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Posts Tagged ‘Marketing’
Second Screens
Friday, February 3rd, 2012 by David MorganSeventy to Eighty percent of those who watch TV, also are watching a “second screen” during the same time. That second screen is a smartphone, Ipad, or laptop. And what are we doing? We’re checking email, surfing the web, and looking up material that has to do with the show we’re watching! This weekend will be no exception. During the Super Bowl, there will be “calls to action” by many advertisers to take their commercial message one step further– to watch that second screen. Viewers will be able to see “the real story” behind the commercial, see “what happens next”, and participate in polls.
The “second screen” will be with us (at home at least…) for a long time. There are apps that “listen” to your TV, determine what episode you’re watching, and give you more information about the show. And this weekend, we can watch the Coke bears–(one bear per team) watch and react to the game!
(so, instead of watching the game, we can watch bears watching the game…hmmmm)
Marketers will have to consider second screens in the future. Are they distracting, adding, or just complicating the message?
Have a great time this weekend—whatever screen you use.
Second Visit Treats!
Friday, January 6th, 2012 by Jason StrattonOne Sunday last month, I started my day off with a vente iced vanilla latte with soy and double shot at 7:45am. Yes it’s true; I am the only farm boy I know that loves Starbucks and all things gold card. To my surprise, the cashier asked if I had heard about “our Treat Receipt?”. The bottom of my receipt read “Your cold grande drink for $2! Show this receipt after 2 p.m. and get any cold grande drink for $2 (+ tax if applicable.) Participating stories. Same day only.)” So of course I took them up on the offer at 2:15pm for a second wind caffeine fix. The Sunday to do list practically checked itself off with that much caffeine in my system.
Bottom line, Starbucks got $2.00 more out of me because of the treats. Just imagine if you could get the same customer inside your location twice in one day or twice in one week or even twice in one month. How much would it cost you to invite them back? How much incremental revenue could you gain? How much do you stand to lose over the lifetime of a customer who feels un-welcomed in your location?
The idea is simple, but developing and implementing the plan can be a challenge. In this case, the cashier knew the program, engaged me by asking “Have you heard about our (fill in the blank with your treat).” and most importantly, she took ownership with a smile. I was already a Starbucks lover and now it’s gone to the next level. If you would like a partner to help you develop and implement your “treat”, you know who to call – Force 5.
Can you Insure Me from Myself?
Monday, November 7th, 2011 by Jason StrattonSetup Picture – I am sitting at the Apple Genius Bar, ya I know they call it a “Bar” but not a drink in sight, working through my iPhone issues with the savvy, half shaven, twenty something, blue t-shirt wearing apple genius who is just about finished with my antenna issue. When to my surprise the next customer introduces himself to my genius with the problem of “Dude, my iPhone was only in the washer for just enough time for me to realize it wasn’t in my hands” – Yes, I am quoting his first sentence, I can’t make this up any better than reality. These folks really are geniuses of not only apple stuff but of multi-tasking, the proof is that my genius finished my issue while keeping a straight face and not laughing at the laundry dude. I have to admit that for the sake of all our Force 5 readers, I just had to stick around to hear the rest of the laundry story – You’re sitting on the edge of your office chairs, Right?
Laundry dude continued to explain how his iPhone was in his favorite jeans pocket and probably didn’t get that wet. He showed some smarts and called Apple before turning on his now sparkling clean iPhone. Apple instructed him to go to the nearest store and ask the genius to turn the phone on for him – Do Not Try This At Home should apply here. The genius listened and was very sympathetic to laundry dude. But, when the laundry dude finally confessed and said that this was his “THIRD” iPhone within the past year, the conversation was at a cross roads. In my opinion, the genius could have said “Sorry Charlie” and had every right to do so. But, to my surprise he offered laundry dude a new iPhone 4 at a greatly reduced rate of $199.00. Of course, laundry dude asked “Isn’t there any kind of insurance or care plan I can purchase that will cover me from stuff like this?”
Lesson of the story, we all have done some silly things in our lives and careers. So, what makes you different is the ability to ask yourself “Ok, that marketing effort was a flop and WHY?” If you can’t ask the question, you can’t learn the answers of tomorrow’s successes. Need someone outside of your organization to ask that tough question? Force 5 can help and we promise not to wash your cell phone.
What’s Your Voice?
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 by Jason StrattonWe have all done it, you see a cute puppy or kitten or any kind of baby animal. Your voice changes to that of a 4 year old as you try to talk and make this adorable creature smile – “hello little puppy”, “Your soooo cute”, you get the idea. You’re probably saying it out loud right now as you read this – I did every time I proofed this post. This honest voice is to be pleasant, soothing, trusting or to just share a smile. Usually the response is great, you get a purr or a wagging tail or even some polite slobber if you’re lucky.
So how in the world does this relate to marketing? Ask yourself this – “What is our company’s “customer” voice?” I’m not saying to talk to your customer like a puppy, unless that’s your customer, but to force yourself into that state of being the most honest and polite voice you can. By honest, I mean that your voice, or the voice of your employee is the voice of the brand, and your staff are the ambassadors of that brand. The way we speak to a customer, the way we “handle” them are reflections of the brand. We’ve seen it time and time again—we approach a sales counter—no eye contact, no hello, just “what can I do for you” in a monotone. That is your first impression of the brand. On the other hand, the glad-handing, high energy sales rep with a commission gleam in his eye is also a reflection of the brand. So if the brand experience, not to mention the product, falls short of your expectation, are you going to purchase from that company again? Not likely. That’s because those companies don’t care, or are talking to you in the voice they think you want to hear. But when the voice and the product live up to or exceeds your expectation, you become a repeat customer.
When you get to your true voice, your honest voice, then you are showing your brand, your identity, who you are and why it matters. Those who take the risk of being out there for the world to understand receive the largest gains. It doesn’t matter if you are trying to build more likes on your Facebook page or selling million dollar yachts’, your voice needs to say who you are in the most honest way possible.
Here is a portion of the definition for “human voice” provided by Wikipedia:
“The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds, a body part, for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc.”
So you see, we are born with the ability to change our voice, but can you speak to your customer, your staff and/or your investors in your best brand voice? Do you need help with your Brand Voice? – Force 5 can help. Oh, we can help with the puppy voice too. Our staff members, Brady and Sophie can be ready at a moment’s notice!
The Cost of Free
Thursday, June 16th, 2011 by Butch WhitmireI emailed a respected marketer and he made a statement that was quite profound. He said, “Free stuff we’ll take all day long. But I also don’t want to work with somebody who gives away their products or services too cheap – if they can’t sell their own stuff, how can they help me sell mine?”
I loved his perspective in a time when open source code, free downloads, Groupons, free newsletters, “kids eat free,” are running rampant. People seem to crave “free” and statistically, they move in big numbers when the see the word “free” attached to a marketing campaign. However, I have big concerns with “free” (or the ridiculously reduced.)
As I wrote in an earlier post about scarcity, for things to be valuable people must perceive them as both a) useful and b) scarce. So, when we say something is “free” (meaning zero monetary value) people intuit that the service or good is either not very useful to them or it is abundantly available to all. Free lowers perceived value.
Another reason I am concerned about free is that people intrinsically intuit that “nothing is free.” So, clients assume there are strings or other cost attached. For example, our developers utilize an amazing open-source CMS/CMF called Drupal. This PHP-based code is available to us and everyone for no cash outlay. However, learning Drupal has been anything but free to Force 5. Our team has invested scores and scores of unbillable R&D hours to learn this protocol. “Free” usually has a cost attached – somewhere.
So, why are so many sales people and marketers using “free” (or ridiculously under-priced) to gain business? For me, there are only four plausible explanations:
1) You are lowering the barrier to entry. Free trials can lead to sales but they must be made scarce; meaning they are limited. Free one time to get to know your product or service. After that, it’s time to charge – drug dealers have known this for years.
2) You are relying on the social norm of reciprocity. (You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.) This is a risky approach. As I mentioned, people usually assume “nothing is for free” so they will take and take from you with little compulsion to give you anything in return.
3) You don’t believe your product or service is really very valuable. If this is the case, it’s time for a gut check. It’s time to evaluate and change your product or service to meet the demands of a crazily competitive market.
4) You’re a little lazy or at least not very creative. Free is easy. Free is fast. Free is simple. Free creates a lot of activity. Free doesn’t require you to make a compelling case for your product. Maybe it’s time to work on your marketing or selling skills, at least a little.
So the question must be asked: Are you overusing “free” and at what cost?
Tough Sell
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011 by Deb DeFreeuwI was at a convenience store this past weekend and saw the following sign.
So the question that immediately pops into my head is “how is it possible that “Unmatched Pleasure” and “tooth loss” appear in the same ad?”
I can’t imagine the marketing challenge involved in trying to sell this product. You have a product that clearly isn’t good for consumers and you need to include a warning, which in this case the “warning” type is almost half the size of the headline. The sell has to be pretty enticing in order for someone to think, “wow, using this product is worth the risk of losing my teeth.” I know there are other products with warning labels, cigarettes, hair dryers, my morning cup of coffee – I guess the risk has to be worth the potential reward.
A Fresh, New Look
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011 by Butch Whitmire
The Twykenham Bridge is located just a half a block away from our offices at Force 5. We’ve been watching this old bridge being renovated with great anticipation. (Details can be found here in the South Bend Tribune.) It’s amazing to see what a remodel can do. With it’s new look, the bridge again inspires confidence in those who transverse it and a sense of wonder in those who view it from a distance. It’s simply beautiful.
“In this economy, now just isn’t a good time to redo my … (fill in the marketing tactic)”
I disagree. Now is exactly the time.
How long has it been since you’ve looked at your business? At your brand support materials? Is it time for a web site renovation? A fresh coat of paint on that tired brochure? Does your customer service need reinforcement so that people feel confident when they rely on you?
Are you ready to polish up your business, your dream, and give it the fresh, new look it needs to weather today and tomorrow? If so, what will be the first thing you renovate?
“‘Tis some Marketer,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door …”
Thursday, April 28th, 2011 by Butch WhitmireIn their 2007 classic, Made to Stick, authors Chip and Dan Heath cite an experiment conducted in 1990 by Dr. Elizabeth Newton, PhD. The experiment was the study of a simple game. Subjects were given one of two roles: “tappers” and “listeners.” The tappers received a list of 25 common song names such as “Happy Birthday” and “Star Spangled Banner” and asked to tap out rhythm of the song (by tapping on a table) to the listener who was asked to guess the song’s name. When the tappers were shown the list and asked beforehand to estimate what percentage of the songs their listeners would guess correctly, they estimated that listeners would correctly identify the song 50% of the time. The results proved otherwise.
Only 2.5% of the listeners were able to correctly identify the song that was tapped. Tappers thought they would accurately communicate 1 out of 2 times. The fact was that they only got their message across 1 out of 40 times.
Why? Chip and Dan Heath refer to this phenomenon as “The Curse of Knowledge.” Tappers knew and heard the songs in their heads as they were tapping out the rhythm. Because they had a pre-set frame of reference, they couldn’t easily recreate the listener’s state of mind. Tappers tapped away assuredly but listeners only heard random tapping gibberish.
We see this happen in our world every day as politicians, teachers, artists, clergy, and business people attempt to reach others with their messages. They have so much internal knowledge of their subject matter that the messages they are “tapping” out in their speeches, brochures, and sales pitches are coming across as disjointed noise. And, they simply can’t understand why their listeners and their customers aren’t getting it.
The solution? The Heath brothers suggest that we transform our ideas into messages that make sense to people who do not have our frame of reference. However, this can be quite difficult if not impossible sometimes. After all, you know what you know, and its tough to remove yourself from your own knowledge. I might suggest you consider looking to the outside for help. Marketing Communications firms like Force 5 have expertise in crafting your message without an overly detailed frame of internal reference. We’re ready to do the “tapping” that makes sense to your audience. Just give us a call.
Private-Label Growth. Here to Stay?
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011 by Deb DeFreeuwI recently read an article in Marketing Daily, about the growth in private-label products. No surprise there, right? The figures were pretty compelling with consumers saving 33% off their grocery bills by purchasing all private-label products. I have followed the trend, trying more private-label products than I have in the past. While I haven’t gone all private-label, I have more private-label in my basket now than big brand names.
The question is will consumers stay with these private-labels once the economy gets back into the comfort zone? My opinion is that some consumers, myself included, will go back to major brand names and some will continue to purchase private-label. Recently, while shopping at Target, I went to purchase Sonicare toothbrush replacement heads. Ok, so I can get 2 of the Sonicare replacements for 24.99, ouch. Or, I can purchase the Target brand at 3 for 29.99. I decide to try the Target brand. Big mistake. One of the replacement heads didn’t work on the handle at all; another broke off completely after the second day. Needless to say, I took them back and purchased Sonicare. The Sonicare brand has value to me, now more than ever, and I can justify paying more for better quality.
Another example, I bought Target brand baby powder while normally I am a Johnson and Johnson fan. The powder didn’t seem different from one brand to the next – heck, it’s powder. But the lid on the Target brand doesn’t open properly and when I use it I never know what to expect. No powder, a gush from heaven knows where, a small pouf? My life has enough excitement without wondering if the powder will land in my shoes, as I want it to, or all over my black pants. A small detail, but when I am able, I am going back to J and J.
So the national brands need to keep talking about what makes them unique and living up to their brand promise. Maintaining their distinction will be what compels consumers to pay higher prices for their brand over a private-label.
If you need help determining or communicating what makes your brand unique, Force 5 can help! We have two certified Brand Strategists on hand and a crew of left brains and right brains to bring your brand to life!
