or organizations, reviews and even social proof like Facebook likes can all go a long way to help a visitor begin to trust you.

You can also highlight number of downloads, sign-ups, subscribers or other key indicators to show that they’re not the first person to stumble upon your page.

Landing pages offer you the ability to customize your message and shorten your sales cycle by being able to focus on exactly what a specific group of potential buyers is interested in. They’re inexpensive to create and give you a chance to test out different headlines, copy points and offers.

Why not try this technique and make it easier for your potential customers to buy?

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Thanking your employees is smart business

February 22, 2016

I’m all for appreciating our clients. At MMG, we created a special holiday with just that intention in mind called Who Loves Ya Baby Day. It’s not just about being grateful. It’s good business.

One of my business idols is Walt Disney. When someone is hired by the Disney organization, no matter what their role or title, they have to attend a class called Traditions. During the class, they learn all about the Disney way of doing things. They also learn a lot of history about the company and Walt’s beliefs.

One of the quotes attributed to Walt during that class is “Take care of the employees and the guests. The money will take care of itself.”

I think he hit it on the head. Yes, we should say thank you to our clients. But we shouldn’t forget our employees.  No one influences the success of your company more than they do. They’re on the front lines – taking care of our customers and making sure they come back for more.

Now is the perfect  time you to thank you employees, no matter when you read this. And I’m not talking the company ham.   This isn’t about a token. This is about acknowledging to them that you get it. You understand how vital they are to your business.   And if you’re smart – this is about recognizing the chain reaction of happy employees leading to happy customers and that leads to a better bottom line.

Make no mistake — the way you treat your employees is marketing. It will influence your future recruiting efforts. It will trickle down to how your customers are treated and it will ultimately shape your company’s culture.

So let’s assume you already do the typical company ham or a little extra cash in an envelope during the holidays. What else can you do to say thank you to your employees throughout the year?

Give them a voice: On every employment survey known to man, one of the resounding messages that comes back from employees is that they want to influence the way the company does business. Not only does it make them feel like part of the solution but in many cases, they know stuff that you don’t because of the unique relationship they have with your customer. Whether you form an employee advisory committee or you simply poll them at your next team meeting, start using their insights to both give them a sense of contribution but also to improve your business.

Don’t keep them in the dark: You know when most employees see one of their company’s ads or promotions? When a customer brings it to their attention or when they’re sitting at home, watching TV. It’s frustrating, embarrassing and annoying to your employees to be out of the loop. Before you start any new initiative – clue them in.

Build a reward system tied to company goals: Forget the ham and token cash. Why not reward your employees because together you have accomplished some of your goals, based on key performance indicators? Now they have a very personal reason for helping you move the company forward – they benefit.   The truth is, you’ll all benefit if everyone is motivated to pull in the same direction.

Your employees are your most expensive and most valuable asset. Be sure you take good care of them every day. The results will astound you.

 

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Let your customers help you make it memorable

February 9, 2016

In last week’s post we explored the importance of creating a memorable experience for your customers. Today’s customers are one click away from finding someone else to meet their needs which means you need to knock them dead every time.

While your competitors can match your prices, copy your products or services and even hire away your staff but they can’t replicate a unique customer experience. The question, of course, is – exactly what would that experience be?

The good news is we’re not talking about erecting a circus tent and putting on a show. We’re talking about making doing business with you simple, fast and without any hiccups – all flavored with your brand’s essence.

Here’s the best part. Your customers will help you craft the experience they want most. If you let them.

Get smarter: The first step is to listen, learn and share what you’ve discovered. You need to gather information about your offerings and your clients. In terms of your offerings, you need to anticipate what your prospects and customers might need to know. You also need to anticipate what your employees might need to know as they serve your customers.

You also need to capture as much information as possible about your customers. The best source? You guessed it — your customers. Start talking to them more. Find out what they worry about. Find out why they do or don’t buy for the second time. What would make it twice as easy to do business with you? These are the kinds of questions you need to be asking.

Another way to learn from your customers is to observe how they interact with every portal into your company. Where do they go on your website? What do they ask when they call or email? What size, feature or option do they gravitate towards?

Equip your team to deliver: This is one of the spots that constantly trips up companies.   The leadership team or marketing department put together new processes or policies but the details don’t ever trickle down to the front line staff. They’re expected to seamlessly deliver a remarkable experience but it’s news to them.

Better yet – let your front line team help you make the experience better. No one has more encounters with your clients so make sure their voice is part of the mix. Here’s the rub. No matter what you create, it won’t be quite right at first.  This is where your customer facing team is most important.   They’ll be the ones who can detect the flaws and suggest improvements.

All of this is only going to work if you invest enough time up front to get all the input from all levels of the organization and that you also build a feedback mechanism that allows you to gather reactions and issues so you adjust.

Wrap it with your brand: Making it easier to do business with you is one thing. And it’s an important thing. But what makes the customer experience you create genuine and something so unique that your competitors can’t mimic it is putting your brand’s stamp on every aspect of the encounter.

What does that look like? Look in the mirror. Is your company very buttoned up and serious about security? Are you playful and tongue in cheek? Do you have elaborate systems and processes? Think about how your customer perceives your organization. Identify what drew your best customers to you in the first place and figure out how to weave that throughout all your interactions.

Creating an experience that makes your customer feel valued, appreciated and heard is a powerful way to not only create customers for life but customers who can’t help but bring their friends along.

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