Strategy

Marketing Tips from a Marketing Agency: Make the invisible visible

April 26, 2007

It would only stand to reason that a marketing & branding agency would be pretty good at branding and marketing itself.

So I thought it might be fun to explore some branding & marketing concepts using our own agency, McLellan Marketing Group, as the guinea pig.

Make the invisible visible

Let’s face it — there are many elements of business that are pretty ordinary.  Not only are they ordinary but 99% of businesses do them the same way. 

Think of all the communication elements that you pretty much ignore because everyone’s looks and behaves the same.  Posted hours of operation, fax cover sheets, privacy disclaimers, e-mail signatures.  And on and on the list goes.  We’re so used to them being ordinary that, as consumers, we don’t even notice them.

Which makes them invisible.

A smart marketer will use the element of surprise and make the invisible visible.  An agency friend of ours in Denver (AOR) sends out a quarterly newsletter.  At the bottom of the newsletter, just like everyone else, they have a privacy disclaimer.  But theirs reads something like:

We’ll never sell or give your e-mail address to anyone.  Because that wouldn’t be nice.

They turned the invisible visible and gave us a hint of what working with them might be like. 

At MMG, one of the invisible things we make visible is our titles.  Could I be CEO or President?  Sure.  But yawn.

But by being the Top Dog, suddenly we’re visible.  When was the last time someone looked at your business card and make a comment?  It happens to all of us at MMG every day.  Along with the Top Dog, some of the present and past MMG titles have been:

The Warden (are you going to risk not giving her your time sheets?)
Girl Wonder
Sgt. of Strategy
Brandologist
Chaos Curator
Conductor
Go To Guy
Dr. Designo

Do our titles say much more about the agency, our work style and our attitude than CEO, CFO, Art Director, etc. would say?

What’s invisible in your world that you could make visible?

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Marketing Tips from a Marketing Agency: Be a drip

April 25, 2007

It would only stands to reason that a marketing & branding agency would be pretty good at branding and marketing itself.

So I thought it might be fun to explore some branding & marketing concepts using our own agency, McLellan Marketing Group, as the guinea pig.

Be A Drip

The natural urge it seems is to deluge our potential consumers with information. How often have you seen one of these:

• A brochure with no white space and so much copy that your eyes blur
• A company who explodes onto the marketplace and you see them everywhere – TV, radio, print for about 2 months…and then you never hear of them again
• An e-mail campaign that floods your in box with multiple messages in a short period of time
• A 12-page newsletter (white space or no)
• A corporate website’s homepage that is packed with copy, starbursts and news items galore

Some marketers are compelled to shove as much information at their consumers as possible.  Perhaps it’s a concern that they’ll only get one shot at them.  Or the misconception that if they don’t explain every nuance of their product/service, the audience won’t get it.

I think in most cases, it’s a mix of insecurity and not really understanding the audience.  It’s as though they’re saying "I’m not confident in knowing what my audience needs/wants to know and I don’t trust my own instincts…so I am going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at them."

Bad marketing strategy.

Here’s the analogy we use to help clients understand this concept.  When there’s a hard, driving rain, the ground can only absorb so much of it before the water just runs off.  Consumers are the same way.  They can only absorb so much information before our well-crafted words just run off, falling on deaf ears.

But a gentle all-day rain has a different result.  Because of its slow and steady pace, the ground can easily, over time, absorb all the water that comes.

We need to be a drip, not a downpour when it comes to our marketing efforts.  Want an example?

Since 1999 at MMG we’ve been producing a weekly marketing e-newsletter called (wait for it…) the Marketing Minute.  Never more than 300 words and a few links.  Drip, drip.

Every week.  We’ve never let anything keep us from getting it out.  Not kidney stones, internet connection problems, or client deadlines.  Drip, drip.

People have said we should charge for it or discourage people forwarding it along.  Never going to happen.  Drip, drip.

We’ve had some readers for over 8 years. We get new additions every week.  Drip, drip.

We’ve gotten RFPs and business from subscribers 2, 3 and 4 years after they started reading it. They hadn’t needed us or been in a position to hire us until then.  Drip, drip.

How can you be a drip when it comes to marketing your company?

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What would you advise? PR nightmare

April 21, 2007

The situation:  The General Manager of  the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino has booked the country singing duo Big & Rich and sold a few thousand tickets.  Without his knowledge, a radio station who had tickets to give away has upped the ante.

To accommodate the wish of an ill 5-year old girl, the radio station has made arrangements with Big & Rich to let the girl and her family see the show and hang with the entertainers backstage after the show.  They, of course, have promoted this heavily on their station.

The night of the show, the casino GM learns of the plans.  He says they can’t go through with the plan because they are not allowed to permit anyone under 21 into the casino. 

Because they didn’t want to break their promise to the little girl, Big & Rich canceled the concert and spent time with the little girl on their touring bus.

The casino is left with a couple thousand people waiting to get into the concert and has to tell them its canceled. And you can imagine what the radio station did.  Lots of bad buzz.

What would you have done?  Okay, time for you to step into the casino GM’s shoes.  Would you have handled the situation like he did?  If not, what would you have done differently?

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What’s next? Pink planes?

April 17, 2007

As you  may have read in this weekend’s US Today, American Airlines has launched a gender-specific are of its website, aimed at women.

Here’s what they say on the home page of this female-focused site.  " Welcome to American Airlines AA.com/women – the airline industry’s first web page dedicated to women who travel. This web page is about you – our valued customer. We’ve listened to women and recognized the need to provide additional information tailored to your business and pleasure travel needs and lifestyle. We also invite you to share insights, travel tips and stories by submitting them to wehearyou@aa.com."

I don’t get it.  Of the 18 hot links on the home page, only 2 of them seem women-specific.  One is girlfriend getaways and the other is the safety tab.  Couldn’t both of those have existed on the core page?

I guess this remind me of my pink tools post.  I am let wondering why and as a man, wondering if women aren’t insulted by being segregated out when really travel is a humbling equalizer for all of us.

What do you think?  Good idea or bad?  If you were in charge of this web presence — how would you actually make it valuable to women?

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Office politics are not optional

April 15, 2007

When someone utters the words "office politics" everyone shakes their head in dismay and comments that it sure would be great if there were no such thing. 

But the reality is, office politics are not going anywhere.  So wouldn’t it be to our advantage to learn how to recognize and deal with it when it appears?

Carpe Factum’s Timothy Johnson tackles the realities of office politics in his new book, Gust, The Tale Wind of Office Politics.  Written in an easy-flowing business parable style, Johnson introduces us to a team of professionals that we’ll all recognize. 

One of the greatest insights from the book is that office politics are not inherently bad. 

Every business is filled with human beings and in some ways the book is as much a personality and psychological study as it is a business book. Being able to step back and objectively see the game being played is the first step to understanding what’s creating the problems at hand.   The book also examines the power of influence within an organization and all the different ways someone exercises that influence.

Practical, straightforward and easy to remember solutions are woven all through the book. 

Included in the book’s resource section, there are surveys that both employees and managers can take to facilitate a discussion around office politics. 

Why is this a book all marketers should read?  In most companies marketers rely on the cooperation of many departments and people. Without the ability to spot office politics and do the necessary analysis to identify the motives behind the behavior, we don’t stand a chance of being successful.

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Could you create a “being space?”

April 11, 2007

A being space.

One of my favorite stores is Barnes & Noble.  Yes, they have lots of books, music and movies.  But what I love most about it is that it feels like I’ve been invited to hang out.  Big comfortable chairs.  Coffee and snacks.  Did I mention the big comfortable chairs?

Well it turns out, I love Barnes & Noble because they’ve created a "Being Space."

Sociologist Ray Oldenburg first conceived of the "Being Space" in his 1990 book The Great Good Place and described it as a a place where people hang out —  take it easy and "commune with friends, neighbors, and whoever else shows up."  A place where you can enjoy a cup of coffee with friends, people watch, read a book or play a computer game.

Think about it.   Starbucks.  The Apple Store.  The Laundromat where you can watch a movie while you wash.  It seems like the retailers have caught on. 

But what about the service industry?

Imagine this…what if clients or business friends & vendors were invited to stop by the MMG office.  We happen to be right downtown.  Maybe they’re in between meetings or just need a place to catch their breath. 

They can grab a cup of coffee, hop on our wireless high speed internet (or use the computer in our open work station), make some phone calls or grab a book off our bookshelf.

Do you think they’d take us up on our offer?  Does it say something about our brand that we’ve created a space where they could?  Would it alter or intensify their opinion of us and what working with us might be like?

How about you — could you create a being space?

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What to do when your client is in crisis

April 9, 2007

In most cases, our clients/customers come to us in a relatively calm state and we can react to them in our usual business manner.  But what needs to shift if your client is in crisis mode?

I pondered this question this weekend, as I was a client in crisis mode.  The perfect time for some marketing observation! 

As many of you know, I was struck down by a kidney stone (actually 2) this weekend.  If you haven’t ever had one – it is the most excruciating pain imaginable.  They call it a writhing pain, because when you have one, you are in such pain, you can’t hold still.  You literally writhe in agony.

I’ll give you my prognosis at the tail end of the post but for now, let’s look at what needs to shift when a client is in crisis.  And yes, that’s how small a kidney stone is.  Humbling to say the least.

They need you to acknowledge that they are in crisis.  They want to know that you know.  This is not the time for "can you hang on second" or "do you want some coffee."  When I staggered into the ER hunched over, clammy and in pain, they didn’t wait to take my insurance information.  They whisked me back to a room immediately.

They need to be your only priority until the crisis has passed.  This isn’t the time to take another call or put them off until the next morning.  They need you now.  Tammy, my ER nurse, didn’t leave my side until she had the IV started and she’d administered the first dose of morphine. 

They need reassurance.  They want you to tell them you’re going to be at their side until it’s over.  This isn’t the time to sugar coat things or say it’s going to be okay if it isn’t. But they want to know they won’t be going it alone. 

They need empathy.  If a client is in crisis, they’re most likely angry, scared, worried, sad or in pain.  They want you to recognize that emotion in them and help them get it under control.  Sheila, the attending nurse practitioner made sure I knew that she was going to be aggressive with the pain meds until I was comfortable.  She wanted me out of pain as much as I did.  (Well, maybe not quite as much!)

They want to see action.  That’s the most reassuring element of all. They want to know you are doing something to get them out of their crisis. The whole ER team hustled me in and out of the CAT scan and got me the meds I needed quickly.  When the morphine wasn’t stopping the pain, they rapidly moved up the pain meds food chain until they found one that did. 

Dealing with a client who is in crisis mode is usually not pretty. They’re in full panic mode.  But, if you can stay with them and get them through the crisis – you’ve earned a loyal client who will come to you in confidence, knowing you’ve seen them at their worst.

How have you dealt with clients in this frame of mind?

As for the stone saga – I’ve still got the two stones.  They haven’t passed yet.  Right now, they’re causing a tolerable amount of pain, so I am temporarily sprung from the hospital.  The bummer about kidney stones is their unpredictability.  These could pass without causing me much more pain and I could get by with the prescription meds. Or in a blink, they could send me back to the hospital.  But…I know which hospital I’d go back to.  Thanks to their understanding of how to deal with a client in crisis!

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Is branding only an external activity?

April 1, 2007

The answer is no. 

In fact…as a business owner or leader, you should be branding your organization to your employees every day.  There is no audience more important to your brand’s success.

But all too often, its internal communication budgets that get cut. Or leadership consistently says one thing and then does another — losing credibility and trust.

If you want to learn how to lead an employee-centric company, you only need to go to one blog to learn the ropes.  Anna Farmery of The Engaging Brand focuses on how to inspire your employees to help you deliver the brand promise to your clients.  Her posts on leadership, retaining employees and her podcast series are packed with gems you can put to immediate use.

Last week, I had the incredible good fortune to speak to Anna on the phone.  We talked about how the relationship between the employer and the employee is experiencing a power shift, just like the one we’re seeing between customers and companies.  We also talked about recruiting, generational differences and a whole lot more.

Anna captured our conversation and I’m very proud to be the voice of Show #73 of the Engaging Brand podcast series — Secrets of a Great Employer.

Go over and take a listen.  And while you are there — bask in the smarts of Anna Farmery.

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Try this experiment on your employees

March 29, 2007

No lab coat required.

If you asked your peers/employees to tell you in a sentence what your company’s compelling reason for being was – what would they say?

If you are like most companies, they would burst out laughing.

And then odds are, every one of them would give you a different answer.

How can we expect our employees to deliver consistent quality and service/products that are aligned with the company’s core mission if they don’t know (and really know) not only WHAT it is, but WHAT it means, WHY it matters and HOW you make it real?

This isn’t just a marketing slogan of the month or rattling off a buzz word or two – this is taking the time to define the heart and soul of why you are in business – from your consumer’s point of view.

Try it. Come back and tell us about the experiment. 

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Turn things upside down: How to get your customers to talk about you

March 28, 2007

Want your customers to create some buzz for you?  Turn something upside down. 

We find comfort in conformity.  The "it always happens this way" comfort.  Which is exactly why we can’t stop ourselves from talking when someone flips things on us.

 

Phil Romano, the founder of Romano Concepts and Eatzi’s Market & Bakery, understood this. His place was always packed on Mondays and Tuesdays, which is normally a dead night for restaurants.

How’d he do it?

On a randomly chosen Monday or Tuesday, 200+ customers received a letter instead of a bill. The letter stated that because the restaurant’s mission was to make people feel like guests – it didn’t seem right to charge them for their food. Once a month, unannounced, this happened.

He comped meals one night a month, but he had a full house eight nights a month when all the other restaurants in town were empty. And, he got all of that word of mouth advertising for free!

What could you turn upside down?

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