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.

Market Diagnosis/Profiling Questions

(Ultimate Sales Letter by Dan S. Kennedy)


1. What keeps them awake at night?

2. What are they afraid of?

3. What are they angry about? Who are they angry at?

4. What are their top three daily frustrations?

5. What are the trends in their business? In their lives?

6. What do they secretly desire?

7. Is there a built-in bias to the way they make decisions (i.e. engineers are analytical)

8. Do they have their own language?

9. Who is selling them something similar and how?

10. Who else has tried selling something similar and did they fail?

If you can answer these questions about your customers, you will be better prepared to market to them. For a FREE, no obligation, marketing consultation call Fletcher Freelance today at (715) 584-6773.