We see that communication is critical to any human relationship - that between a husband and wife, between parent and child, between employer and employee, between teacher and student, between roommates, between friends. And between company and customer.
A countdown timer announcing "time until next ride" can help reduce impatience among customers waiting in line for a ride at an amusement park.
A response email acknowledging receipt of a complaint and assuring a quick resolution can help a customer feel that his issue has been heard and is being addressed.
An easily-found set of guidelines for what constitutes an acceptable submission can help customers to contribute better customer-created content to a social media campaign.
A periodic phone call to check on a client can help her to feel that she is cared for and that her vendor is eager to meet her needs.
A notice that a service provider has not received payment from a customer can help to uncover the oversight and elicit payment before service is discontinued.
A voluntary recall of a defective product and an immediate, free replacement can help to prevent customer injury and mitigate ill-will toward a brand.
Good, timely communication is such a simple thing, requiring little of your time, effort, and money. Regular communication - even a quick "how are you doing? what can we do to serve you?" helps to maintain a strong customer relationship. An immediate and courteous response to a frustrated customer helps to restore the customer's sense that the company really does care and really is working to make things right. These forms of communication are quick, painless, and inexpensive (or free).
Lack of communication causes the tenuous, tense, or broken customer relationships that lead to expensive fixes - customer service wars, legal battles, reparation to soothe an irate customer, or a lifetime of value lost when a customer leaves.
What damages might have been reduced, whose reputation strengthened, or which customers retained through simple, clear, timely, reliable communication from your company?
Showing posts with label marketing communications. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marketing communications. Show all posts
Monday, September 6, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Context
Meaning comes not just from the words spoken, but also by what is being spoken around them.
For example:
"Alright, Stacey, the show is starting. You're on in five minutes."
"Thanks, Joe."
"Break a leg, kiddo."
versus
"Well, Tony, did you get it?"
"Nah, Boss. He doesn't have the money. What should I do?"
"Break a leg."
In each of these examples, the phrase "break a leg" is given a distinct meaning based on the context of the conversation. The context is affected by the characters involved, the location, the timing, the events leading up to the conversation, and the other words spoken in or before the conversation.
Marketing messages, too, are impacted by context.
As marketers, we need to know the context of a situation before we start spewing marketing messages. Some contextual information can be gathered fairly easily from examining current news, the rest of the market, and the marketing efforts of partners and competitors. Other information (like the number of marketing emails one customer has received, or a customer's attitude toward a particular brand, or the current state of a customer's life) can only be gathered by having a relationship with the customer. By caring about what the customer thinks, feels, and has to say. By keeping track of how (and how much) you have communicated with the customer in the past. By asking for - and listening to - the customer's comments, expectations, frustrations, and concerns.
As marketers, we have to pay attention to context. Our audience's perceptions are acutely shaped by it; our messages are changed by it. We must listen to it.
For example:
"Alright, Stacey, the show is starting. You're on in five minutes."
"Thanks, Joe."
"Break a leg, kiddo."
versus
"Well, Tony, did you get it?"
"Nah, Boss. He doesn't have the money. What should I do?"
"Break a leg."
In each of these examples, the phrase "break a leg" is given a distinct meaning based on the context of the conversation. The context is affected by the characters involved, the location, the timing, the events leading up to the conversation, and the other words spoken in or before the conversation.
Marketing messages, too, are impacted by context.
- $2.01/gallon for gasoline is a terrific price - on June 3, 2010. In America. When the gas station across the street is selling gas for $2.47/gallon. It's an abominable price on June 3, 1990 in America, when the guy across the street is selling gas for $1.19/gallon.
- An OxiClean commercial starring Billy Mays was a mundane occurrence on June 27, 2009 (the day before Billy's death). The same commercial had a very different effect on June 29, 2009.
- An email offering a 25% discount on an item could be a welcome surprise to a customer - unless the customer is an overworked businesswoman whose inbox is full of 80 similar unread messages and who has just sworn to forever boycott the next company who sends her an email.
As marketers, we need to know the context of a situation before we start spewing marketing messages. Some contextual information can be gathered fairly easily from examining current news, the rest of the market, and the marketing efforts of partners and competitors. Other information (like the number of marketing emails one customer has received, or a customer's attitude toward a particular brand, or the current state of a customer's life) can only be gathered by having a relationship with the customer. By caring about what the customer thinks, feels, and has to say. By keeping track of how (and how much) you have communicated with the customer in the past. By asking for - and listening to - the customer's comments, expectations, frustrations, and concerns.
As marketers, we have to pay attention to context. Our audience's perceptions are acutely shaped by it; our messages are changed by it. We must listen to it.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
How Clever Is Too Clever?
Marketers like to be clever in their communication.
When they develop brand messaging, or an advertising campaign, or a product name, they want to create something that (1) attracts attention, (2) reinforces the desired "personality" of their brand, and (3) sticks in peoples' minds.
Sometimes marketers muster all of their cleverness and creativity to produce marketing communications that truly get noticed, and truly stick, and truly remind people of the brand. When I think of successful marketing efforts, I think of brands and campaigns and slogans like these:
When these brands and campaigns delight consumers and stay in their brains, the cleverness and creativity of their marketing teams has paid off.
But sometimes, cleverness actually sabotages the marketers' goals. A few examples:
In marketing, clever can be good. Clever can make your brand surprising and remarkable and memorable. Or it can make your brand get lost in the confusion or hilarity of your messaging.
If you must be clever, make sure that your cleverness reinforces your brand, rather than distracting from it. A clever ad that leaves viewers without a clue about your brand is much less worthwhile and effective than a non-clever ad that clearly tells viewers who you are.
When they develop brand messaging, or an advertising campaign, or a product name, they want to create something that (1) attracts attention, (2) reinforces the desired "personality" of their brand, and (3) sticks in peoples' minds.
Sometimes marketers muster all of their cleverness and creativity to produce marketing communications that truly get noticed, and truly stick, and truly remind people of the brand. When I think of successful marketing efforts, I think of brands and campaigns and slogans like these:
- Twizzlers. "Makes mouths happy."
Did this slogan leave us with any doubt that Twizzlers were a delightful thing to eat? - Fuddruckers.
The name itself is so funny to say - and the selection of burgers and toppings so fun and delicious (ostrich burger with peanut butter, anyone?) - that this restaurant chain is pretty unforgettable. - GEICO. "15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance."
After seeing that random, Australian-sounding gecko and hearing that slogan over and over and over again, who could forget that GEICO can save you money on car insurance?
When these brands and campaigns delight consumers and stay in their brains, the cleverness and creativity of their marketing teams has paid off.
But sometimes, cleverness actually sabotages the marketers' goals. A few examples:
- The Oneders.
This was the original name of the band for whom Tom Hanks' character served as manager in the 1996 movie That Thing You Do. The band members tried to be clever with their name by replacing the "won" in "wonder" with the number "one." Unfortunately, their audiences didn't get it, pronouncing the name as "The Oh-NEED-ers" instead of as "The ONE-ders." Later in the movie, the band dropped the clever spelling and renamed themselves simply "The Wonders." - The Brew.Net Internet Cafe
This is the name of a coffee house in my town - a rather good one, actually - that offers free wi-fi (hence the allusions to both coffee and Internet in the name). But customers - and potential customers - never seem quite sure how to pronounce the name. Is it "The Brew Net" (sounds like "brunette")? Or "The Brew DOT Net" (sounds like a web URL)? Here again, cleverness obstructs customers' pronunciation. And if they can't pronounce it, how can they tell their friends about it? - Super Bowl commercials - generally speaking.
How many times do we see brilliant, extreme, hilarious Super Bowl commercials - ones that we share with our friends and laugh about for weeks - but which leave us with absolutely no recollection of which brand the commercial was promoting. Was that a Hyundai ad or a Nissan? Sprite or Sierra Mist? If the viewers can't remember the brand name, it doesn't matter how much they loved and laughed at the ad.
In marketing, clever can be good. Clever can make your brand surprising and remarkable and memorable. Or it can make your brand get lost in the confusion or hilarity of your messaging.
If you must be clever, make sure that your cleverness reinforces your brand, rather than distracting from it. A clever ad that leaves viewers without a clue about your brand is much less worthwhile and effective than a non-clever ad that clearly tells viewers who you are.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
0% OFF and marketing tactics
One store in my town has a marquee with shall we say, an "unusual" promotional message.
The sign reads:
"0% OFF ALL HOME DECOR
WE HAVE MODA FABRIC"
Now, one might think that the "0% OFF" is a mistake. Surely it was meant to say "20% OFF" or "40% OFF" or "70% OFF", and a digit simply fell off the sign.
But when a person - like my friend Dwayne, who told me about the sign - drives by that sign every day for over a month, and the message has not changed, and the store is still in business, one begins to wonder what other reasons might lie behind the "0% OFF".
POSSIBLE REASON #1: The store is using "0% OFF" as a quirky surprise that will catch attention, pique curiosity, and attract customers. "After all," thinks the passerby, "no store in their right mind would offer '0% OFF' as a legitimate promotion. I wonder what they're doing in there. Maybe I'll stop in and see."
POSSIBLE REASON #2: The store is using "0% OFF" as a one-size-fits-all promotion. Customers realize that "0% OFF" must be a mistake, but that there must be some sort of sale going on inside the store. The store doesn't have to change the marquee to "20%" or "40%" or "70%" based on the discount of the day; the same message can remain on the board and still achieve the same effect.
POSSIBLE REASON #3: The store is using "0% OFF" to make a statement. The store is saying that their prices are so reasonable, that they don't need to offer discounts. Customers don't need a discounted price, because this store's prices are already the lowest in town. This store's regular prices are as low as their competitor's sale prices.
POSSIBLE REASON #4: A digit really did fall off the sign a month ago, and the store owner hasn't noticed, and the store manager hasn't noticed, and the employees haven't noticed, and no customers have said anything. Or someone did notice, but they ran out of extra numbers for the sign, and keep forgetting to order more. Or someone did notice, but they haven't taken the time to change the message yet - in over a month.
Whatever the reason for this particular marquee message, the goal of outdoor messaging is to draw customers to the store. Logical dissonance (i.e. "that's strange" or "I didn't expect that"), price discounts, and "everyday low prices" can all be used to raise customers' attention. Of course, all three tactics should be used strategically, and should be crafted with the customer in mind.
"What will the customer think?" and "How will the customer perceive or understand this?" should be two primary questions when crafting one's marketing messages - or any other marketing tactics, for that matter.
Your marketing message should be clear to the customer. If the customer thinks that your message was a mistake (i.e. a digit fell off your sign), he is going to keep driving right by.
The sign reads:
WE HAVE MODA FABRIC"
Now, one might think that the "0% OFF" is a mistake. Surely it was meant to say "20% OFF" or "40% OFF" or "70% OFF", and a digit simply fell off the sign.
But when a person - like my friend Dwayne, who told me about the sign - drives by that sign every day for over a month, and the message has not changed, and the store is still in business, one begins to wonder what other reasons might lie behind the "0% OFF".
POSSIBLE REASON #1: The store is using "0% OFF" as a quirky surprise that will catch attention, pique curiosity, and attract customers. "After all," thinks the passerby, "no store in their right mind would offer '0% OFF' as a legitimate promotion. I wonder what they're doing in there. Maybe I'll stop in and see."
POSSIBLE REASON #2: The store is using "0% OFF" as a one-size-fits-all promotion. Customers realize that "0% OFF" must be a mistake, but that there must be some sort of sale going on inside the store. The store doesn't have to change the marquee to "20%" or "40%" or "70%" based on the discount of the day; the same message can remain on the board and still achieve the same effect.
POSSIBLE REASON #3: The store is using "0% OFF" to make a statement. The store is saying that their prices are so reasonable, that they don't need to offer discounts. Customers don't need a discounted price, because this store's prices are already the lowest in town. This store's regular prices are as low as their competitor's sale prices.
POSSIBLE REASON #4: A digit really did fall off the sign a month ago, and the store owner hasn't noticed, and the store manager hasn't noticed, and the employees haven't noticed, and no customers have said anything. Or someone did notice, but they ran out of extra numbers for the sign, and keep forgetting to order more. Or someone did notice, but they haven't taken the time to change the message yet - in over a month.
Whatever the reason for this particular marquee message, the goal of outdoor messaging is to draw customers to the store. Logical dissonance (i.e. "that's strange" or "I didn't expect that"), price discounts, and "everyday low prices" can all be used to raise customers' attention. Of course, all three tactics should be used strategically, and should be crafted with the customer in mind.
"What will the customer think?" and "How will the customer perceive or understand this?" should be two primary questions when crafting one's marketing messages - or any other marketing tactics, for that matter.
Your marketing message should be clear to the customer. If the customer thinks that your message was a mistake (i.e. a digit fell off your sign), he is going to keep driving right by.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Making Advertising Work Better for the Customer
Yesterday, MediaPost's Video Insider published an article by Michael Kokernak, founder of Backchannelmedia, entitled "Scientific Advertising and Free Samples." Mr. Kokernak predicts a few of the ways in which interactive television commercials would change the way marketers approach advertising.
First, he says that television advertising will no longer be driven by audience size and demographics. Indeed, demographics are an insufficient predictor of consumer preferences. My buying habits are more affected by my psychographics - such as my lifestyle (I'm a marketer; I run; I draw; I play piano; I'm actively involved in my church), my beliefs, and my friends - than by the fact that I'm a 20-something white American female.
With traditional television advertising, especially on the major networks, it was nearly impossible to segment viewers by anything but audience size and demographics. But since interactive television would enable viewers to pause, click, and further pursue the specific ads and information in which they are interested, marketers can get to "know" the likes and dislikes of each individual viewer, and to customize their advertisements according to those psychographics.
Second, Mr. Kokernak predicts that interactive television commercials will be more "keyed" to results than traditional tv advertising is. The ultimate goal of advertising, as Mr. Kokernak points out, is to drive sales. But so many factors contribute to the consumer decision-making process, that it is difficult to pinpoint if and how a specific ad led to a particular purchase. Except in routine or spontaneous purchases, most consumers' decision to buy a specific product comes after a long period of inputs, including previous brand experience, brand awareness, brand reputation, knowledge of the product category, opinions of other users, a history of advertising, point-of-sale marketing, customer service, etc. Rarely can a sale be attributed to any one factor, such as a particular ad.
Interactive television ads could help to more accurately measure results by capturing the actions of the consumer directly after viewing the ad. Did the viewer click on the ad? Did he spend much time on the website? Did he register on the site, or subscribe to email/SMS/RSS updates? Did he search for the product online? Did he use keywords from the ad in his search? Did he actually purchase the product online immediately after seeing the ad?
By tracking these results, marketers can determine whether an ad was successful in achieving "intermediate" goals, such as increasing the viewer's awareness of the brand, or improving the brand reputation in the mind of the viewers, or drawing the viewer to the website, or creating a positive brand experience for the viewer, or leading the viewer to "become a fan" and subscribe to updates. And because of e-commerce, marketers can also see when their interactive television commercials actually did lead to an immediate sale.
I think the jury is still out on how consumers will receive the idea of television and Internet rolled into one. It could be a huge success if done well. And whether or not "interactive television," as we imagine it, becomes the norm, interactive technology in general should enable marketers to make their communication more relevant and more useful to the individual consumer.
First, he says that television advertising will no longer be driven by audience size and demographics. Indeed, demographics are an insufficient predictor of consumer preferences. My buying habits are more affected by my psychographics - such as my lifestyle (I'm a marketer; I run; I draw; I play piano; I'm actively involved in my church), my beliefs, and my friends - than by the fact that I'm a 20-something white American female.
With traditional television advertising, especially on the major networks, it was nearly impossible to segment viewers by anything but audience size and demographics. But since interactive television would enable viewers to pause, click, and further pursue the specific ads and information in which they are interested, marketers can get to "know" the likes and dislikes of each individual viewer, and to customize their advertisements according to those psychographics.
Second, Mr. Kokernak predicts that interactive television commercials will be more "keyed" to results than traditional tv advertising is. The ultimate goal of advertising, as Mr. Kokernak points out, is to drive sales. But so many factors contribute to the consumer decision-making process, that it is difficult to pinpoint if and how a specific ad led to a particular purchase. Except in routine or spontaneous purchases, most consumers' decision to buy a specific product comes after a long period of inputs, including previous brand experience, brand awareness, brand reputation, knowledge of the product category, opinions of other users, a history of advertising, point-of-sale marketing, customer service, etc. Rarely can a sale be attributed to any one factor, such as a particular ad.
Interactive television ads could help to more accurately measure results by capturing the actions of the consumer directly after viewing the ad. Did the viewer click on the ad? Did he spend much time on the website? Did he register on the site, or subscribe to email/SMS/RSS updates? Did he search for the product online? Did he use keywords from the ad in his search? Did he actually purchase the product online immediately after seeing the ad?
By tracking these results, marketers can determine whether an ad was successful in achieving "intermediate" goals, such as increasing the viewer's awareness of the brand, or improving the brand reputation in the mind of the viewers, or drawing the viewer to the website, or creating a positive brand experience for the viewer, or leading the viewer to "become a fan" and subscribe to updates. And because of e-commerce, marketers can also see when their interactive television commercials actually did lead to an immediate sale.
I think the jury is still out on how consumers will receive the idea of television and Internet rolled into one. It could be a huge success if done well. And whether or not "interactive television," as we imagine it, becomes the norm, interactive technology in general should enable marketers to make their communication more relevant and more useful to the individual consumer.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Free Movie Tickets? Where?!?
Sprint sure is doing some interesting things to promote the new Palm Pre. First there were the series of commercials for Sprint's Now Network ("the first wireless 4G network"); I first saw these spots in May at my local movie theater.
The Now Network commercials were paired with home page takeovers on sites like Yahoo, YouTube, and AOL.
Next came the "Flow" commercials for the Palm Pre itself; these commercials have been deemed "creepy" by my new favorite mobile marketing blogger, Steve Smith.
Then there is the Palm Pre website which reflects the setting of the "Flow" commercial, and which invites visitors to, among other things, "Experience the Pre ad campaign" (italics mine).
Additionally, when a person turns on the Palm Pre for the first time, they see another beautifully done video in the same earthy, "flowy" feel as the television ads.
And now Sprint has launched the "r8 it" campaign, which gives participating movie-goers in a chance to win a year's supply of free movie tickets when they rate the movies they see. Viewers can rate the movies and view poll results on the National CineMedia website NCM.com, or, better yet, via the mobile "r8 it" app.
Sprint is also partnering with ScreenVision to install interactive kiosks in 500 movie theaters across the nation. Sprint subscribers can use the kiosks to download mobile coupons for the concession stand.
So, is this intense marketing effort working?
Well, for one thing, Media Intelligencer reports that the award-winning integrated campaign was successful in sparking early interest in the Pre. According to comScore, search terms related to the Pre doubled to 216,000 during the week of the YouTube takeover campaign. That number dropped after the release of the iPhone 3G S, but rebounded in the two weeks after the Pre was released.
Another clue is the Apple iTunes 8.2.1 update, which prevents non-Apple smartphones from synchronizing with iTunes. The Palm Pre's much-anticipated ability to sync with iTunes lasted for little more than one month before Apple blocked it. Is Apple nervous about the new iPhone competitor? Or just annoyed?
It will be interesting to see how the Palm Pre fares in the smartphone market. If it succeeds as a viable iPhone rival, perhaps Sprint's extensive campaign(s) will have had something to do with it.
The Now Network commercials were paired with home page takeovers on sites like Yahoo, YouTube, and AOL.
Next came the "Flow" commercials for the Palm Pre itself; these commercials have been deemed "creepy" by my new favorite mobile marketing blogger, Steve Smith.
Then there is the Palm Pre website which reflects the setting of the "Flow" commercial, and which invites visitors to, among other things, "Experience the Pre ad campaign" (italics mine).
Additionally, when a person turns on the Palm Pre for the first time, they see another beautifully done video in the same earthy, "flowy" feel as the television ads.
And now Sprint has launched the "r8 it" campaign, which gives participating movie-goers in a chance to win a year's supply of free movie tickets when they rate the movies they see. Viewers can rate the movies and view poll results on the National CineMedia website NCM.com, or, better yet, via the mobile "r8 it" app.
Sprint is also partnering with ScreenVision to install interactive kiosks in 500 movie theaters across the nation. Sprint subscribers can use the kiosks to download mobile coupons for the concession stand.
So, is this intense marketing effort working?
Well, for one thing, Media Intelligencer reports that the award-winning integrated campaign was successful in sparking early interest in the Pre. According to comScore, search terms related to the Pre doubled to 216,000 during the week of the YouTube takeover campaign. That number dropped after the release of the iPhone 3G S, but rebounded in the two weeks after the Pre was released.
Another clue is the Apple iTunes 8.2.1 update, which prevents non-Apple smartphones from synchronizing with iTunes. The Palm Pre's much-anticipated ability to sync with iTunes lasted for little more than one month before Apple blocked it. Is Apple nervous about the new iPhone competitor? Or just annoyed?
It will be interesting to see how the Palm Pre fares in the smartphone market. If it succeeds as a viable iPhone rival, perhaps Sprint's extensive campaign(s) will have had something to do with it.
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