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Sometimes the toughest sell is inside

November 15, 2010

A huge number of brilliant marketing ideas never get exposed to the light of day. Why? It's usually not budget or audience apathy. It's internal fear.

Let's face it, there are a lot of frightened senior managers out there. Afraid to be different. Afraid to actually take a stand. Afraid to differentiate and potentially lose a sale. Afraid to make a bold decision.

Afraid of owning and celebrating their brand.

The result? A whole lot of sameness. Much like teenagers who would die rather than stand out, these decision makers block any attempts to do something unique enough to capture our attention or our hearts.

Which is why I loved listening to Ogilvy & Mather's Chairman Shelly Lazarus (at The Conference Board's Senior Marketing Executive Conference) tell the story of how Dove's True Beauty campaign got the green light.

Watch the spot (first released during the Super Bowl of all places!) and then I'll relate the story to you. (e-mail subscribers, click here to watch the spot)

Internally, the Dove marketing team knew this campaign had the potential to be so much more than a marketing campaign. It was about embracing and owning their brand. It was recognizing that they had the culture and the responsibility to address the issue of self esteem among girls. (Much like Dawn did during the oil spill)

But, they knew it would be a tough sell internally. They believed in their idea enough to take a risk. (Maybe that's the litmus test?)

They scheduled the meeting with their senior management to pitch the new TV spot (and the new direction for their brand) and then they did a sneaky thing. A few days before the big meeting, they grabbed a video camera and interviewed the daughters of the men who would later be sitting around the conference room table.

The spot you just watched actually contains some of the sentiments that those daughters uttered. Imagine sitting back, ready to critique a TV spot and seeing your 8-year old daughter say she hates her freckles or that she thinks she's fat. Suddenly you are a father and the issue of self esteem and body image among girls is very, very real. And very personal.

And the rest is history. The campaign has been brilliantly executed, Dove products have enjoyed a spike in sales and research/workshops like the Self-Esteem Report exist because of the Dove Self Esteem Fund.

All because someone had the courage to fight for an idea they believed in. Next time you grumble about a client or boss who squashed a good idea, ask yourself how much fight you put into the battle.

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Marketing tip #81: Do you know what they notice?

November 11, 2010

You probably bust a hump (and a decent budget) getting your prospects to notice you.

You study the demographics and know who your target market is. You are an expert in your industry. Your product/service is exceptional. Your marketing materials are professionally produced and tested well with the focus groups.

You got all of the big things right.

And you still may have it wrong.

So often, it's not about the big things. It's about the details. The tiny little thing that becomes the deal breaker or the deal maker.

Let me give you an example. My daughter is a high school senior and due to a lot of hard work on her part, a very successful student. As a result, she's being aggressively pursued by many colleges.

The mailbox is bulging every day with stunning four color brochures. She is receiving letters inviting her to bypass the regular application process and guarantees of academic scholarships of significance.

No argument — all of these things are the right things. But she isn't noticing.

What's she's noticing is that one school seems to hold her in even higher esteem. Because they send handwritten notes. They take the time to attach a personal message on the drama page of their brochure because she's a drama kid. They send postcards telling her what's happening on campus that she might enjoy.

We toss around words like authentic and transparent. But you know what — it's a lot easier to talk about than it is to actually do. It takes a lot of time to get the little things right. And you have to be able to sustain it.

So here's the question — what little thing could you do that they would notice? And do you want their business badly enough to commit to doing it?

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Are you asking the right questions?

November 10, 2010

I mentioned The Conference Board's Senior Marketing Executive Conference a few weeks ago. Today, at the pre-conference workshop conducted by John Carroll, SVP at Synovate's Customer Experience group, the discussion revolved around tracking your customer's experience and tying the research data to changing behaviors.

So we started talking about customer surveys and how most often, companies default to the standard questions. Satisfaction levels, rate this or that on a scale of 1-5. John pulled out a hotel survey where they literally had 3 questions on the shower head (seriously — the dispersion of the water?).

We either ask questions that are too vague and nebulous or we drill down to the wrong details. We then got into the intriguing idea of building your survey around the goal of changing a specific behavior.

For example, Whirlpool recognized that when people went to buy big appliances, they often went to a big box store (Home Depot, Lowes etc.) and that those salespeople were often influenced by whatever manufacturer spiff (a monetary reward for selling a specific brand or item) happened to be in play. So Whirlpool wanted to encourage their prospective buyers to overrule a salesperson's recommendation, if it wasn't a Whirlpool product

When they started designing their survey around these types of very specific (not buy more Whirlpool) prescribed behaviors, they had an element that was real and measurable. They also had a very tangible goal. Now they could get very strategic in thinking through how to move that specific needle.

Interestingly, in the end, the strategy they came up with is that they used marketing dollars to put Whirlpool salespeople on the big box store floors. They found that most people didn't feel knowledgeable enough to override the influential salesperson. So they brought in their own. Whirlpool execs admitted they wouldn't have considered that as an option, if it weren't for the focus in the research.

So here are a few questions for you to chew on today:

What very specific, measurable behavior (not buy more, recommend me more etc) do you want your prospects to engage in?
What types of survey questions could you ask to measure that?
What marketing strategy could you employ to influence that behavior?

Note: I'm at this event as an invited guest because they thought I'd find the topics of interest and relevant to you. While I'm under no obligation to write a single word, if the rest of the speakers are as thought provoking, you'll hear more about it! Stay tuned.

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Color trends for 2011

November 8, 2010

According to color experts Pantone, no colors ever go completely "out," the colors just “evolve.” Like avocado green may be out, but lime green is in.

So this is their take on colors for 2011.

Overall, they believe we’ll see cleaner colors that give an emotional uplift. And they predict that colors will be combined in unusual ways.

Here's the scoop:

Black: Black's presence will diminish in 2011. We'll still see black used, but they'll be closer to very dark blues or greens that are nearly black.

Blue: Will be more important next year. It suggests hope, healing, serenity and tranquility.

Red: Attention-getting combinations like red with orange or a pink/red used with a super bright red.

Pink: Used in all forms from aggressive and bright to pale pink.

Green: Becoming overused to suggest ecology. Green will be used in more ways than just for "green" companies or products.

Purple: Diminishing importance in 2011. Will move towards lavender and blue purples.

Orange: Paired combinations like a carrot orange used with white and apricot orange with blue.

Brown: Everything from cocoa brown to nut brown. Organic.

Yellow: Golden yellows will have a strong presence in 2011.

White: More faded shades of colors like very pale pink, blue, yellow, etc. instead of pure, clean, crisp white.

I'm curious — What do you think? How might this impact your work? Or do you think it's just design fluff talk?

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Do you have confidence in your social media strategy?

November 5, 2010

One of the definite perks of being on the SmartBrief on Social Media's Advisory Board is that we get sneak peeks at some of their offerings.

When I got an e-mail today with a copy of their about to be released research report called The State of Social Media for Business 2010… I dove in to see nuggets I could find. (You can download the a summary report for yourself by clicking here. You can purchase the full report here.)

The chart below illustrates one of the more telling bits of data.

Of the 6,000+ executives surveyed, only 14.2% of businesses find their social-media strategies to be “very effective” – and only 7.3% consider them “very revenue generating.”

But, I suspect that as they pondered that specific question, most of them thought to themselves — "what social media strategy?"

Somehow, and perhaps it is the low to no cost of entry, organizations of all sizes have blundered into social media without any idea of why they're there, what they want to accomplish or how they're going to know if it's working.

If I said to most business owners or marketing directors — I'll give you $10,000 worth of advertising time on television and we'll produce the TV spot for free — they would not grab the camera, shoot anything they pleased and then just run the spot whenever they felt like it.

And yet businesses big and small launch a Facebook page or Twitter account just to say they have one, post random (or worse, self promotional) content on an infrequent basis and then wonder why it's not generating any traffic.

Add to that, I'm betting if you asked those respondents who say "very effective" how they defined effective, many would admit that effective = doing something. That's not effective, that's just showing up!

I know social media is in its infancy. I know everyone is still trying to figure it out. But… the idea of having a strategy isn't new. The idea of maximizing your investment (both time and money) by integrating your efforts isn't new. The idea of looking before you leap isn't new.

If you cannot articulate your marketing strategy and then point out your social media strategy within that bigger picture… then you'll never be able to check the very effective or the very revenue generating box.

No matter how many Twitter followers you may have.

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Who is really the uber internet users?

November 4, 2010

Before you scold your college aged son or daughter for how much time they spend online, you'd better look in the mirror. According to research conducted by MarketingProfs (buy the full report here) if you're in the 30-39 age bracket, you're the heaviest users out there!

These stats line up with what we know about Facebook as well. The largest demographic group on the social media gorilla is 35-44 and the fastest growing demographic is 55+.

Why does this matter? One of the common sense rules of marketing is that you should know where your prospects or target audience hang out. Rather than waiting for them, you need to get out there and hang where they hang.

More justification to include some digital marketing in your overall plan.

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Marketing tip #1: Create a love affair with your customers

November 1, 2010

Satisfaction is nice. Loyalty is good. Repeat business is dandy.

But none of that is love. And if you really want to get and keep a customer for life — you have to be willing to stick your neck out and love them. You need to put your heart on your sleeve and woo them.

You need to create a love affair
with your customers.

Why? Let me give you 5 good reasons.

It feels good: No matter what you sell — it feels better to serve people you care about. It's easier to go the extra mile for customers that are special. It helps elevate your work to noble work. As my friend Steve Farber says…"do what you love in the service of people who love what you do."

It's easier to sell more to a current customer who loves you, than a new customer: In fact, recent studies show that it 6-7 times more costly to acquire a new customer than it is to retain an old (in love) one.

It's more profitable: Boosting your customer retention up by as little as 5% can elevate your profits by 5-95%. New customers are more price sensitive and require a huge amount of up front time, even after you've closed the deal.

It generates word of mouth: When a customer loves you, they can't help but talk about you to others. When you make them feel special and go out of your way to love them — they will be your most powerful marketing tool — advocates who spread word of mouth.

It's incredible for employee retention: Who doesn't want to work at a place that gives them permission to be incredibly kind and considerate? Who wouldn't love to hear customers rave about them? Who isn't looking for a way to put more meaning into their work? Why not make it a labor of love!

Is there a business who has created a love affair with you? How does it feel to be on the receiving end of that kind of attention?

The real question in my mind is — why wouldn't you create a love affair with your customers?

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Marketing tip #17: Stop assuming!

October 29, 2010

I've said it before….no one is worse at seeing your business objectively than you. If you own or run it — you cannot possibly remove your own biases, opinions and hopes from the equation.

So when you make operating, marketing and customer service decisions, you need to second guess yourself now and then. You need to remove yourself from the equation and see it from your customer's perspective. But how do you do that, if you can't possibly be objective?

You walk in your customers' shoes. Literally.

You need to experience exactly what they experience. Go through your own drive thru, try to navigate your phone system without using any of the back end short cuts, see what asking for a credit or return feels like.

I'm betting that 90% of companies never do this. They think they know what their customer wants, so based on that dangerous assumption — they run their business. We all know the old saying about what happens when you assume…

Over at IowaBiz today, I explore this topic some more. Come jump into the conversation.

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Why is world class customer service so rare?

October 28, 2010

Last week, I told you about three conferences that I thought were worth your time and attention (and my readers added a few more in the comments section!). One of the conferences I mentioned was the Secret Service Summit.

I had a chance to run some questions by the event's founder, John DiJulius. I think you'll find his take thought-provoking.

Drew: Why do so few companies truly offer exceptional customer service?

John: The view customer service as an expense rather than an asset, yet in down economies, the only businesses surviving with long term sustainability are the ones that focus on making the customer experience their competitive advantage. A company’s strongest asset in any economy is customer loyalty.

Drew: What are the top 10 obstacles to providing great customer service?

John:

Lack of service aptitude.
Decline in people skills.
Inability in connecting employees’ jobs and their importance to success of the company.
Poor hiring standards.
Lack of experiential training.
Not letting employees have input on systems.
Failure to implement and execute consistently.
Lack of a strong employee culture.
Lack of measurements and accountability.
Focus on artificial growth.

Drew: Some suggest that you either have the customer service gene or not. Can it be taught and if so, what are the keys to successfully teaching it?

John: I disagree, most people have low service aptitude when they enter the world of business, because service aptitude is based on one’s life experiences & previous work experiences.

Front line employees do not make enough to drive Mercedes Benz, fly first class, or stay at five star hotels, yet leaders expect those same people to provide a world class experience. They do not have clue what truly world class is.

Service Aptitude: A person’s ability to recognize opportunities to exceed customer’s expectations, regardless of the circumstances.

It is companies & managers responsibility to elevate and dictate new and existing employees Service Aptitude through soft skill training and constant awareness to what world class looks like.

Drew: What do you find to be most surprising when you think about incredible customer service?

John: When someone anticipates your needs before you are even aware of it and when someone handles a challenge even when it is not their fault.

Drew: How will someone be different after they attend the Secret Service Summit?

John: The Secret Service Summit is about creating a customer service revolution, which is; A radical overthrow of conventional business mentality designed to transform what employees and customers experience. This shift produces a culture that permeates into people’s personal lives, at home and in the community, which in turn provides the business with higher sales, morale and brand loyalty– making price irrelevant.

So what do you think? Is he right? Do you think everyone can be taught how to deliver exceptional customer service or is there an innate gift that makes some people remarkable and others just passable?

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Marketing tip # 71: How many hooks have you set?

October 25, 2010

Whether it comes to fish or our customers, the more hooks we have in them, the more likely we're going to be able to keep them!

I'd like to think the "hooks" we have in our customers — the reasons they can't imagine going anywhere else to buy what we sell, aren't painful, but in fact… they're the little things we do to be so remarkable and so unforgettable, we have earned their business and their love for life.

That's the way we should be setting our hooks. With love. It's all about creating that love affair with our customers.

I was speaking to a banking association last week and told them the story of a bank who happens to have a significant population of 70+ aged customers. Which makes social security day a busy one! Lots of elderly ladies showing up to deposit those checks and then they hang out for awhile.

The bank saw the opportunity and began providing cookies and coffee. It was a white haired networking extravaganza. Now, that's a nice hook.

But the bank tellers took it to a whole new level. They started noticing if some of the regulars hadn't been in the bank for awhile and they took it upon themselves to call those customers (often widows who lived alone) to make sure they were okay and if they needed any assistance. Some of the elderly actually broke down and cried on the phone because they were so touched by the concern.

That's setting a hook with love. And that's how you keep a customer for life.

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