Win Business and Gain People

This is a take on how to win friends and influence people. Yet, reframed in a business sense with what marketers and advertisers are putting into practice today. People always want to know, or find, what they can do to get the edge on their competition. Let’s be honest, ideally they want to steal their competitor’s customers away from them. It’s a real life version of games like Monopoly but with a twist (customers instead of property). Everyone wants to be the one with all the money and all of the customers who double as brand fanatics. Well, monopolies are illegal so it’s back to how to get the edge on your competition and come out on top. Here are three practices that, when put into practice, can help you do that.

1) Target Selectively and Effectively: Kraft is a great example of this with their upcoming ID by Stride gum campaign directly aimed at teens http://bit.ly/RVSl3G. Teens have short attention spans and a hunger for new content and that’s exactly what Kraft is giving them. Kraft hasn’t just chosen their target, they know their target and celebrate them and that’s part of the appeal. Each pack of gum has a different design by a different young artist, and they celebrate the diversity of interests teens have with their “Kinda more than gum. Kinda amazing.” tagline. Their efforts reflect that with imaginative ads and online games that are kind of one thing and kind of another. The lesson being that you should narrow your target to those who will buy and know your target well enough to be undeniably persuasive. If you target selectively you’ll target effectively.

2) Choose a Tagline With Unlimited Possibilities: Toyota is the best example of this with their upcoming “Let’s Go Places” tagline http://bit.ly/V1ni5h. Considering they sell cars, this is quite possibly the best-suited tagline. It’s almost reminiscent of Dr. Seuss’ “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” if you think about it. Not only does it suggest physically going places, it also hints at new and innovative cars and the future ahead for Toyota. They’re ready to take us on a ride, and a tagline like this hints at a whirlwind tour. Case in point, if your tagline is limitless so are the possibilities for appeal.

3) Do Something No One Else Is Doing: Grey Poupon’s new Facebook campaign is as original as they come http://bit.ly/PI9wDS. Fans of the brand are being invited to apply for the “Society of Good Taste” on the brand’s page. When they do, an algorithm judges their profiles and gives them a percentile score based on their refinement. If poor taste in music, movies, grammar, art, etc. is found they are asked to refine their profiles before trying again. Their extension of this refinement theme is also admirable, with a Pinterest page full of recipes and tips on refined living. In being original, Grey Poupon does more than “cut the mustard”, they break the mold. It just goes to show that if you make a splash, people take notice.

All of these are ways to stand out and get noticed, but they’ll do more than that. By targeting selectively and effectively you maximize the potential of your brand’s appeal. In choosing a tagline with unlimited possibilities you set your brand up for a variety of applications that are sure to extend its reach. When you do something no one else has done, people take notice and you reap the benefits. Life is about more than winning friends and influencing people, it’s about winning business and gaining people. That is the true bottom line.

Tailoring Brand Approach to Customers

One might not immediately think to look to fashion when deciding how to tailor their brand’s approach to consumers. Similar to how the book “How to Win Friends & Influence People” by Dale Carnegie has served as a go-to guide for today’s entrepreneur, the fashion industry and its online approach to serving customers can serve as a guideline for any brand as they tailor their approach to customers. The approach I am referring to is one that should resonate throughout all aspects of communication. It should be present in all methods of interaction with customers: at the forefront of how employees directly deal with customers and through any direct mail, print, online or social media interaction as well. The inspiration for this post comes from a series of points discussed in Betsy Lowther’s “Social Media: In and Out of Fashion” http://bit.ly/kfutVh and Claire Cain Miller’s “Sites That Send Shoppers What They Might Like” http://nyti.ms/iZLrLp. In reading these I saw meaning in them that could be taken beyond the context of their respective articles and reframed as guidelines for brand tailoring through the interaction between brand and customer. The following is my analysis and application of these principles.

1) Be where your customers are: Lowther talks about this in her first point where she states that Tumblr.com is the new black, meaning that Tumblr.com offers a networking platform that allows people to easily share content and make it go viral. Sharing content and brand messages with as many people as possible is the best way to push your brand to the forefront. How do you do that? By interacting with customers at every opportunity. From a company standpoint this would mean that your employees are starting a conversation with customers every chance they get. Employees can make the difference between a consumer connecting with a brand or ignoring it in favor of something else that may or may not be as good of a fit for them and their needs. Likewise from a public relations standpoint in print, radio, broadcast, social media and direct mail advertising it means that you should know your audience and their preferences and interests. Knowing this information ensures that your brand message reaches them where they are most likely to see and interact with your message.

2) Enlist a relevant brand ambassador: Lowther refers to this in her second point where she mentions that brand ambassador’s need to be in-house ones that live and breathe the brand and can muse on a variety of topics within the brand space. From a company standpoint it is about educating or choosing employees who eat, sleep and breathe your brand and the lifestyle that goes along with it. You have to have the right people in place to attract the right audience and customer base for your brand. In media it would specifically pertain to social media and whoever is in charge of the Twitter, Facebook and blog updates. However, a consistent voice throughout all media is going to send the best message. It is not just about the products, there is a whole lifestyle that goes along with a brand. The more you know about your customers the better you can connect with them by appointing similar people as in-house brand ambassadors. It is important to have people in this position who have the right voice, so that more consumers are enticed to interact with your brand.

3) Personalize the experience: Miller talks about sites that act like personal shopper services, suggesting five products a month with the option to buy based off of customer surveys and prior purchases. Within the business it is important that employees focus on and listen to the customer and take note of their needs. The more questions you ask, the more you know and the better you can meet their needs. Also, the better you can meet their needs the more likely they are to come back. The same goes for media, because you need to think about the type of customer you are selling to and what will attract them to your brand. Using the word ‘you’ within your message is also a good way to make the focus more personal and persuasive.

4) Sell the lifestyle: Lowther discusses this in her last point, with reference to social content. The same goes for the sales floor and for media communication. If you are not selling them on the lifestyle that goes along with the product, and helping them envision the product in their lives, then you are not selling the product. Selling customers on the lifestyle is the clincher or the deal closer. Successfully sell them on the lifestyle and you will most likely have lifelong brand ambassadors who buy your products and spread your message.

In closing, my blog turned a year old on May 3rd. Thank you to all who have been reading and commenting and be sure to check back each week for a new post.