Marketing-Fix: 100-Words-On

“Not even our friends wanted to come and watch us dance.”
–Rasta Thomas,
classically trained dancer

In under three years Rasta Thomas has done ‘the impossible’: creating an internationally-acclaimed, self-supporting dance company revered by 18-34 year olds.

Yes fellow marketers, 18-34 year olds into dance theater.  How?

Mozart—out                U2—in
Tights—out                 Tee-shirts—in
Scenery—out               Multimedia—in

Most importantly:

Willowy girls—out       Humpy boys—in

As Rasta explains: women love dance.  They want to see guys.  They’ll drag their boyfriends.

So, does this apply to the ‘real world’?

Absolutely:

Identify your customers and what they want—before writing that 16 page product description.

Create differences that benefit target customers—give ‘em what they want and when they want it.

Deliver in ways that delight and exceed expectations—who wouldn’t want to see: The Bad Boys of Dance?

“Can’t you just bang it out?  I mean, it’s just copy?”
-anonymous client

People’s indifference to the importance of words surprises us—particularly today.

Paraphrasing irrepressible PR maven Peter Shankman: if you only have 140 characters you’d better know how to write—and make sense.

When writing why not:

• Be concise—there’s no time for long, turgid prose today.

• Be specific—readers respond to solid facts and benefits.

• Be creative—clichés don’t cut through the clutter.

Compare:

“Between the talk and the walk, opportunity is found”

“Meet America’s first family of precision”

with

“At-cost investing—that’s Vanguarding”

These are all financial services headlines.  Whether or not “vanguarding” should ever be a verb, only Vanguard conveys their business, services and benefits.

If you can’t write, then as Shankman suggests: take a course or hire a writer to help.

P.S. You can also check out Jonathan Graspa’s “I’ve got copy on my mind” blog post for 7 great tips!

“Wow–customer ratings in real-time.”

“Whoa–it’s $20 cheaper at Amazon.com”

Integrating physical stores–and places like hotels and museums–with web-based information via smart phones is being presented as a “revolution” for retailers as diverse as Target and Norma Kamali.

We see the appeal.  Customers can access information, locate products or purchase instantly.  Retailers get deep analytics and improved customer-service relationships, cost-effectively.

Does this change everything–or is it just a new “cool tool”?

The best retailers–from Anthropologie to Zara–work overtime creating unique, multi-dimensional experiences that customers love, identify with and return to repeatedly.

Beyond obvious downsides–including privacy issues, and electronic glitches, remember: the same technology also lets us point, click and possibly find the same product at a better price elsewhere (check out RedLaser.com).  Then, we’re outta there.

We suggest: differentiating, differentiating and then differentiating some more.

“I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars;
I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.”
–Warren Buffet

Reviewing direct response results recently reminded us that: timing is everything—in marketing as in life.

We see a tendency to fall into two camps:

“If it’s not broken, why fix it?” laggards and “Why not change it now?” anticipators.

A middle ground may be better, albeit less dramatic.  We’d propose:

Analysis—very few efforts hit a wall, most wither slowly away.  Monitoring results closely signals when it’s time to change.

Patience—we tire of campaigns long before customers do. When something works, keep at it.  If it’s new give it time to sink in.

Testing—when it’s time to move on, move carefully. If possible, hedge your bets by trying several options.  None of us “know” what works without trial balloons.

See you at the 1-foot bar!

$500,000
is the New
$1,000,000

-Lisa Spellman
303 Gallery

Extreme, but this did make us wonder, particularly as consumer confidence dips to a 28 year low:

How do businesses adapt to seismic changes without diluting their brand’s DNA?

Embracing one “big” idea appeals. But pitfalls abound with popular strategies:

Slashing prices to improve short-term results. What happens after customers experience “luxury for less”?  Once Lucky’s $200 “premium denim” is $98, “luxury” may lack credibility there indefinitely.

Rushing “me-too” products to protect market share or exploit hot niches. Tried-and-true, but prone to backfiring if features or functionality are missing—think of Microsoft’s Zune music player.

Increasing marketing to buy share. Bold, but alienating if efforts don’t synch with the times.  Chanel advertising logo-emblazoned $4,500 boots, cringe-making.

Less sexy, but addressing and adapting all business aspects surgically can produce results without gutting your brand. Examples from H-P to Lululemon seem apt.

“It’s Sony.  No, no, I can show you.”

“I have no what it’s called.”

“Just a regular old phone.  A Verizon?”

Okay, we’ve all heard it hundreds of times: surviving rapidly changing times with overwhelming choice and message bombardment requires pushing the envelope with compelling product offerings and distinctive marketing.

It’s become cliché, but how many succeed?

Trendwatching.com’s video: Blanding vs. Branding stopped us in our tracks. Watching dozens unable to identify their cell phone brand suggests less than we’d hoped.
A few thoughts:

Listen to outliers. The ‘offbeat’ or ‘weird’ might make sense.  Twitter, who knew?

Move way outside your comfort zone. Coach’s colorful, next-generation Poppy collection may be successful because it’s so “not Coach.”

Don’t drink the Kool-Aid. Group-think kills great ideas and carries many dubious projects too far.  Did anyone need a Lincoln pick-up truck?

100 words on:
Targeting, targeting, targeting

“A personal offer for…

Mr. Smith or
Current Resident”

As 2010 approached, “special” year-end offers and charitable solicitations
increased dramatically—as expected.

Less expected was how many communications overlooked  proven, effective
direct-response tactics.

- Segment: tailoring whom to communicate with is as important as the
message.  Is a “beg letter” from a foundation I’ve barely heard of asking
for five figures in cash or appreciated stock (cheeky) wise?  Ask
appropriately—or not at all—until there’s a relationship.

- Quantify: specifics matter, particularly as the economy hinders
spending—or donating.  Am I going to buy pricey headphones “significantly
quieter” than earlier models?  Not unless you prove it.

- Personalize: addressing the recipient directly improves results.  Does a
generic brochure to lease a Jaguar motivate me?  Nope.  We want to feel
special—personal notes, relevant facts or customized offers convey that
you know me.

More products

More media choices

More places to purchase

Fewer customers???

Author Joe Jaffe* suggests that as electronic marketing options proliferate, companies may run out of customers.

Media continues fragmenting.  Products risk becoming commodities from over-exposure.  Both contribute to increased new-customer acquisition costs.

Conversely, electronic media makes connecting with current customers easier, cheaper and more effective.

We’ve worked in retention for years, and couldn’t agree more.

Re-evaluating the importance of current customers must be front and center. Consider:

What’s the value of repeat customers? As acquisition costs increase from 10X the cost of re-marketing, possibly priceless.

What’s the optimal, efficient allocation of marketing dollars? We all want to fill the hopper, so many favor customer acquisition.

Actually, marketing to current customers builds a profitable revenue stream that helps insulate companies from unexpected changes.

Naturally, you’ll keep hearing from us.

* P. S.  Jaffe, Chief Interrupter at Powered, Inc. just wrote Flip the Funnel, check out an excerpt at MarketingSherpa, it’s worth registering.

Valet Parking Fee
vs.
Hotel Energy Surcharge

Late Payment Fee
vs.
Courtesy Reinstatement Charge

Watching fees multiply, we wonder:

Do companies really attempt to put the customer first?

Or, even try to create the perception that they care?

To us, valet parking charges feel appropriate: “I have a car, need to
park it, and he doesn’t.”

Resort usage fees, Internet charges and similar nickel-and dime tactics
over hefty room rates inflame: “I’m already paying to be here.”

Why not adjust rates marginally, and seem magnanimous?

In finance, late fees may be egregiously large, but seem quid-pro-quo for
having credit: “I was late paying, they win.”

Imposing additional “courtesy fees” on delinquent customers attempting to
get current screams: “Fat-cat bankers getting rich on our backs.”

Fees can benefit bottom lines enormously.  Why not craft and use them
artfully?

You could be a hero, not a demon in your customers’ eyes.

We applaud efforts to eliminate silos and integrate product lines, marketing messages and communication channels.

But wonder if efforts are nearly as integrated and synergistic as many suggest.

Consider:

Have marketing goals—and messages—been integrated? Cutting through the 2,000 plus advertising impressions seen each day often works better with consistency.

Is the marketing calendar integrated? Overlapping communication may dilute the response to either effort.  We recently learned of: “NEW Designer Clearance” in the AM and “NEW Designer Arrivals” in the PM.

Can like products be bundled better? Perhaps offers for brokerage and banking or spa and salon services make more sense as “financial solutions” or “beauty central” than as separate products.