One of the first and most important steps in understanding both your competitor’s and your own products is, understanding the key differentiators. In other words, what influences a customer to buy your products or services rather than your competitor’s? You can bet that if your employees don’t know, your customers probably don’t know either. Companies tend to spend a lot of time educating and training their employees on product knowledge but do they incorporate this critical piece of information into their training? This is a great opportunity for companies to really stand out when it comes to educating both their employees and customers. Also, a key to having a successful marketing campaign is to position your product or solution correctly. You can’t know where to position your products if you don’t first know how they differentiate in the marketplace.
In addition, consumers are drawn to brands that are different. Differentiation comes in a variety of forms which can include the following: 1. How your company(brand) or products connects with your customer base a. This can be done on both an emotional or logical basis 2. Your customer service or lack thereof compared to the competition’s a. Is your call center outsourced or handled in-house? 3. Your product offering compared to the competition’s a. For example, the # of sku’s a company offers may offer on their web site b. How many types of options are available (color, size, etc) 4. Ease of use- How easy do you make it for your consumers to do business with you? 5. Do your customers understand how your products or services will impact them? a. Save them money, time or elevate stress, etc. Many companies state or at least it’s implied they want their customer’s feedback, but you have to wonder how serious they really are. Starbucks left no doubt where they stood on the subject in March of 2008. You see they were facing a true crossroads and there was strong doubt by their shareholders, customers and the general public as to whether their success had perked (sorry, I couldn’t resist). Howard Schultz had just return to the CEO post after a 7 year hiatus and was ready to leave no stone unturned in his desire to bring the passion, culture and love for the Starbucks brand back to where it once stood. One of his immediate goals and initiatives was to strengthen the Starbucks Brand. To do this he launched a website (mystarbucksidea.com) to give their customers a venue to offer suggestions of how to make the company better. What kind of impact did this have with their customers you ask? 7,000 ideas were posted to this site within 24 hours by their customers and they received a total of 41,000 ideas the first two months! Not only did Starbucks receive some great new ideas that were eventually implemented to help turn the company around but more importantly, this simple act showed their customers how much they valued their input. This is turned made an already strong brand, even stronger.
How easy do you make it for your customers to provide feedback? What do you do with the feedback you receive? How connected are your customers to your brand? It seems like every time you turn around there is a new business training program out there or someone has writing a book about the “latest and the greatest” way to conduct business better, or say something in a different way. When you stop to look at these programs or books, most of these are not new ideas but merely repackaged in a new or different way. As our world becomes more connected digitally and the speed of business increases, we have forgotten the motto of “keep things simple”. We have gotten sidetracked and forgot that in business it is better to inform than to impress. Companies continue to try to impress by using jargon or creating new acronyms rather than just using non-business, everyday language. As Mark Twain once said, “I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English- it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it, don’t let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in.” Today’s primary currency is not money but information. If companies are to remain leaders in their respective industries and fields, they must remain “thought leaders”. Consumers and employees look not only to their leaders for inspiration but more importantly for information. This cannot be accomplished by focusing on flashy complicated jargon but rather using language that will resonate with the audience we are trying to reach. As a salesperson or businessman, a large component of information as currency is persuasion; however this does not need to be weighted with nonsensical jargon. I believe today more than ever we have underestimated the value of persuasion. It is not only a critical part of negotiation but is used on a daily basis, in many areas of life. This can be demonstrated in simply asking for something from your boss such as additional time off or as complex as interviewing for a promotion. How important is persuasion in negotiations or day to day business? A study was done in 1995 by Donald McCloskey who concluded that one quarter of the gross domestic product is linked to persuasion. Persuasion is not about the jargon we use but rather it’s about how we say share the information and the words we use that is important. If you watched this year’s Super Bowl you saw a great example of a company that took a simple idea and advertised it in a persuasive way. Notice as you watch the video below how they avoided jargon, remained simple and yet were persuasive. In summary, keep these points in mind:
1. Use non-business speech in the workplace. “Remember, you don’t have to lose your personality when you step into your workplace on Monday morning.” 2. Avoid using acronyms. Never use your own internal company acronyms when speaking to a customer. This will inevitably make the person feel like they are an outsider 3. It is better to inform that to impress. 4. To be an industry leader, remember that information not money is today’s primary currency. 5. Straight talkers usually get more credit. In “Why Business People speak like idiots”, author Brian Fuguere, so poignantly states “When you have nothing to say jargon is the best way to say it.” When you think of your favorite brand, what emotions or feelings does that brand produce? Are they feelings of security, success or even a sense of belonging? A great brand will not only make you want to do business with them or buy their products, but will make you feel that you are someway connected to the brand. This is marketing at its best as it fulfills a human need; the need to feel that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves. This is known as “brand trust”. “Brand trust” not only produces repeat customers, but allows a company to expand their product offerings or delve into a new market at less risk that those who don’t have “brand trust”. Or said another way, each brand has at its center something that gives it strength, once “brand trust” is established, therefore allowing them to take risks. These new products become the spokes of their center strength. As a company, you must understand what your strength is before you can grow it.
A common misconception among companies is that they believe a brand is something they produce, or something it does. On the contrary, brand is how you do it. It is not the strengths or value proposition that your company or product brings to market but rather it is how your customers view your products or connect with it in a personal way. The brand may even encompass more than your actual product as in the case of Starbucks. Founder and CEO, Howard Schultz tells a story about a barista who once told him that “We are not as he once thought, in the coffee business serving people, but rather in the people business serving coffee”. Early on Starbucks realized how critical their front line employees (baristas) were to the overall brand. If they took care of the baristas by offering them great benefits and working conditions, this in turn would result in greater customer loyalty and trust in their brand. I think no one can argue about the success that Starbucks has had not only in growing their business but creating one of the truly great brands in business today. “Brand trust” is not easily earned but can be easily lost. Companies should be very cautious when they are producing new products or launching new marketing strategies. Perhaps reflecting on whether or not this product will coincide with the overall brand or asking if it will help build brand awareness. If the answers to these questions cause one to pause, these product ideas possibly have the potential to damage the brand In the end, building” brand trust” is more than just having a great marketing strategy or creating great advertisements. It is about connecting your company and products in a personal way with your customers. What are you doing to build “brand trust” Do you know what your competitors are doing? For further reading on this topic: “A New Brand World”, Scott Bedburry. |
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