Viral Differentiation and Promotion

Here's an example of viral marketing from a theater that trusts itself and its target audience.

Sure, they're mocking an irate customer. But can you imagine how much fun the theater's true customers are having sharing this content? For that matter, can you imagine how much fun the theater had making the video?

Once upon a time, the customer was always right. Implicit in that statement was the premise that every customer was always right.

YOUR customers may always be right, but if you are properly differentiated, not everyone is your customer. Take advantage of that fact, if you dare, and create a viral video for yourself.

If you do, let me know: I'll post it on Facebook and tweet it on Twitter!

Too Much Marketing

Last Saturday afternoon, I awakened from a nap to discover a lovely rainbow in my back yard. A quick turn to the left and I discovered the cause was a high-pressure leak spraying out of my hot water heater.

I shut off the water to the house, and called my plumber. That's when things went bad. You see, my plumber had sold out to another company. A marketing company.

I knew it as soon as their telemarketer picked up the phone and said "Thank you for calling XYZ Plumbing, how can I provide you with exceptional service today?"

She didn't know too much about plumbing, but tried to sell me a new hot water heater and a service contract. I demurred.

Her response, edited for brevity, went something like this: People with service contracts get priority service. Was I sure I didn't want the contract? No? Well, we'll have someone there in an hour to give you an estimate. By the way, you'll save money on the estimate with a service contract.

Before ringing off, like any good telemarketer following a script, she asked me if she could help with anything else.

An hour later, another one of the firm's telemarketers called to say the plumber would be delayed. "Should be another hour or so."

Two hours later, I called and reached a supervisor who explained that they had a man in Downey who would come by just as soon as he finished up the job he was working on.

Later that evening, the plumber finally arrived. From the moment he stepped out of his truck, he had his marketing hat on. He hadn't seen the water heater yet, but said I needed a new one. At the very least, a heater flush, with an anode replacement. And a new shut-off valve. And a new shut off valve for the whole house. And a pressure regulator. And a few more things. And of course, a service contract.

He made the pitch verbally. He wrote it up informally, and pitched it again. He asked me to appeal to my wife. He wrote it up in contract form. He mocked me for not purchasing what he deemed to be essential plumbing system upgrades. He and his company had consumed my Saturday afternoon and were well on their way to consuming my Saturday night.

Finally, he installed two 18 inch hoses, charged me $400, and left (but not before offering me a deal on the whole plumbing package if I bought within seven days).

What did I do? The same thing any of your customers would have done: I asked people I know for referrals. Within an hour of posting my query on Facebook, I had two solid recommendations, and a new plumbing company.

Too much marketing. Not enough service. Your first marketing priority must be delivering a product or service people want at a competitive price.

Post Script:
My wife called the company the next day to complain. After being transferred four times, she was offered a 10% discount on the invoice (she declined).

The day after that, we got a call from one of the company's telemarketers, asking how we liked the service. I ended the call before she had the chance to sell me a service contract.

Post Post Script:
After writing this blog entry, I checked out the company's Yelp listing. As of this writing, they have been rated by 12 customers (7 visible, 5 "filtered"). Amazingly, every single customer rated the company 1 out of 5 stars. They'll have a perfect 13 for 13 in just a few moments.

I predict they'll be out of business in no more than two years. You read it here first. Too much marketing. Not enough service.

Post Post Post Script (1/20/11):
An attorney who found out about this post has contacted me about bringing a class action suit against the company because of their unethical practices. We declined to participate, but it's another example of how bad service costs more than ever in the era of social media.

Be Careful What You Ask For

Conventional marketing wisdom says "know thy customer."

True enough. Whether you're creating a new product or service, repositioning, or trying to improve your web page's search results, you need to know your customer (and for that matter, your prospects).

What's the best way to get to know them? Ask them, of course.

But be careful what you ask for.

The problem is, your customers and prospects don't always know the answer. When they don't, they have to figure one out.

Here's what can happen. Remember the "SpokesApple" campaign by the Applebee's restaurant chain? Yeah, didn't think so.

It's a safe bet Applebee's asked well-intentioned questions of well-intentioned customers about the spokesapple before its debut.

But here's what they overlooked: no matter how they phrased the question "will our new spokesapple make you want to eat our food," their customers didn't know the answer.

They might have thought it was funny, they might have thought it was cute, it might even have made them hungry.

But the road from those "favorable brand impressions" to having dinner at Applebee's is long, and the mental steps between the two is not as direct as it may appear. Base decisions about spending your limited resources on questions that deliver a more apparent payoff.

Ask yourself a couple of questions before you start:

• Will this question generate actionable information?
  
• Does this question ask my target about something they have direct knowledge of or experience with?
  

Examples

Don't ask "which charities should our company support?"
----->Ask "which charities do you support?"

Don't ask "will this advertising make you more likely to buy our product/service?"
----->Ask "tell me about the problem our product/service solves for you."

It's good to know your customers. It's good to ask them questions to learn more about them. But be careful what you ask for... or you could end up creating the next spokesapple.

And that's practical marketing.

Added Value Networking

You probably attend a lot of networking events. Breakfasts, lunches, dinners, cocktails, grand openings, golfing, baseball games and tree plantings... the list goes on.

It can sap a lot of your time and energy, but you do it because you think it's worth it.

Is it? Here's a test:

Think back to an event you attended more than a few days ago. Picture where you were, and the organization that sponsored the event.

How many of the people you met can you name?

Now, put yourself in the shoes of the people you met. How well do you think they remember you?

Right.

We'd like to remember everyone we meet at networking events, but it's hard to do short of pulling various Lindsay Lohan style stunts.

So how can you make it happen?

Add value to the organizations and people you're networking with. It'll take time and several meetings. Here are some ideas (if you have more, please add a comment to this blog post!):

• Volunteer for the board or join a committee.
• Create or host an event.
• Help people make the right connections.
  
• Provide memorable door prizes.

Bonus points if you can add value in a way that reflects the things that make you (and your business) unique.

And that's practical marketing.

Persona Worksheet

I've been working with a client to develop personas for her business.

I looked around the Internet for some worksheets to use as a starting point, but didn't find much. So, I created a persona worksheet, and have posted it here, just for you.

If you aren't sure why you'd want to use personas in your marketing, check out my review of The New Rules of Marketing & PR.

Or, give me a call (562) 537-0678. We'll talk about how you can use personas to get more leads and sell more stuff.

2010 SoCal BizDev Conference Report

I went to the 2010 Southern California Business Development Conference today.

The conference targeted small businesses, and covered everything from the economy to raising capital to SEO. Blake Christian, CPA, gave a fact-filled presentation on using tax credits to reduce the cost of everything from buying equipment to hiring staff (contact him for a copy of his presentation).

There were a couple of thoughts from the speakers that I wanted to share.

The first comes from Eloy Oakley, Superintendent-President of Long Beach City College. After citing some of the statistics on unemployment (12.2% in California for June 2010), he charged us with solving the problem. You, he said, "are the answer to growing this economy."

Wow, how great was that? Let's not look to government. Let's not wait on someone else.

Instead, let's each of us take on the mission of getting more leads and selling more stuff.

I can't imagine a better way to get back to robust economic growth. How many new customers or clients do you need before hiring someone?

It made me want to sell something to somebody right on the spot!

The next speaker was California's Lt. Governor Abel Maldonado. He told the story of his own rise from farmer to City Councilmember to Mayor to State Assemblymember to State Senator to Lieutenant Governor. It was an inspirational story, and spoke to the potential in all of us.

But here's my favorite part: he called for legislators to be reasonable, open-minded and pragmatic.

I think that'd be good for politics, both in Sacramento and in Washington. I know it'd be good for business.

Book Review: The New Rules of Marketing & PR, Revised

Unless you’ve been living under a marketing rock for the past few years, there won’t be much new stuff in this book for you.

That being said, David Meerman Scott provides enough material in enough depth for everyone to learn a thing or two.

The highlights:

• One to one messaging is in. One to many messaging is out.
• Focus on content, not aesthetics.

I appreciated his presentation of “personas” - how they’re created and used to get more leads and sell more stuff. More than listing the whats and hows, he used them to bring the chaotic and oft-hyped elements of “new marketing” together in a strategic, coherent way.

I would have liked more details and depth in his examples, and examples and analysis of cases where "new marketing" techniques didn't work.

With Twitter analytics claiming a cacophony of 50,000,000 tweets per day, it takes more than a persona driven strategy to be heard above the noise.

How many web pages do you need to create? How many blog postings? And, if you’re going the Twitter route, how often do you tweet?

Yeah, I know: “it depends.”

I’d like his next edition to give more insight into what’s required to get “critical mass” in the new world of marketing.

Despite its shortcomings, this book is a good introduction to “The New Rules of Marketing and PR.” If you haven’t read it yet, pick it up now.

You’ll be creating personas by next week!