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The Fan-Damn-Tastic Marketing Show Episode 20: Earning the Trust of Your Customers

Hey y’all! Welcome to the 20th episode of The Fan-Damn-Tastic Marketing Show! In this episode I discuss the value of appreciating the point-of-view of your customer and how it helps your brand win your customer’s trust.

Show Notes:

1:20 – History lesson: How James Baker secured a key agreement with Russia by focusing on what the Soviets needed to make the deal work for them

4:15 – A smart brand thinks like a smart politician, and considers the point of view of the customer and ‘what do they want out of this?’

4:50 – How this can be applied to your marketing and social media strategy, how to create valuable content and experiences for your customers

5:30 – Getting your customers ‘on board’ with your efforts by addressing their wants and needs

6:30 – Customer-centric marketing wins trust.  Period.

8:30 – Creating a win-win, what do we (the brand) get out of this, what does the customer get out of it?  Both parties need to benefit.

 

Here’s where you can download and listen to the episode directly.  And if you can, please subscribe to The Fan-Damn-Tastic Marketing Show on iTunes, and I would *love* it if you could review the podcast on iTunes as well.  Also, #FanDamnShow is now available on Stitcher as well! BTW, thank y’all SO much for helping to grow #fandamnshow, I will have a comprehensive write-up tomorrow here, but the number of downloads grew in March by 170% over February!  Love that the show is starting to build momentum, and I’ll talk about that more tomorrow.

Thanks for listening!

 

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Why Are Brands Trying to Publicly Shame Their Customers?

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Seriously, what are brands thinking today?  And I’m not even talking about the ones that throw a pool party for their customers that involves knockout-gassing them.  Specifically, I want to talk about two brands that recently launched campaigns to engage with their customers at the point of sale, and why both efforts immediately fell flat.

First, there’s McDonalds’ ‘McLovin’ campaign.  This short-lived (thankfully) campaign ran the first 2 weeks in February, and the idea was simple: Customers would be randomly selected to pay for their meal with ‘McLovin’.  So when you go to pay for that Big Mac, you’re told it’s free, all you have to do is hug the 5 total strangers that are standing in line behind you.  Or maybe you have to join the staff in a dance-off, or maybe you have to call your mom and tell her you love her, while the staff listens in and cheers you on.  But the upshot of publicly embarrassing yourself is that you get a greasy $3 sandwich for free.  Which of course makes it all worthwhile.

Starbucks’ #RaceTogether campaign is a bit different.  Starbucks employees put #RaceTogether stickers on cups, and were encouraged to prompt customers to talk about the racial issues in this country when they place orders.  You can imagine the reaction, it’s 8am, you are half groggy and want to grab a coffee to wake you up before heading to a the office and a barista asks you what you think about race in this country.  This might be a healthy conversation to have, but asking half-asleep customers in a crowded Starbucks is not the ideal place to initiate that conversation.  Starbucks immediately caught backlash over this effort, ended it after about a week, then claimed it was the plan all along to end it after a week.

What’s really odd about both these efforts is that they aren’t just making the customers uncomfortable in many instances, but think about how the poor employees feel?  Can you imagine being an introvert working the front line at McDonalds and being told you have to get a middle-aged man to pay for his meal with ‘McLovin’ by following him around the restaurant taking 3 selfies with random customers?  Or being an introvert working at Starbucks that’s required to spend the day encouraging total strangers (customers) to talk to you about race relations in this country?  In both cases the employees are likely to feel as completely awkward as the customers do, which only makes the situation much worse for everyone.

But curiously, it seems that Howard Schultz, Starbucks’ politically-active CEO, is intent on pushing forward with the idea of having his employees start a conversation about hot-button political issues with Starbucks’ customers.  Imagine trying to buy a coffee at Starbucks, then when you go to pay, the barista informs you that your price depends on your stance on legalizing marijuana.  Or gun control.  Or marriage equality.  Or another hot-button political issue that is honestly none of Starbucks’ damned business what your views are.

Brands are looking for ways to engage customers and build loyalty.  I get it. And a little out-of-the-box thinking can be great sometimes.  But if you truly want to build an amazing brand, all you really have to do is nail the fundamentals.

For example: I went shopping at Publix yesterday.  The cart was new and the wheels rolled like a champ (Hi, Wal-Mart!).  Every employee I encountered in the aisles was friendly and helpful.  Sales were everywhere, the prices were the lowest in the area for several items I buy regularly.  Then when I went to pay for my items, a manager rushed up and unloaded my buggy for me.  The woman that checked me out was friendly, remarked that she’d seen me here before, and thanked me for coming back.  Then when she finished she told me to come back soon.  Then the girl that loaded up my buggy begged profusely to let her follow me to my car and unload the buggy for me.

The fundamentals.  Treating your customers as friends and people that you want to continue to do business with.  I feel appreciated every time I go to Publix, which is exactly why I keep going there.  The crazy thing is, McDonalds launched the McLovin’ campaign to try to boost sagging sales.  If they want to boost sales, all they have to do is tell the cashiers that the next time they are all standing around up front chatting, to instead walk out to the restaurant area and ask the customers if they need anything.  Ask them if you can refill a coke for them, or take their tray to the trash.  It will take them a few seconds, and shock the hell out of the customers.  Just treat your customers with respect and gratitude, and leave the silly gimmicks and public-shaming of customers initiatives in the trash can where they belong.

Pic via Flickr user Tony Fischer

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The Fan-Damn-Tastic Marketing Show Episode 19: Learning From Your Unhappy Customers

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Hey y’all! Welcome to the 19th episode of The Fan-Damn-Tastic Marketing Show! In this episode I talk about the value of your unhappy customers (don’t you love that quote?).  Unhappy customers are such an amazing source of vital business feedback that is often overlooked.  We’ll talk about harnessing that value in this episode of #fandamnshow.

Show Notes:

1:30 – Why you should listen to your unhappy customers

3:00 – Two types of unhappy customers, and the differences between them

3:15 – Why your fans are sometimes not the best source of feedback when it comes to your business’ problems

4:45 – Fans sometimes re-interpret problems as actually being positives or non-issues

9:20 – Unhappy customers will go the extra mile to bring issues to your attention.

 

Here’s where you can download and listen to the episode directly.  And if you can, please subscribe to The Fan-Damn-Tastic Marketing Show on iTunes, and I would *love* it if you could review the podcast on iTunes as well.  Also, #FanDamnShow is now available on Stitcher as well! Thanks for listening!

Pic via Flickr user Celestine Chua

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Marketing Your Customer’s Passions: How Pedigree Invests in Happier Dogs

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Pedigree isn’t marketing dog food, it’s marketing happier dogs.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post talking about how smart brands don’t market their products, they market the passions of their customers.  Red Bull isn’t selling energy drinks, it’s marketing and investing in extreme sports and activities.  Or what happens after you drink its product.  Patagonia isn’t marketing its clothing, it’s marketing the beliefs and passions of its customers, such as sustainability, being active outdoors, and protecting the environment.  Both companies are smart enough to focus on their customers’ passions, moreso than just their products.  Any marketing done for its products is done in a way that relates and connects with the passions of its customers.

Pedigree is another company that taps into its customers’ passions with its marketing efforts.  Pedigree is marketing to dog owners.  Obviously.  But dog owners don’t just love their dog, they love all dogs.  They care for all dogs and want all dogs to live happier and healthier lives.

Pedigree does too.  Of course, Pedigree markets that its dog food helps dogs live happier and healthier lives.  But that’s not going to resonate with customers, because all dog food manufacturers market that their dog food will improve the life of your dog.  So when Pedigree says that it loves dogs like you do, it doesn’t resonate because it sounds like marketing.

But that’s not all Pedigree does.  The dog food manufacturer actively invests in creating better lives for dogs, especially shelter dogs.  Pedigree is committed to helping shelter dogs live happier and healthier lives, and here’s three ways they follow through on this commitment:

1 – The Pedigree Feeding Project.  Pedigree partners with shelters across the country to provide them with free dog food.  The idea is that by getting better food and a better diet, these shelter dogs will be healthier, more active and energetic, which will increase their chances of being adopted.  Plus, it helps alleviate the costs of running the shelter for the owners, allowing them to spend more time and money on finding parents for their dogs.

2 – Pedigree Shelter Renovation Project.  Pedigree has partnered with GreaterGood.org and country music superstar Miranda Lambert to renovate dog shelters around the country, giving dogs places to play, and free dog food.  The idea again being that happier and healthier dogs will be adopted faster.

3 – Pedigree Adoption Drive.  This is the effort you are probably the most familiar with from Pedigree’s commercials.  The message is simple, adopt a dog.  You see commercials like this featuring Echo, who isn’t adopted:

And then he is….

 

By actively investing in initiatives that help dog shelters and make it easier for shelter dogs to be adopted into caring families, Pedigree is communicating to its customers that it shares their passion for happier and healthier dogs.  This makes the brand more interesting (and trustworthy) to customers because its rooted in larger ideas and themes (dog adoption, helping dog shelters renovate, helping shelter dogs get adopted by loving families) that the customer is passionate about.

It’s not about marketing the product.  It’s about marketing the larger passion that the product is a part of.  That larger passion is what customers care about.  Customers don’t care about your product until you help them realize how your product connects to the larger idea/theme/belief that they are truly passionate about.

If you can do that, then your customers will become just as passionate about your brand.

PedigreeAdopt

 

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The Fan-Damn-Tastic Marketing Show Episode 17: Customer Acquisition vs Customer Cultivation

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This is a graph I drew to give you a visual representation of The Communication Gap between most companies and their customers.  The blue shading on the left represents the desired level of communication from the company’s side.  The company wants to communicate with almost all new and potential customers.  The number of existing customers the company wants to communicate with falls sharply, and the company makes little effort to communicate with its customers that have some brand affinity, and its brand advocates.

On the right side, the red shading represents that customers that do want to communicate with the company.  It’s almost all brand advocates, some customers with brand affinity, then a sliver of existing and new customers.

But note the purple sliver at the bottom.  This represents customers that want to communicate with the company, and that the company is communicating with them.  Also note that the company tries to communicate with its customers when they aren’t looking for communication (new and existing customers) then when they are wanting to connect (when they develop some affinity for the brand and become advocates), the company stops trying to talk to them.  It’s completely backwards and creates a huge communication gap in the middle of the customer’s journey from being a new customer to becoming an advocate.

When it comes to communication there’s a massive disconnect between what customers want and what companies are giving them.  The reason why is because companies are focused on customer acquisition when they should be focused on customer cultivation.

And that’s what I’ll be talking about during this episode of The Fan-Damn-Tastic Marketing Show!

Show Notes:

0:40 – The disconnect between customer acquisition and customer cultivation.

1:00 – Companies focus on acquiring new customers, but do little to cultivate existing customers.

1:30 – An explanation of The Communication Gap graph, which is posted above.

4:15 – Most of us do not want to talk to brands that we have no affinity toward.  ‘Your brand is not my friend.’  But if I am an advocate for your brand, I do want to connect with you.

5:00 – There needs to be a balance between focusing solely on acquiring new customers, and cultivating existing ones.  Customer cultivation helps transition existing customers into advocates for your brand.

6:10 – Can your company connect with me on a bigger level than simply your product?

6:40 – Notice how the orange shaded area almost perfectly overlaps the customers that rock stars focus on.  Rock stars do the exact opposite of companies, they focus almost solely on marketing to current fans, vs new customers.

7:45 – The Communication Gap is basically a hole where customers leave you.

9:00 – The value of creating a communication plan that focuses on the differing communication needs of each type of customers, to help new customers transition to eventually becoming brand advocates.

11:00 – We trust fellow customers more than we do a brand we have no connection with.

 

Here’s where you can download the episode directly.  And if you can, please subscribe to The Fan-Damn-Tastic Marketing Show on iTunes, and I would *love* it if you could review the podcast on iTunes as well.  Also, #FanDamnShow is now available on Stitcher as well! Thanks for listening!

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The Fan-Damn-Tastic Marketing Show Episode 16: Building Better Word of Mouth

Hey y’all! Welcome to another episode of The Fan-Damn-Tastic Marketing Show.  This is the business podcast devoted to helping your company create and cultivate new fans, as well as helping you better connect with your existing fans.  Today’s episode talks about Word of Mouth, and the different types of WOM.  Did you think that all WOM, even all positive WOM is the same?  It definitely is not, and this episode talks about how WOM is different based on the customer and how to cultivate the best WOM among your fans.

Show notes:

1:00 – The business value of Word of Mouth

1:20 – Different types of Word of Mouth created by customers

1:45 – Better Word of Mouth is more effective WOM.  But what constitutes ‘better’ Word of Mouth?

3:00 – Customers that have more in-depth knowledge of your products can create better Word of Mouth about your products.

5:10 – Most companies leave their ‘high-level’ fans alone, but these fans create the best WOM, and should be encouraged.

6:10 – What can you do to improve the understanding and WOM generated by your customers that only have a basic understanding of your products and how to use them?

8:00 – There are levels to Word of Mouth. Fans that have a better understanding of your products create ‘better’ WOM.  Think of 101 level understanding creating 101 level WOM vs 401-level understanding creating 401-level WOM.

9:00 – What can you do to move the 101-level fans up to 201, then 301 then 401-level?

 

As always, #FanDamnShow’s amazing opener and closer is produced by the fantabulous Kerry O’Shea Gorgone.

Here’s where you can download this episode directly.  And if you can, please subscribe to The Fan-Damn-Tastic Marketing Show on iTunes, and I would *love* it if you could review the podcast on iTunes as well.  Also, #FanDamnShow is now available on Stitcher as well! Thanks for listening!

 

 

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It’s Not About Social Media ROI, It’s About Marketing ROI

SocialMEdiaSmallLet’s say you are the CMO at your company, and the CEO is demanding that sales for Product A increase by 10% above your projections for the next fiscal year.  He also says that you can only make one change to the marketing mix.

 

Would you:

A – Move billboard placements in Product A’s Top 10 markets from the interstate to downtown locations?

B – Launch a company blog designed to better explain the features, qualities and benefits of Product A?

C – Divert budget to more television ads designed to show why Product A is a better fit for customers than the competitor’s Product B?

D – Move all grocery end-cap displays in Wal-Mart up to the front registers?

 

In Marketing 101 class we learned about the AIDA model of consumer behavior.

A = Awareness

I = Interest

D = Desire

A = Action

 

Awareness leads to Interest leads to Desire leads to Action.  Note that the purchasing happens at the Action portion of this model.  So if we are looking at the individual components of a marketing plan, how do you define the ROI of tactics that comprise the Awareness portion of your plan?  In theory, you cannot, because customers aren’t ready to buy at this stage of their purchase journey.  This is why you create a comprehensive marketing plan that makes customers Aware of your product, that builds Interest in the product, then a Desire to Act.

When the smoke clears, you have a marketing plan that you can judge the ROI of.  But it doesn’t make sense to judge the individual tactics of a comprehensive plan from a ROI perspective.  No matter how much it wants to, your billboard on Highway 23 can’t close a sale for you.  At best, it can make your customers Aware of your product and make them Interested and increase their Desire to buy, but it can’t convert on the Action of buying.

So what does that mean for you, the social media manager at your company that is trying to explain and perhaps even defend why your company should be using social media to connect with customers?

It starts with having an honest discussion about what social media can and cannot do for your business.  First, social media has never worked well as a channel to facilitate direct sales.  Social media works best as an interaction channel, as a way for people to engage each other and be social.  Direct sales isn’t an activity that functions well in the middle of social conversations online anymore than pitching strangers chatting on the front porch on Sunday afternoon does.

So if social media works well as a channel for people to have interactions and discussions and to share content, then your business needs to find its value within those functions of the channel.  You want to be aware of how your current and potential customers prefer to use these tools, and work within those constraints.

What type of interactions do they prefer?  And with who?  With your brand, or with fellow customers?

What type of content are they creating?

What type of content are they sharing?

The idea is that you want to use social media in a way to connect with your customers and create value for them.  You create value for your customers by enhancing their experience via social media tools.  By giving them the type of high-quality content they are looking for and need.  By helping to facilitate the type of interactions they want and need (Hint: They don’t want to be sold to, they do want help dealing with a problem setting up your new laptop they just bought).

The best way to achieve your goals for social media is to help customers achieve their goals for social media.  Understand why your customers are on social and you will understand how you can create value for them via these channels.  That value will enhance your overall marketing results, which will lead to an increase in marketing ROI.

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‘Badass: Making Users Awesome’ is the Best Business Book You Can Buy in 2015

I could not be more excited to be holding this book!  Badass: Making Users Awesome is the best business book you can buy in 2015.

Period.

Badass starts with a simple challenge: Create a bestselling product.  Without marketing, without competing on price.  The book challenges you to think about what makes a successful product?  Why did this social media book become a New York Times Bestseller and this one did not?  Why did this software suite from Adobe sell a million copies while this one from Roxio was a bomb?  What makes Product A successful while Product B (that has the same or very similar features, and pricing) is not?

“The key attributes of sustained success don’t live in the product.  The key attributes live in the user.” (page 21)

Bam! It’s not about making a better product, it’s about making a better user of your product!  It’s about making your users and customers be Badass, and Kathy teaches you exactly how.  Not only does she teach you how to create badass users, she shows you why so many companies fail to create badass users.  She shows you how the new user becomes the badass user.  How they change along the way, how the way they use your product changes, and how they view that product and your brand changes.

Perhaps the biggest marketing takeaway from this book is the difference between how most companies market their product versus how most customers want to use your product.  Most marketing is focused on the product, or tool.  But most customers are more interested in what the tool allows them to do.  It’s not about the DSLR camera, it’s about me being able to take amazing pictures.  It’s not about the chemical composition of the carnauba wax, it’s about me being able to give my red car that gorgeous ‘wet’ wax look.  The best marketing isn’t about your products, it’s about the larger context that your products lives in, that I am passionate about.

That passion is what can drive me to be Badass.  And if your company is creating Badass users, it’s ensuring its long-term success.

Now, a word about the actually book itself: This is a simply gorgeous book.  First, it’s printed on very slick and high-quality paper, which feels far superior to the standard newsprint-y paper stock that most business books use.  Second, the book has literally hundreds of visuals, graphs and charts that enhance learning, and add to the value of the book.  Here’s an example:

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So colorful and a very welcome break from the walls of text you see in too many books.  And for fans of Kathy’s Creating Passionate Users blog, these graphs and visuals are right in line with what we’ve come to expect from Kathy.

As you know from reading this blog, I was thrilled to have Kathy agree to write the foreword for my first book, Think Like a Rock Star.  What you may not know is that Kathy co-created the Head First series of programming books, published by O’Reilly.  This series has been so successful that Kathy’s books have sold over one million copies.  Yeah.  A big reason why these books have been so successful is because of how Kathy organizes the information in her books to help facilitate learning.  It even includes worksheets and spaces for you to create your own formula for who your ideal Badass user would be, what they would be able to accomplish if they were Badass, etc. She was kind enough to help me greatly with the structure of Think Like a Rock Star in this regard, but of course she did a much better job with her own book 🙂  Which is one reason why Badass is going to be a hit.  The bottom line is if you bought and enjoyed Think Like a Rock Star, you absolutely will love Badass, probably moreso.

“You have the chance to help people become more badass not only at using your tool within a meaningful context, but badass at life.” (page 282)

Word. Badass:Making Users Awesome is the best $20 you can invest in your business this year.  Buy it right now at Amazon.

(Disclosure: Kathy is a friend and so are you.  I believe in helping my friends be awesome so that’s why I want you to buy this book.  Now, go!)

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The Fan-Damn-Tastic Marketing Show Episode 15: Sometimes the Customer is Wrong

Hey y’all!  Welcome to the 15th episode of The Fan-Damn-Tastic Marketing Show! In this episode we will delve into the idea that ‘The Customer is Always Right’, and look at two examples when this might not be the case.    If you enjoy this episode then please subscribe on iTunes!

Show Notes:

1:00 – Why we say ‘The Customer is Always Right’

1:45 – There are certain cases where the individual customer can be wrong

2:05 – Sometimes a customer may demand a free product or service and threatens to complain online if you don’t give them what they are asking for

3:00 – How to handle this situation correctly

6:30 – Your fans view themselves as owners of your company and brand

7:15 – Some fans demand that you not only listen to them but act on their suggestions, even if they aren’t feasible or possible

10:00 – How to respond to fans that believe you have to do what they are suggesting, ‘my way or the highway’

 

Here’s where you can download this episode directly.

 

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The Best Marketing Isn’t Focused on Your Product, its Focused on My Passions

Did you notice something about the commercials for this year’s Super Bowl?  Besides the fact that this was a pretty weak crop of ads, the few that did stand out had something in common.  These spots weren’t really about a product as much as they were about passions and beliefs.

Self-image, especially among young girls.

Online bullying.

Caring and loving others.

Think about your passions.  The things, ideas, people and beliefs that you care about. These are the things that move you, that don’t just hold, but arrest your attention.

The vast majority of the marketing in this country is aimed at promoting products.  But the small percentage of marketing that breaks through the clutter and grabs your attention typically has one common trait:  The best marketing isn’t focused on a product, it’s focused on the passions of its customers.

Watch this Red Bull commercial and ask yourself “What product is Red Bull selling here?”

I would argue that this spot isn’t designed to sell Red Bull’s energy drink.  It’s designed to sell what happens after you drink it.  Freedom.  Individual accomplishment.  Pushing your personal boundaries and reaching goals that you thought were out of reach.

These are themes that many of us are passionate about.  Very few of us are passionate about an energy drink, and Red Bull knows that.  So instead, the company focuses its marketing on the ideas, themes and beliefs that its customers are passionate about.

And in turn, that helps Red Bull’s customers become more passionate about Red Bull.  The key to successful marketing isn’t to promote your product, the key to successful marketing is to promote the passions and beliefs of your customers that your product fits into.

Patagonia is another company that markets its passions moreso than its products.  In 2011, Patagonia launched a ‘Don’t Buy This’ campaign encouraging customers to think twice about whether or not they really needed a new coat or jacket.  Or if they decided to buy one, buy used versus new.  The campaign from Patagonia was at attempt to combat materialism and consumerism.

And it didn’t work.  Patagonia’s sales spiked 30% as a result.  Why did this happen?  Because customers felt that Patagonia’s beliefs and passions were in line with their own, and as a result they felt that Patagonia was trustworthy, so they bought from the brand.  Patagonia’s marketing resonates with customers because it’s clearly focused on the company’s beliefs, not the company’s products.  Customers that share those beliefs, are drawn to the company’s marketing as a result.

If you want to grab my attention, stop focusing on marketing your products and instead focus on my beliefs.  More specifically, craft your marketing messages so that you explain to me how your products relates to the ideas, beliefs and themes that I am already passionate about.

Do that, and you’ll win my business.