Our Father Who Art In Starbucks – Customers Support Brands With A Purpose

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I recently came across a major marketing study conducted by this big public relations firm called Edleman. They interviewed 8000 people. And they found that 86 percent of us want to do business with companies that have a “noble purpose” – one that goes beyond selling stuff. 86 percent!

As if it isn’t hard enough to convince us their products will grow more hair, lose more weight and create less worry when we need an erection. Now companies have to demonstrate that they care about us as much as they care about making money. It’s as if brands are more like organized religions. Choosing between coffee shops is like deciding whether you want to believe in the gospel according to Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts.

Have we consumers turned into social responsibility freaks? Used to be when you were asked”Paper or plastic?”, you could pick plastic without getting stink eye from the person next in line. I mistakenly parked in a handicap spot the other day. I received a note under my windshield wiper that read “I was going to tell you not to park in a handicapped zone, but then I realized that includes the mentally handicapped too.” Clever.

I don’t know. Maybe it’s a Darwin thing. Have we evolved into eco-sexual, howling joiners who want the companies we do business with to become causes that make the world a better place? But then, maybe it’s something else. We’ve got a Presidential candidate gaining support who sells ties made in China and who complains that our country is being destroyed by cheap Chinese labor. Perhaps it’s just that we have different standards for the people who could run our country than for companies that could improve our lives.

Whatever the reason, the days when the Mcdonald’s menu board didn’t have to remind us that our Big Mac is 583 calories have gone the way of walking a mile for a Camel. Gone too are the days when employees are more interested in making money than they are in working for a company that is driven to support a meaningful reason for being. According to this same Edleman study, the more purposeful company is one that is going to do a better job of recruiting.

Companies can always stick their head in the sand and pretend this trend does not exist. But that would only make for a bad hair day – or an itchy bald spot. In truth however, I’m not sure companies have much choice.

As for us consumers and employees, it’s a new world for us too. And one that is going to take some getting used to. Imagine… companies with a conscience. Companies that actually think of us as human beings first and consumers second. What’s next? Honest politicians?

Using Metaphors To Tell Brand Stories

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I recently heard Ellen Degeneress describe people who talk too much.

“Being with people like this,” she said, “is like being on a highway without exit signs when you have to pee.”

Back in the day, when I used to wear ties to work, a colleague once asked me, “Why do all of yours look like Walt Disney sneezed on your shirt?”

I have a friend who is a whiz at Trival Pursuit and describes herself as “the Imelda Marcos of facts nobody cares about.”

Metaphors, analogies and similes (herein they will all be lumped together as metaphors for the sake of simplicity), are very powerful tools for turning an ordinary expression into something extraordinary.  Like stories, they can simplfy the complex, wrap a fact in something that generates an emotional reaction and help us visualize abstractions.  Above all, they plant concepts firmly into our brain and help us remember things we might otherwise forget.

For these reasons, metaphors can be very powerful tools for leaders, sales people and marketers. Here are just some quick examples of how you can use metaphors to tell brand stories:

The Elevator Speech:

Instead of telling someone you’re in quality control, you might be like the guy who looks for the penny in the pile of dimes.  If you’re in R&D, you might be the company’s taste tester.  If you’re in sales, you might think of your job as the GPS that helps companies finds a better route.

For Framing Product Benefits:

Instead of talking about time-savings, you might say that your product allows a company to run longer distances without getting winded. If you’re selling improved ROI potential, it might be that your product finds profits hiding behind big rocks.  Perhaps your product controls spending. But what if you said it was like using LoJack to find lost savings?

For Technical Explanations:

You might define RAM as the number of a computer’s brain cells.  Using your data base  could be compared to a well-trained scent hound that sniffs out potential buyers. I once heard content marketing described as gifts that keeps on giving.

Whether or not these are the right metaphors to use for the specific purposes I’ve identified,  it should be clear that metaphors have unlimited potential expressing ideas simply, memorably and in wasy that engage audiences.

Coming up with metaphors

Metaphors fall into two piles. First, there are the “ stand by’s, sometimes called cliches. These are metaphors that have lost meaning from overuse,   i.e. “His head was spinning when I gave him the bad news,’ “they shot down my proposal,”  they “lit up like a Christmas tree when she talked about the bonus program.”  These may help you to clarify what you are talking about, but they hardly do much to engage listeners or wake them up to new, more identifiable perspectives.

The opposite of the stand-by metaphor is one that stands out.  If you were to think of information in terms of waves coming at you, the highest, most forceful waves are the one’s that stand out metaphors create.  You know you’ve heard one when a wave hits you with a perfect and original connection to something else with which you are familiar.

Coming up with stand out metaphors can be challenging. However, there are any number of techniques you can employ that are not within the scope of this article. For more information you can turn to Mind Tools, or you can Google metaphor lists for inspiration.  One of the simplest techniques that I have found useful is to write down on the left side of a  sheet of paper all the things you or your product does. Then on the other side write down people, places or things that do something similar. Don’t edit anything. Just free associate as many comparative actions as you can with specific actions that you or your product performs.  Sooner or later you are bound to find a stand out metaphor that is original and one you believe fits.   Once you’ve found one that you think works, test it out on different people to gauge reactions.  If you see eyebrows go up and/or a smiles coming across faces, you’ll know you have a winner.

However you arrive at them, stand-out metaphors are well worth the effort that goes into creating them.

brand's story

The Real Hero Of Your Brand Story Is Not Your Customer

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I would never even think of telling someone they have an ugly baby. Moreover, I’m not the guy who will admit that you really do look fat in those jeans if asked. However, if you believe that you should cast your customers as the hero of your brand’s story, my conscience obliges me to risk a possible insult. At the very least, I urge you to reconsider.

Don’t get me wrong. I do believe that all customers are important. Customers who aren’t, are like 39th birthdays. They only come around once. However, to regard them as important is one thing. To dress them up in the clothes of a hero is quite another.

Consider first what the word “hero” implies. Heroes are people who solve the big problem or resolve the burdening tension that few others can. They are the dragon slayers, the courageous visionaries, the people who take huge risks to accomplish unimaginable feats. As such, they become objects of admiration and emulation. Okay, you nor I might be able to do what Michael Jordan did on the courts, what Chesley Sullenberger did on the Hudson River or what a first responder does while putting life on the line for victims of some tragedy. However, these and others we designate as heroes become symbols of principles, ideals and causes we revere and choose to support.

So, if you still think your customers are heroes, perhaps you should stop trying to sell them and hire them instead.

Learn The Important Differences Between Storytelling And Storybranding

The countervailing point of view is that brands, not customers, should play the role of hero in the brand story. Taking into consideration the requirements of heroism, this too may be an overreach. However, it is possible for brands to become hero-like. Because like heroes, brands have the potential to symbolize ideals or causes people belong to and support.  People don’t wear Harley Davidson tattoo’s, become walking ads for North Face or decal their car bumpers with the name of a favorite political candidate because they are paid to do so.

 In fact, providing customers with ideals worth rooting for is one of the most important functions a brand can perform. For this reason, and in addition to becoming known for a unique functional benefit, an equal or even greater effort should be put against associating a brand with ideals it stands for.  As a matter of fact, functional benefits are eventually copied or they go the way of the typewriter, the Walkman or Windows v 1.0. However, ideals like perfection, persistence, independence, responsiveness, just to name a few–these do not have expiration dates.

It should also be said that becoming associated with an ideal does not come about through lip service.  It requires an unabiding commitment by management.  This explains how Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Howard Shultz and others turned their brands into best-selling stories. It’s also worth noting that in each of these cases, they committed to something greater than making money.  Certainly their fortunes didn’t come about by ignoring the importance of profitability.  But through ups and downs, their efforts to stand up, stand firm and stand for something meaningful remained steadfast.

Something too should be said about the need for authenticity once a brand sets out to become associated with some ideal. David Ogilvy once admonished, “Your customer is not stupid. She’s your wife.” Today’s consumer (and a certain wife I know) are not easily fooled. Authenticity demands an honest and passionate conviction.  Otherwise,  you’ll be found out.  For this reason, it’s important to let the voice that is saying “THIS is what I believe in” be the voice that leads your quest.  In case you are having difficulty hearing that voice, it could be because it’s being drowned out by the voice of that customer you refer to as “hero.” Asking your customers what you should stand for is like asking your children how to be a good parent.

Learn more about telling your Brand Story here!

holiday digital marketing

Enhance Your Holiday Digital Marketing Strategy

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The Holiday season is the busiest shopping time of the year. More and more, shoppers are researching gifts, hunting for the best deals and making purchases online without stepping foot inside of a store.

Get the most out of your holiday digital marketing campaigns by using a combination of Email, Social Media and Retargeting. Read more

senior living marketing

The Benefits Of Marketing Automation For Senior Living Communities

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Seniors today are more tech-savvy than ever before. A recent Nielson report shows that the number of adults 65 years old or older actively using the Internet has increased by more than 55 percent in the last five years. Furthermore, adult children continue to play an important role in finding quality elder care for their parents. This means that it is vital for your senior community to maintain a strong web presence, and vital for your company to reap the benefits of marketing automation, as a part of senior living marketing.

When searching for a community online, seniors and their children both expect timely responses to their questions and content that addresses their specific needs. Marketing automation helps enable senior living organizations to engage leads with relevant content, track and score each lead’s behaviour and deliver better quality leads.

What is Marketing Automation?

Marketing Automation is a tool that informs, interacts and nurtures leads as they move through the sales funnel. It is a process that manages a community’s interaction with its prospects by providing them with the right information at the right time in the buying process. By targeting content, marketing automation informs, entertains, socializes and earns the prospect’s business.

Prospects define the path through their modes of interaction, targeted search, website visits, by downloading brochures or requesting a tour of your community.

How does it work?

MA tools start with the premise of managing all levels of leads and then apply business rules, analytics, segmentation and scientific data to manage prospects in your sales funnel.

Here is an example of what a basic automated email workflow could look like:

Step 1: Email Invite

You send an email invitation to download your latest community brochure to a targeted list of contacts

Step 2: Thank You Note

You send a thank you note to all the people that downloaded the brochure.

Step 3: Follow Up Email

A few days later, you send a follow-up email to the list of people who downloaded the brochure, offering them more detailed floor plans, amenity lists and information about your community.

Step 4: Notification

Finally, when someone reads that information, your sales team will get a notification so they can follow up with them (this person is now much more qualified and is likely farther down the buying process)

Learn more about the Benefits Of Inbound Marketing

Now, put yourself in your prospect’s shoes for a moment. If this was you, receiving information from a senior community about their services and amenities, wouldn’t you prefer to get emails like the ones above over blasts you can tell they’re sending to hundreds of other people? It feels personalized like it is tailored to you and addresses your individual medical needs. This makes you much more likely to trust that community and ultimately schedule a tour.

This is the foundation of marketing automation. To provide you, as a marketer, with the ability to target your contacts and send them content that is based on their behaviour. You’re giving them the information they need when they want it. You’re easing their buying decision. And as a result, your conversion rates will increase and vacancies will decrease.

Integrating Social Media & SEO Efforts For Enhanced Search Engine Results
Sun Tzu's The Art of War May As Well Have Been About Advertising

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War May As Well Have Been About Advertising

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“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” Sun Tzu – The Art of War

Often in business, we feel like we’re on strategy, but as we move further away from when that strategy was defined, we’re really just going through the motions. Activities are being completed, but we lose site of why we are doing them and what they are supposed to accomplish. In addition, there can be changes in the marketplace, competitor’s messaging, consumer concerns and even the methods of communication. Read more

The Next Generation Of Homebuyers Is Here…Are You Reaching Them?

The Next Generation Of Homebuyers Is Here…Are You Reaching Them?

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Move over Baby Boomers, Gen Y has passed you as the largest share of the homebuying population according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Topping out at age 35, this group known as Millennials grew up online, are tech-savvy and don’t remember a time when they weren’t on a smart phone.

Most of these twenty and thirty somethings, nearly 70 percent, are purchasing their first homes and doing so because they want to own their own places. They understand the value of homeownership and more than 80 percent believe it’s a solid financial investment. That doesn’t mean they are looking to make a quick profit, though. Most expect to stay in their home for 10 years. So if you miss out on an opportunity to sell a home today, it might be awhile before you get another chance—unless, of course, a life change occurs that could prompt them to move. Read more

3D Printing Is The Future Of Manufacturing

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Innovation has driven three quarters of US economic growth over the past six decades. In fact, there have even been 646,000 new US manufacturing jobs created since the recession. The manufacturing industry has continued to move forward by connecting machinery, products, ordering, shipping, and internet databases. The constant innovation is all around us. So it is no surprise that 3D printing is a game-changer in this industry by allowing manufacturers to print layers of material-plastic, paper, metal and ceramics to make literally everything.
Read more

Make An Impact With A Pop Of Color

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I’m a sucker for anything pink. I bought my first iMac because Apple offered it in fuchsia. I got a brand-new KitchenAid in pink, even though my old one still worked. I even bought a car in red raspberry, which is as close to pink as cars come.

So imagine my delight when I walked the floor of the International Home and Housewares Show (IHHS) last week at McCormick Place in Chicago. Down every aisle pastel pinks, blues and purples captivated me while bright red, green and yellow items captured my attention. Everything from kitchen utensils to luggage…small appliances to pet supplies colorfully screamed “notice me.”
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branding and marketing

For Those Who Do Not Believe In Branding and Marketing

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So… you are one of those people that don’t believe that branding and marketing works…

Well…

Why do so many companies spend millions of dollars for just a few seconds of air-time on the Superbowl each year?

Why do millions of people flock to Starbucks every morning?

Why has Apple taken over the phone industry?

Why has Nike signed more athletes than any other brand?

These answers are way too obvious. Read more