Questions that Will Improve Marketing and Brand Loyalty

Pyramid of Customer Loyalty (Brent Leary, Technology for Business Sake)

To market a mature product category one will need to focus more on intangible qualities than physical attributes. Intangibles are in direct relation to the essence of the brand or brand image. Questions to consider in marketing include:

1.       Does the product packaging give consumers what they want?

2.       Does the packaging address or promise what they want? Does copywriting address a point of pain?

3.       Does the package delivery align with consumer expectations?

The first three question focus on barriers to good marketing. Remember that for consumers, perception is reality.

4.       Can the packaging exceed expectations?

For this question focus on what the product could be. Consider attributes and perception. Use your imagination.

5.       What is the essence of the brand?

6.       Does it have value?

7.       To what extent is the brand liked/preferred?

As physical distinctions are reduced marketing must differentiate between a brand’s images, personality, or company/brand values. Connections result from the way a brand has been promoted and the way people experience a brand.

8.       How strong is the brand?

A logical conclusion, the answer to this question will develop the strategic focal point of any good marketing campaign. The objective should be to improve customer loyalty. To move from brand awareness to acceptance, brand preference to brand insistence, is tricky business. And it isn’t reasonable for all businesses to achieve brand insistence to the level that the name alone is worth what Pepsi or Mercedes is.  At this point most businesses do well simply to assess the current brand and determine its opportunity to get stronger.

*Watch for future posts on customer loyalty.

For an outside, unbiased perspective on your latest marketing efforts, bring in Fletcher Freelance. Call (715) 584-6773 today.

How to Integrate Social Media for Business, Part II

Of course, you’ve read last week’s blog. You’ve followed the tips to observe, have an objective, join conversations, watch your analytics, and are now building relationships (or at least know how to). Part two takes things a little further. Remember that community is an investment in the cultivation of affinity, interaction, advocacy, and loyalty. You need to do more than create a social profile.


Reach Out

There are ideal social media participants who are key influencers. Proactively reaching out to engage potential ambassadors will go a long way in building a rich and rewarding network, full of valuable information and quality connections. Remember that the average person can have thousands of loyal followers.

Adaptation

Social media should be used to listen, respond, and adapt to ensure a company’s place in the market. Social media introduces new roles, necessitating organizational transformation to support social media objectives. Effective engagement, production, and brand/product evolution requires human resources. Improving products and services in response to community feedback requires internal collaboration.

Organizational transformations may include the support of Social Customer Relationship Management programs or sCRM. A company will realize that all departments can be impacted by social media. A network of internal brand ambassadors must work together. The company may work from top down, starting with social media policy and education; then empowering its employees. The organization will recognize that relationships with all people, not just customers, are equal.

Metrics

If you’ve been following this blog you’ve seen my 2010 internet marketing predictions. And if you get my newsletter you've read my 2011 internet marketing predictions (email "subscribe" to terra(at)fletcherfreelance(dot)com or sign up from the blog). Over the course of time between these two, my opinion on social media metrics changed. While I initially expected executives to be expecting measures of the true return on investment of social media dollars spent, I later recanted.

Most companies now recognize that this is just what needs to be done. However, if you are reporting to superiors not interested transparency or authenticity, you’ll need to further measure your efforts. The goal of such “higher-ups” is to steer the company toward greater profits. And I did previously mention that any social media strategy needs to include a clear goal and objective.

In order to measure the positive effect of social media, you need numbers. While you may not be able to measure explicit ROI (of course, companies with Super Bowl ads, don’t either), there are plenty of numbers to track. It is essential to measure data that correlates with activity. Track the number of fans, follower, and likes. Calculate the percent of engagement (2% feedback is good). Watch how many followers are active. Identify your biggest influencers. Strive to understand the volume, locations, and nature of online interaction. As you get more involved, the important metrics will become more clear.

For help with your social media strategy call Terra today at (715) 584-6773.

How to Integrate Social Media for Business, Part I

Corporate culture and specific marketplace conditions will impact social media success. Social media integration will happen in stages for both companies and consumers (and for some industries it’s easier than others). When you’re ready to immerse your business in social media take the following steps for an improved success rate.


First, Observe

Track what’s already going on. Eavesdrop a little before you walk into a circle of conversation and try to take center stage. Enlist the aid of Google Alerts, Twitter Search, or other listening devices. On Facebook, take some time to follow other businesses. Pick a few in your area. Pick a few in your industry (outside of your area). See what works well for them and be inspired. If necessary, devise a report for higher-ups to make informed decisions to proceed.

Your research should help you form an objective and a plan for your social media integration. Don’t just start publishing content. Create official presences. Use custom URLs, usernames, and/or page names that match your company name or brand. Track how quickly connections increase.

Join the Conversation

Start by responding to any early participation. Highlight events, activities, or announcements. Pay attention to the reaction of your audience. Respond and improve content over time by watching for emotional activity. Do your fans respond to humor? To what do they lend positive support? Do they have “hot buttons” to avoid?

Watch your analytics. Being aware of the number of fans, views per comment, and frequency of consumer engagement will help you gauge your effectiveness. If the network provides you with a chart of these metrics, note which comments of yours were at the peaks and the valleys. As you get more adept at understanding what your audience wants, you’ll be better equipped to humanize the content and let your personality (brand image) shine through.

Make it Count

Hear and listen, observe responses and mannerisms. Only by doing so are you able to understand points of pain, source ideas, foster innovation, gain inspiration, learn, and feel for your audience. Observe overall trends in social media to ultimate behavior. Look for answers to questions; where to concentrate activity, how frequent to comment, and with what tone?

Of course, you cannot do everything – nor should you. Focus your online presence where you would be missed. Search for places where influential dialogue transpires. Remember that the average person can have thousands of followers and a huge influence.

Remember your objective. Aimless chatter is not as effective as strategic communications. Building trust and loyalty takes effort. Captivating content will only come by shifting to purposeful, strategic communication with a persona worthy of attention and affinity. Only such communication will lead to action.

*Be sure to check out the business page Facebook.com/FletcherFreelance!

How to Write “Speedbump” Headlines

Perhaps you’ve already read Crafting Catchy Titles, one of my most popular blog posts. It’s been so highly favored, that I decided it was time for more of the same. Well, not the same, but in the same vein.


Speedbump headlines, or even better, stop sign headlines grab attention. They make the reader stop in their tracks and reevaluate before moving on. Let me reassure you. This may seem simple; it is!

Don’t be intimidated by the thought of writing headlines. You don’t need to be a copywriter. Headlines are used for PowerPoint presentations, sales calls, emails, and more. Use these psychological triggers and you’ll be moving more people to action in no time.

Question-Based & Curious Headlines

Try a headline in the form of a question. Questions make people think harder than statements. The little squiggly question mark makes your brain want to know more. Make the question problem-based for even more power. Bring to the fore your customers “point of pain.” When you’re audience identifies with the problem they’ll be ready to solve it.

Get people curious by using the right words. Use definitives when possible. Words like “the” or “these” imply there is only one solution (or set of choices). The reader will have to read on to know what the answer is; we’re naturally inquisitive. “How to” headlines are usually curiosity based. Starting with “why” can also be highly effective.

Revise and Perfect

Make a list of several possible headlines. You’ll want to keep your headline simple. First, can you cut out unnecessary words? Ask if your headline could be a question. Does it address the correct audience and will it appeal to them? Does it address a problem? Go ahead; ask some friends or colleagues which one of your headlines “speaks” to them.

Crafting attention-getting headlines that will make viewers stop in their tracks and become readers is part science and part art. It’s worth the effort to improve your skills. The slightest difference in headline wording could bring monumental changes to your click through rate, conversions, and sales.

Got some headline ideas that you need to “bounce off” someone? Send me an email. terra@fletcherfreelance.com.

How to Improve your Public Speaking

What is the goal or objective of your presentation? Likely you want your audience to do something. To make a lasting impression on your listeners you need to stimulate the minds and hearts. Practical application has the power to influence people’s actions, thoughts, and feelings.


Your Attitude

Many speakers are by nature outgoing and confident. It is essential to maintain humility. Pride directs attention to oneself rather than educating others. Those who are more reserved will do well to focus on the message, not themselves.

Using Contrasts

John Amos Comenius, 17th-century educator wrote, “To teach means scarcely anything more than to show how things differ from one another in their different purposes, forms, and origins… Therefore, he who differentiates well teaches well.”

Drawing contrasts and making clear distinctions allow participants to see how what you’re saying differs from previous thought. Although contrasts can be drawn between two things that are not direct opposites. Distinguishing varying degrees of an idea, takes contrasting.

Contrasts are especially helpful when dealing with abstract ideas. Pairing a new thought with something already understood brings a new concept into focus. Use a physical object when possible. Visual aids are helpful as well.

Engage the Brain

Encourage your listeners to cultivate thinking ability. We like to be shown, not told. Asking questions in a thought provoking way may allow hearers to draw their own correct conclusion, affording dignity and building anticipation for what is next.

Reach the Heart

Motivational speakers in particular will benefit from understanding that it is not a matter of getting your audience to memorize facts or conform to rules. Change involves the heart, a person’s desires, affections, feelings, and motivations.

For others to benefit from your speaking you must help them connect to what is in their heart. Encourage them to analyze their motives and examine their feelings. To correct wrong ideas ask why they think, act, or speak the way they do. Follow up with a statement, illustration, or action that leads to the correct view.

Motivational speakers should teach others to ask why their current course of action appeals to them and why they react the way they do. Supply motivation for them to change their viewpoint. Changing the action will naturally follow.

You will find greater success and satisfaction in your public speaking if you first have the right attitude, use contrasts, mentally engage your audience, and reach their heart.