It happens every so often that a marketer disagrees with his client or CEO on how something should be done - how a product should be designed, how a loyalty program should be structured, how a website should be organized. In most cases, the opinion of one party or the other can be swayed into consensus. But sometimes, the difference of opinion cannot be overcome by any amount of persuasion. When such a disagreement occurs, how should the marketer proceed?
A proper respect for authority (or a desire to keep one's job) would say that the marketer should submit to his employer's opinion. After all, the marketer works for the client or CEO; he doesn't work for himself. He ought to follow the instructions of the person who pays his salary.
But what if that client or CEO is wrong? What if the employer's plan will completely ruin the company's reputation and sabotage all of their efforts? What if the marketer is absolutely sure that the employer's idea is a bad idea?
Who should have the final say?
The customer.
The employer's customer should have the final say. After all, both the marketer and his employer do what they do in order to serve the final customer. The customer is the one whose opinion matters. The customer is the one who will be using the product, or loyalty program, or website. The customer is the one who will decide whether it is a good product, a rewarding loyalty program, or a helpful website. The customer is the one who will choose whether or not her experience with the company merits continued support of that company.
So, marketer, find out what the customer's opinion is. Find out what she has to say about your product, loyalty program, or website. Find out what she's looking for, what she needs, what she likes. Research. Ask your customers. Gather data. Discover what your customers actually prefer, not what you or your employer think they prefer.
Let your employer see the customer data. And resign yourselves to act on whatever the data says. Design your product, structure your loyalty program, and organize your website based on what you learned from your customers.
Let the customer have the final say-so in your decision-making.
(Of course, though, if your employer refuses to do what the customer's say, you should ultimately follow your employer's instructions. Then let the results speak for themselves - one way or the other.)
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Why Should You Care?
A few nights ago, some friends and I were discussing the differences between various fitness clubs.
One friend observed that sports training clubs - like the martial arts school he attends - care deeply about the attendance of their members, because they are invested in teaching those members and developing their skills. On the other hand, he commented, typical gym owners don't care how often their members visit the gym to work out, since the owners receive the monthly membership dues, and don't require anything more.
As I've been thinking about my friend's comments, I've come to disagree.
That is, I agree that most gym owners probably don't care whether their members work out every day, or once a week, or hardly at all, but I believe that good gym owners do and should care.
Sure, a gym owner still receives the same membership fees whether his members attend once or thirty times each month. But if a customer pays a gym membership, without ever actually visiting the gym, sooner or later she will decide to stop wasting money and cancel her membership altogether.
Even if a customer does attend the gym regularly, but her gym owner doesn't really care, that customer could easily be convinced to switch membership if another gym opens that is closer, less expensive, more lavish, or offers more appealing classes.
But what if there was a gym owner who did care about his members? What if their physical fitness mattered to him? What if he spent time thinking of new ways to help his members stay healthy? What if he helped to motivate his members to work out more, and offered them free services to teach them more about their bodies and about fitness? What if his members knew that he cared about them as individuals? How would that affect their membership?
I suspect that those members would be motivated to continue their membership over many years, that they would be loyal to the gym and fairly resistant to the promotions of competing gyms, and that they would rave about their gym to friends, family, and coworkers.
I postulate that those members will have a longer (and more profitable) relationship with the gym owner.
The good and successful gym owner is the one who actually cares about his members.
The good and successful business owner is the one who actually cares about his customers.
Do you care?
One friend observed that sports training clubs - like the martial arts school he attends - care deeply about the attendance of their members, because they are invested in teaching those members and developing their skills. On the other hand, he commented, typical gym owners don't care how often their members visit the gym to work out, since the owners receive the monthly membership dues, and don't require anything more.
As I've been thinking about my friend's comments, I've come to disagree.
That is, I agree that most gym owners probably don't care whether their members work out every day, or once a week, or hardly at all, but I believe that good gym owners do and should care.
Sure, a gym owner still receives the same membership fees whether his members attend once or thirty times each month. But if a customer pays a gym membership, without ever actually visiting the gym, sooner or later she will decide to stop wasting money and cancel her membership altogether.
Even if a customer does attend the gym regularly, but her gym owner doesn't really care, that customer could easily be convinced to switch membership if another gym opens that is closer, less expensive, more lavish, or offers more appealing classes.
But what if there was a gym owner who did care about his members? What if their physical fitness mattered to him? What if he spent time thinking of new ways to help his members stay healthy? What if he helped to motivate his members to work out more, and offered them free services to teach them more about their bodies and about fitness? What if his members knew that he cared about them as individuals? How would that affect their membership?
I suspect that those members would be motivated to continue their membership over many years, that they would be loyal to the gym and fairly resistant to the promotions of competing gyms, and that they would rave about their gym to friends, family, and coworkers.
I postulate that those members will have a longer (and more profitable) relationship with the gym owner.
The good and successful gym owner is the one who actually cares about his members.
The good and successful business owner is the one who actually cares about his customers.
Do you care?
Saturday, July 17, 2010
The Company Your Company Could Tweet Like
Earlier this week, the Man Your Man Could Smell Like (whom his fans affectionately refer to as "Old Spice Guy," and who seems to have a mysterious connection via a parallel universe to actor and former NFL player Isaiah Mustafa) spent two days personally responding to Tweets and Facebook posts addressed to him.
Old Spice Guy is not the first to converse with Facebook fans and Twitter followers on behalf of the company he represents. However, he is the first to carry on that conversation through over 150 YouTube videos recorded and posted over two days while in a bathroom, wrapped in a towel. Here's a sample:
In other response videos, Old Spice Guy answers fans' questions, gives shout-outs to celebrities, offers manly wisdom, sweetly reassures skeptics, and even proposes to a man's girlfriend for him. But you'll have to find those videos yourself.
As of this writing, each video has received between 33,000 and 1.9 million views. Most of the videos have received a few hundred comments each. And a few received comments like, "I went out and bought Old Spice TODAY because of this video!"
The Old Spice brand image has come a long way in a few short years. Not too long ago, Old Spice seemed...old. My grandfather used Old Spice. My guy friends did not.
But now, Old Spice seems young. Strong. Robust. Adventurous. Manly. Daring. Thanks in large part to a well-executed campaign surrounding Old Spice Guy, making the claim that wearing Old Spice can help men to smell like a "ridiculously handsome" man who rides horses and whales with equal ease, uses wolverines to apply body wash, bakes gourmet cakes in a kitchen built with his own hands, and wins medals for exotic car-throwing.
Old Spice has created a new image for itself with clever videos that make hilariously absurd boasts of manly strength. Because it has created content that people enjoy watching, it has been able to reach audiences and start converting viewers into fans. And now its amazingly funny personalized video responses have furthered those fan relationships.
I'm not saying that your company needs to start conversing with customers via individual YouTube videos of a man in a towel. In fact, you probably shouldn't. But you should look for ways to connect with customers in an enjoyable way that surpasses expectations and aligns with the brand reputation that you want to have.
If personalized video response tweets is the way for your company to do that, then go for it.
Old Spice Guy is not the first to converse with Facebook fans and Twitter followers on behalf of the company he represents. However, he is the first to carry on that conversation through over 150 YouTube videos recorded and posted over two days while in a bathroom, wrapped in a towel. Here's a sample:
In other response videos, Old Spice Guy answers fans' questions, gives shout-outs to celebrities, offers manly wisdom, sweetly reassures skeptics, and even proposes to a man's girlfriend for him. But you'll have to find those videos yourself.
As of this writing, each video has received between 33,000 and 1.9 million views. Most of the videos have received a few hundred comments each. And a few received comments like, "I went out and bought Old Spice TODAY because of this video!"
The Old Spice brand image has come a long way in a few short years. Not too long ago, Old Spice seemed...old. My grandfather used Old Spice. My guy friends did not.
But now, Old Spice seems young. Strong. Robust. Adventurous. Manly. Daring. Thanks in large part to a well-executed campaign surrounding Old Spice Guy, making the claim that wearing Old Spice can help men to smell like a "ridiculously handsome" man who rides horses and whales with equal ease, uses wolverines to apply body wash, bakes gourmet cakes in a kitchen built with his own hands, and wins medals for exotic car-throwing.
Old Spice has created a new image for itself with clever videos that make hilariously absurd boasts of manly strength. Because it has created content that people enjoy watching, it has been able to reach audiences and start converting viewers into fans. And now its amazingly funny personalized video responses have furthered those fan relationships.
I'm not saying that your company needs to start conversing with customers via individual YouTube videos of a man in a towel. In fact, you probably shouldn't. But you should look for ways to connect with customers in an enjoyable way that surpasses expectations and aligns with the brand reputation that you want to have.
If personalized video response tweets is the way for your company to do that, then go for it.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Giving Back, Paying Forward
Susan Boyle - the Scottish singer who broke into the music industry a year ago with her astonishing performance on Britain's Got Talent - is now helping other normal folk to start musical careers. With the Susan's Search contest, ordinary people can audition for a chance to record a duet with Susan for her next album, to be released this November.
Susan explains it this way:
"When I did Britain's Got Talent, I was given a chance by Simon Cowell to show what I could do. This got me thinking about people who maybe missed that opportunity. Susan's Search is about giving other people an opportunity; it's about letting them live the dream that they have always wanted to do."
Because someone gave Susan the chance to show that her singing talent meant more than her outward appearance, her response is to create similar opportunities for other singers who may be "diamonds in the rough."
To give back, or "pay it forward," (as depicted in the movie of the same name) is the natural response of a thankful and humble attitude. When we take into account the number of opportunities we've been given (opportunities that were not created by us, only used by us), and the number of people who have helped us in our journey (people who didn't owe us any help), we should want to create opportunities and offer help to others.
Organizations, like individuals, can find ways to give back. Like Susan Boyle, they can offer a chance to talented people whom the world has ignored. Like TOMS Shoes, they can provide shoes, or clothing, or shelter, or food, or education, to children across the world who wouldn't otherwise have those necessities. They can give unexpected gifts or discounts or freebies to customers and non-customers, in gratitude for the patronage of their loyal shoppers. They can take time to serve the communities in which they operate - communities which provide resources and support for the business.
How is your organization "paying forward" the opportunities that it has been given?
Susan explains it this way:
"When I did Britain's Got Talent, I was given a chance by Simon Cowell to show what I could do. This got me thinking about people who maybe missed that opportunity. Susan's Search is about giving other people an opportunity; it's about letting them live the dream that they have always wanted to do."
Because someone gave Susan the chance to show that her singing talent meant more than her outward appearance, her response is to create similar opportunities for other singers who may be "diamonds in the rough."
To give back, or "pay it forward," (as depicted in the movie of the same name) is the natural response of a thankful and humble attitude. When we take into account the number of opportunities we've been given (opportunities that were not created by us, only used by us), and the number of people who have helped us in our journey (people who didn't owe us any help), we should want to create opportunities and offer help to others.
Organizations, like individuals, can find ways to give back. Like Susan Boyle, they can offer a chance to talented people whom the world has ignored. Like TOMS Shoes, they can provide shoes, or clothing, or shelter, or food, or education, to children across the world who wouldn't otherwise have those necessities. They can give unexpected gifts or discounts or freebies to customers and non-customers, in gratitude for the patronage of their loyal shoppers. They can take time to serve the communities in which they operate - communities which provide resources and support for the business.
How is your organization "paying forward" the opportunities that it has been given?
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