The placement of your branding is just as important as the design. Take a look at the example below to see that the old adage rings true even with branding, "location, location, location."
Being in the service industry myself I know all too well how difficult it can be to satisfy every customer, every time. When consumers are loyal to a company’s brand they are voting with their heart not just with their head. They feel strongly enough that the company will take care of them if something happens that they often will stay loyal to the brand even at a higher price. The consumer these days has a plethora of options at their disposal that it’s even more important than ever for companies to ensure to continue to focus on building brand loyalty each and every day. Studies show the total cost of securing a new customer is far more expensive than having a repeat customer so companies that build brand loyalty also often have an advantage to their bottom line. Another advantage of brand loyalty is the consumer will usually be more than willing to give referrals to their friends and family which helps these companies continue to expand their customer base.
As a consumer though, it’s not which company will never make a mistake but rather how the company responds to the mistake that makes all the difference for me. I recently was in the position of needing to buy a new set of tires for my car and given how insanely expensive tires are these days, you can imagine that I did my due diligence on getting price quotes from different tire centers. Truth be told I have been a loyal Les Schwab for many years and in the back of my mind, I knew I would probably purchase from them this time. However, they are not the lowest cost so I wanted to keep them honest by checking out their competitors. Even more importantly I have always had good service with Les Schwab and didn’t know what kind of service or lack thereof I may receive from their competitors. I decided to go with my gut and go with brand that I have been loyal to over the years. I received a competitive price and sat down in their waiting room to get some work done while I waited. I was glad to see the serviceman approach me in anticipation of telling me my vehicle was all ready to go. However, instead what I heard was the following “I apologize Mr. Schneider we have a new employee working today and he accidentally put the wrong size tires on your car. I will get “all hands on deck” and have it done for you in the next 20 minutes and again I am sorry about the mix up.” As I was paying the cashier, he had heard about the little snafu and told me not to worry, he would take care of me. It really wasn’t that big of an inconvenience as I was not running late but I appreciated the fact that he wanted to make sure I was completely satisfied and would return again. He did just that by giving me an additional discount of $60 to make up for this error. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect but all I know is that not only did I feel satisfied but I realized that I received another confirmation of why I am loyal to the Les Schwab brand. What are you doing today to build brand loyalty with your customers? It may be surprising to those who still think Social Media is all fun and games but Social Media is revolutionizing both the business world and the world in general. Naysayers continually look at Social Media as a fad and only for the younger generation but they are ignoring its ability to make the world smaller by connecting with other people, companies, and brands. If you need further proof, look no further than the following great story about how a company connected with its customer in an extraordinary way:
http://shankman.com/the-best-customer-service-story-ever-told-starring-mortons-steakhouse/ There are many other great stories that are being told on a daily basis on how companies are using Social Media to connect with their current and future customer base and also to help drive top line revenues. However, as mentioned earlier Social Media is also changing the world as we know it. There are many stories about how people have reconnected with long lost friends and family they have never met. In other words it makes this world we live in a much smaller place. Just recently a story made national news of a young man that went missing in Asia while on a trip with a group of people. His family and friends used Facebook and Twitter as a way to communicate with anyone who might have seen or heard from him. This is just one of a growing number of stories of how Social Media has revolutionized our current culture. The question then is how are you harnessing the power of Social Media in your business? For those of you who wondered whether you clicked on the right web site or if I have lost my mind; no, this is not a post on cooking. Rather, this is part of a marketing theory that author Francis Cole Jones refers to as “The Duncan Hines Cake Mike Marketing Theory.” You see when Duncan Hines was first putting their café mix together, the decision was made by their marketing department to have the egg put in at home by the customer, rather than putting a powdered egg in the box. At first glance, you might think this decision had more to do with how the cake might taste or for convenience sake but if you take a closer look, you will see the true reason they made this decision. Duncan Hines realized that by having the customer put the egg in at home, their customers are taking ownership of making a cake by simply being able to say they baked the cake. This lead their customers to truly connect to their cake mix instead of simply saying they bought the mix. Having your customers take ownership of your product or service makes them feel better about your idea or solution.
You can bet that if your product or service makes your customers feel better, they will buy from you rather than your competition more often. Having customer connect to your brand is an important marketing strategy but having your customers feel better about your products is the true icing on the cake. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist the cake reference) The next time you are marketing a new product or working on how you can better position your products or services in the market ask yourself this, “what’s their egg?” Check out this great video that shows how one company is innovating its products across multiple industries. A great example of tying your products/services to current AND future solutions. |
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