Talking to or performing in front of crowds is a real art, isn’t it? Bands do it. Magicians do it. Politicians and inspirational speakers do it. They personalize their performances and their messages for great customer engagement.
Be in touch with your customers. It is the only way to gain meaningful insights.
When politicians enter a crowded auditorium and as they walk down the aisle they stop to warmly shake hands with a few people on the aisle and shares a few friendly words with each.
The lead singer in a band bounds onto the stage of a packed arena, punching the air with energy. He pauses at the stage edge as if he’s caught someone’s eye in the crowd. He smiles broadly, points and waves at what appears to be a fan he’s spotted. He then calls out to the whole city all the time maintaining a pointed finger to his “friend” in the crowd.
Related: Improve Customer Engagement to Win Business
So remember this. Once you stop treating the crowd as a crowd and start focusing on individuals, people notice. The more you do it, the more everyone engages.
One by one, the experience and expectation in the crowd is that this isn’t just a one to many thing. It’s about the performer and me, a unique, unrepeatable, magic moment shared. Even people who don’t get individually called out still start to believe this.
Multi-channel communications need to focus on customer journeys and customer centric communications. It is all about the imperative of getting into the crowd, waving and smiling and connecting with our customers where they are.
Quite simply, we are moving to a customer centric marketing approach.
So here are 10 building blocks for even better customer engagement and customer centric marketing:
Make changes
… based on your insights.
Best customer engagement companies.
Do the right thing
… even if it adds costs. Dealing with people means that you will have to take the good with the bad. The patience to deal with all types of customers is vital.
Exercise
… occasional random acts of kindness.
Be social
… offer smiles and friendly words. When dealing with the public, things can go wrong. You have to be flexible enough to roll with the punches and think outside the box sometimes. And be social at all costs.
Demonstrate
… that you listen, hear, and most of all, remember.
… for customers to do business with you. Keep in mind that time is the most valuable resource of most customers. Being able to look at a situation through the eyes of a customer is an extremely valuable skill that can enable you to provide the highest degree of service.
For great customer engagement … personalize
… your services as much as you can.
Best customer engagement examples … be proactive
… take initiative for as many actions as possible. It’s never a good idea to wait until a customer is stressed or agitated before offering assistance. Being one step ahead to gauge when someone needs help is the best way to minimize a brewing situation.
Customers don’t want to deal with sales associates who have to force themselves to be pleasant and nice.
A great example
JetBlue recently launched a brilliant new ad campaign called “Air on the Side of Humanity”. Have you seen it? You might want to check it out.
They ingeniously use pigeons as a transposed metaphor for frequent flyers who are challenged by business travel and crowded flights. Believe me, I can relate. The spot shows crowded skies full of pigeons while an off-camera narrator says “the reality of flying is not very pretty”. It’s a royal headache and a major inconvenience.
They show crowded jostled pigeons on a building ledge lined up single file facing the camera while the narrator says, “They pack you in there, you hardly have any space for yourself. Hey, I’m a big guy and I need some room to breathe”. As the narrator continues talking about the future situation being bleak the camera focuses on a man’s legs sitting on a park bench throwing crumbs to pigeons on the sidewalk as the narrator says, “They throw you crumbs and act as if it’s a 5 course meal”.
Next, they show a lonely pigeon on a busy pedestrian sidewalk as people walk around ignoring a confused bird as the narrator says, “I feel completely ignored”. Then the narrator asks the question, “There’s gotta be a way to fly with a little respect, you know?”
Then they cut to a different voiceover announcer which says, “Enjoy JetBlue’s award-winning service, free unlimited snacks and the most legroom in coach.” An awesome way to engage customers, isn’t it?
What I love about this engagement approach is that it takes a customer experience perspective that no doubt was derived through deep customer insights. As a frequent flyer myself I was able to relate to the spot on multiple levels. I can just imagine what the creative brainstorming session must’ve looked like.
It probably went something like this… Let’s find a metaphor for flying … pigeons. Put them in crowded lines and jostled frustrating situation … crowded skies of birds flapping their wings. Demonstrate the food is not very good … throw some crumbs. And show how nobody cares about the passenger … show bird on a crowded sidewalk alone being ignored.
Then ask the question, there has to be a better way and the answer from JetBlue is … Air on the side of humanity! Simple and easy. And brilliant.
Do you have a lesson about making your customer engagement better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you.
It’s up to you to keep improving your customer attention and focus. Lessons are all around you. In many situations, your competitor may be providing the ideas and or inspiration. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.
When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.
Need some help in building better customer trust from your customer engagement? Creative ideas to help grow your customer relationships?
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your continuous learning for yourself and your team?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way.
More reading on customer engagement from our library:
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.
Becoming obsolete is a reality in today’s fast-moving environment. Yes, today’s business needs require us to leave our comfort zone and venture into an environment that can achieve marketing innovation.
The customer never buys what you think you sell.
Peter Drucker
Luckily, it doesn’t necessarily mean abandoning the principles we’ve learned along the way. It just means evolving our thinking and applying these same principles to the new mediums.
Related: Secrets to Share on Lego’s Marketing Campaigns
Looking for more marketing innovation? Check out the work of Jay Baer.
Here are ten areas of business change. They will get the organization paying attention on where to find breakthrough innovation ideas for marketing needs:
The arrival of channel convergence
All mediums are converging. The customer dictates the content they want to consume, across multiple mediums, the times they want it.
On-demand mediums will challenge the marketer as consumers move swiftly between tablets to a smartphone to television.
The new ways of targeting customers across multiple platforms now allow the marketer more long-tail opportunities. These will augment and support traditional targeting.
Data is the new norm
The promise of big data brings with it enormous benefits. They include ones that can now inform customer preferences. Ones that identify relevant prospects in real-time. And ones that distil meaning from reams of information where it impacts competitive or brand reputation.
The opportunities to target more granularly beyond just “company”collected transactions provides profound examples. Examples to find the right customer, at the right time, in the right channels, with the right message.
The need for strong data analysts to compile this information across multiple platforms and mediums will be an essential component. A component to target effectively for acquisition. And a component to improve retention rates and optimize for real-time performance.
Change is imperative
Gone are the days of relying on historical data. These days, any data point longer than 30 days is too old and therefore, of limited value.
No longer are we required (or should we be required) to sit and wait for results.
With data becoming more embedded in our daily work, marketers must work towards a more agile, near real-time environment:
This also means becoming more data responsive to an increasingly splintered market. It means having the structures and processes to change tactics on the fly.
It is the context
Google has gone beyond just keyword and now tries to extract real meaning from what people search or speak about.
Semantic algorithms go this one step further and now give marketers the tools to improve the understanding of what people need and want.
It’s here that will help predict and define areas the brand can connect and provide value to customers.
A more informed customer expects an optimal experience. Such an experience “allows them to shop and receive their purchases where they want when they want and how they want.”
This means providing the ‘continuous experience’ across brands, devices, and format.
Today’s marketer is channel-agnostic and is aware of sites, platforms and channels.
Note that the customer is researching, eliciting recommendations, price-comparing and ultimately, buying.
Marketing innovation examples … value is the new currency
One of the hardest lessons for marketers to have learned is to refrain from leading with overt company or product messages.
“Leading with value” has become a difficult principle to adopt, after years of “me-me-me” communications.
Declining performance of digital ad units means marketers must rethink content. Rethink content from the position of the customer.
The rise of editorial as an essential function within marketing will be necessary to install this new discipline.
Marketing innovation ideas … building sustainable relationships
The value of social media as open two-way conversations now provides brands with the ability to build relationships. It provides brands the effort and commitment to nurturing customer relationships through these channels.
Word of mouth and advocacy are strong indicators of brands doing it right.
The value of organic traffic that results from content value, social consistency, and customer commitment, will become more critical. More critical than the more costly campaign-driven ad-buys and promotions.
Agencies will never be able to be truly able to build effective community management services. This function needs to live within the heart of the organization.
Customer relationships with brands cannot be fostered via surrogate means, and then adopted by the organization.
Only employees within the organization, with the proper knowledge and solutions, can effectively troubleshoot customer complaints. They need to provide the right responses in the expected timeframe.
An emerging discipline in community /customer relationship management will be critical. It will permit the community to gauge the pulse of the audience It will also bridge the gap with the organization.
Team organizational focus
The result of these changes will inevitably move away from marketing and become embedded in all parts of the organization.
A responsive, dynamic organization means that PR, HR, Product development, Inventory Management, Operations will need seamless communication channels.
Channels must receive properly and disseminate information into and outside the company to stakeholders as well as external customers.
The future marketers will become more operations-minded but will rely on the collective organization to function effectively.
Customer-centric is all there is
As digital media matures, the areas mentioned above will move companies to start to shift. Shift in ways that puts the needs of the customers at the center of the organization.
One-to-one marketing will become a reality as data allows us to personalize experiences truly for each customer.
Retention will get increasingly harder as mediums and platforms rise and fall with the nomadic consumer.
Where critics have prophesied the death of marketing, a more responsive, dynamic and collaborative organization will take its place.
Takeaways
Marketing is no longer a discipline with best practices and tried and true techniques.
As long as the technology exists, and media evolves, consumers will continue to find new ways to connect and consume information.
What’s clear is that these days our traditional definition of longevity is short-lived. Not only does the marketer need to morph with the times, but the organization also does as well.
Marketing needs demand breakthrough innovation.
Do you have an Integrated Marketing Strategy?
So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you. But believe in the effectiveness of word of mouth marketing. And put it to good use.
It’s up to you to keep improving your creative marketing efforts. Lessons are all around you. In this case, your competitor may be providing the ideas and or inspiration. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.
When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.
Need some help in capturing more customers from your marketing strategies? Creative ideas to help the differentiation with potential customers?
Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job.
Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improve your marketing, branding, and advertising?
Do you have a lesson about making your marketing strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed how reasonable we will be.
More reading on marketing strategy from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Fighting for attention and mindshare in a crowded market? It can sometimes feel impossible, right? You’ve been fighting against your local competitors for years, trying to convince customers that your business can meet their needs better than that other guy. So how small business can be more competitive is a critical question.
With the Web and social media it feels harder than ever. Even if you’re not competing on product, you’re competing on attention. To stand out, you need to be more present than all the like competitors out there.
And it can be done, believe me.
Whether you’re just starting out or you’d like to increase your presence in your market, below are tips to help your small business stand out on the Web.
Be specific about who you are
Standing out in a sea of competition means giving people something to remember. To do that, be specific about who you are.
Maybe you’re a local print shop that only uses recycled inks or papers. Or you use a process that others don’t.
You’re a caterer who only uses locally-grown meat and vegetables. Or you’re the most expensive guy in town because of how elaborate your events are.
Who you are in business, create your marketing story, and work that into your marketing strategy.
Where businesses get lost is when they’re unable to define themselves and what’s different about the way they do business. Know what’s different about you and then talk about it. Talk about it a lot.
My first effort would be to find local prospects. I’d start with Google Blog search, putting in local town names, to see who’s blogging in the area. I’d use Twitter Search to find some more folks. I’d look around for other sources, like local online newspapers.
You can even do some clever google work. Once I had a decent list, I’d start determining who, if any of them, are actually prospects. Just because they’re local doesn’t mean they fit the other criteria. Break the list down a bit more from there.
Promotion
You need a home base. I’d recommend a blog, but even a static website is better than nothing. Then, I’d see whether or not you can get listings with any other local businesses, any local groups related to the field, possibly even the Chamber of Commerce.
Make your site a combination of explanations of your business and the value you provide, as well as a chance to get to know a bit more about you. Personalized businesses like this, especially a body that works business like massage means that people want to know more about you, want to get a sense of who you are, and want to understand what matters to you.
If you’ve got a blog, consider doing video so that people can see even more about you. It’s a great way to add some promotional oomph.
From here, you might start reaching out to outposts. Facebook might be a tricky place to pick up business when starting. It’s not like a bunch of people will rush in and join the massage company fan page. That said, you can always try.
Twitter might work better, insofar as people speak more openly there, there’s serendipity, there are more chances to find new people without “friending” first.
Successful leaders work backward
Don’t start from where you are and go forward, because there is an infinite number of directions you can take. Instead, work backward from where you want to get – your vision for your business. That will help you choose which road you take.
Small business owners are often guilty of not thinking strategically
More often than not, the path you originally envisioned for your business is not the one you end up taking – life happens while you’re making other plans; even when you’re doing a great job of working backward, things change. Every one of the little nudges of the course you think you’ve embarked on has an impact.
It’s absolutely essential to lift yourself out of the fray of the day-to-day and ask yourself where you’re at and what the implications for the business might be. Because you can guarantee that if you don’t do that, nobody else will.
Be an educational hub
In case you haven’t noticed, we are in the middle of a content marketing revolution. And that’s something you need to be a part of. Regardless of what industry you serve, setting yourself up to be THE educational hub on the topic is going to help you win favor and reputation in your space.
For example, in my corner of the world, Search Engine Land is the hub for everything Internet marketing-related. That means when I’m looking for information, I go there. When I need a source for a story, I go there. When I need an expert opinion, I go there.
See power? Setting yourself up as that hub by focusing on creating resource guides, putting out consistent authoritative content, and being seen participating in subject matter webinars/conferences/interviews will help you to establish trust and visibility. Two things vital to your success online.
Sure, you’re going to establish yourself as a resource by the educational content you provide on your Web site, but don’t stop there. Make time to be on Twitter participating in chats, fields questions on LinkedIn, respond to comments on other blogs, guest post on niche sites, etc.
By providing content and being seen on sites outside of just your own, you establish yourself as a subject-matter expert.
While we can all understand the desire to hoard all your knowledge on your own site, let it go. You’ll be rewarded in the form of referrals, new traffic, and business karma.
Have a vision you can articulate
In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the Cheshire Cat said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, it doesn’t matter which road you take.”
So, rule one: once you know where you want to go, make sure everyone in the business understands that vision.
With employees, hire slowly, fire quickly
In a small entity you have to have people who are a good fit, otherwise, the culture suffers.
Be social
Yeah, yeah, you already know you’re supposed to be on social media channels like Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn, but don’t just be there, really use them. Use these channels to do market research on your industry, use them to interact and ask questions, and use them to make yourself part of your customers’ everyday lives and their routine.
This is very often the difference between the local café I frequent and the one I just know about – it’s that the owner has taken the time to chat with me on Twitter or they let me know what’s fresh out of the oven on Facebook. These things matter. They especially matter in a business where everything is based on relationships.
There’s a great cafe in my hometown called Francesca’s Cafe. I go there in part because the food is delicious and cost-effective, but I also go because the owner,
Francesca tweets me when she has a fresh stock of pumpkin syrup for my lattes or when blueberry muffins have come out of the oven. These little bits of humanization are powerful and things customers latch onto and remember.
Simplify
Remember that too many marketing messages confuse customers, especially as you spread them across various social media channels. Try to pare down to three choices in all aspects of your marketing, from how many fonts you use to how many times you follow up.
In any small business, everybody’s busy all the time
Regardless of your goals, in small businesses you’re all wearing multiple hats because you don’t have specialists. As a consequence, everyone has to understand the broader picture or they won’t have the tools they need to do the job they weren’t hired to do but are doing anyway.
It’s essential for the owner to sit down with every new employee and contractor and make sure that they understand the business the way that he or she does.
Leadership means asking for help
Most small business failures – including the failure to achieve your full potential – stem from making entirely preventable mistakes. It’s not surprising because for most owners this is the first time they’ve run a business.
Thriving businesspeople build networks that enable them to draw on others’ experience and knowledge. The really successful ones do it before they get into trouble – and are never afraid or embarrassed to turn to their networks for help.
Be what’s missing
…okay, so we’re not all sure what’s different about us or who we are in the niche. If you’re looking for a place to start, identify what’s missing. Map out your competition and look at their price points, their offerings, how they (appear) to do what they do, and find the holes.
Is there a segment of the population they’re ignoring? Is there a process they’re not doing? Is there room for you to identify yourself as being an alternative to the norm? Keep your eyes open for opportunities that your competitors are missing.
The bottom line
Those are just a handful of ways I’d encourage small businesses to make themselves stand out online. What other techniques do you use? What’s worked in helping you find your audience?
Accept some risk-taking.
All you get is what you bring to the fight.
And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be,
what’s most important is your next step.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to innovating your social media strategy?
Do you have a lesson about making your
advertising better you can share with this community? Have any questions or
comments to add in the section below?
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service
agency. With 45 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to
improving the performance of your business. Find them on Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your
thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun
and inspiration along the way.
More small business material from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Fighting for attention and mindshare in a crowded market? It can sometimes feel impossible, right? You’ve been fighting against your local competitors for years, trying to convince customers that your business can meet their needs better than that other guy. With the Web and social media, it feels harder than ever. Pay attention to what Seth Godin teaches about small business competitiveness.
Seth Godin teaches
Even if you’re not competing on product, you’re competing on attention. To stand out, you need to make your small business more competitive. You must be more present than all the like competitors out there.
And it can be done, believe me.
Whether you’re just starting out or you’d like to increase your presence in your market, below are Seth Godin tips to make your small business more competitive by standing out on the web.
Be specific about who you are
Standing out in a sea of competition means giving people something to remember. To do that, be specific about who you are.
Maybe you’re a local print shop that only uses recycled inks or papers. Or you use a process that others don’t.
You’re a caterer who only uses locally-grown meat and vegetables. Or you’re the most expensive guy in town because of how elaborate your events are.
Who you are in business, create your story and work that into your marketing strategy.
Where businesses get lost is when they’re unable to define themselves and what’s different about the way they do business. Know what’s different about you and then talk about it. Talk about it a lot.
Seth Godin teaches us to search and listen
Seth Godin first effort would be to find local prospects. He’d start with Google Blogsearch, putting in local town names, to see who’s blogging in the area. Seth would use Twitter Search to find some more folks.
Look around for other sources, like local online newspapers. You can even do some clever google work.
Once Seth had a decent list, he’d start determining who, if any of them, are actual prospects. Just because they’re local doesn’t mean they fit the other criteria. Break the list down a bit more from there.
Promotion
You need a home base. Seth recommends a blog, but even a static website can be better than nothing.
Then, he’d see whether or not you can get listings with any other local businesses, any local groups related to the field, possibly even the Chamber of Commerce.
Make your site a combination of explanations of your business and the value you provide, as well as a chance to get to know a bit more about you. Personalized businesses like this, especially a body works business like massage means that people want to know more about you, want to get a sense of who you are, and want to understand what matters to you.
If you’ve got a blog, consider doing video so that people can see even more about you. It’s a great way to add some promotional oomph.
From here, you might start reaching out into outposts. Facebook might be a tricky place to pick up business when starting. It’s not like a bunch of people will rush in and join the massage company fan page.
That said, you can always try. Twitter might work better, insofar as people speak more openly there, there’s serendipity, there are more chances to find new people without “friending” first.
Seth says don’t start from where you are and go forward because there is an infinite number of directions you can take. Instead, work backward from where you want to get – your vision for your business. That will help you choose which road you take.
Small business owners are often guilty of not thinking strategically
More often than not, the path you originally envisioned for your business is not the one you end up taking – life happens while you’re making other plans. Even when you’re doing a great job of working backward, things can change.
Every one of the little nudges off the course you think you’ve embarked on has an impact. It’s absolutely essential to lift yourself out of the fray of the day-to-day and ask yourself where you’re at.
Look for what the implications for the business might be. Because you can guarantee that if you don’t do that, nobody else will.
Seth Godin teaches … be an educational hub
In case you haven’t noticed, we are in the middle of a content marketing revolution. And that’s something you need to be a part of. Regardless of what industry you serve, setting yourself up to be THE educational hub on the topic is going to help you win favor and reputation in your space.
For example, in my corner of the world, Digital Spark Marketing is the hub for everything marketing-related. That means when I’m looking for information, I go there.
When I need a source for a story, I go there. When I need an expert opinion, I go there.
See the power? Setting yourself up as that hub by focusing on creating resource guides, putting out consistent authoritative content, and being seen participating in the subject matter will help you to establish trust and visibility. These things are vital to your success online.
Sure, you’re going to establish yourself as a resource by the educational content you provide on your Web site, but don’t stop there. Make time to be on Twitter participating in chats, fields questions on LinkedIn, respond to comments on other blogs, guest post on niche sites, etc.
By providing content and being seen on sites outside of just your own, you establish yourself as a subject-matter expert. While we can all understand the desire to hoard all your knowledge on your own site, let it go. You’ll be rewarded in the form of referrals, new traffic, and business karma.
Seth Godin teaches … have a vision you can articulate
In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the Cheshire Cat said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, it doesn’t matter which road you take.”
So, rule one: once you know where you want to go, make sure everyone in the business understands that vision.
With employees, hire slowly, fire quickly
In a small entity you have to have people who are a good fit, otherwise, the culture suffers. It should be priority one!
You already know you’re supposed to be on social media channels like Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn, but don’t just be there, really use them.
Use these channels to do market research on your industry, use them to interact and ask questions, and use them to make yourself part of your customers’ everyday lives and their routine.
This is very often the difference between the local café I frequent and the one I just know about – it’s that the owner has taken the time to chat with me on Twitter or they let me know what’s fresh out of the oven on Facebook. These things matter. They especially matter in a business where everything is based on relationships. The relationships are key.
There’s a great cafe in my hometown called Francesca’s Cafe. I go there in part because the food is delicious and cost-effective, but I also go because the owner, Francesca, tweets me when she has a fresh stock of pumpkin syrup for my lattes or when blueberry muffins have come out of the oven.
These little bits of humanization are powerful and things customers latch onto and remember.
Simplify
Remember that too many marketing messages confuse customers, especially as you spread them across various social media channels. Try to pare down to three choices in all aspects of your marketing, from how many fonts you use to how many times you follow up.
In any small business, everybody’s busy all the time
Regardless of your goals, in a small business, you’re all wearing multiple hats because you don’t have specialists. As a consequence, everyone has to understand the broader picture.
Otherwise, they won’t have the tools they need to do the job they weren’t hired to do but are doing anyway.
It’s essential for the owner to sit down with every new employee and contractor and make sure that they understand the business the way that he or she does.
Leadership means asking for help
Most small business failures – including the failure to achieve your full potential – stem from making entirely preventable mistakes. It’s not surprising because for most owners this is the first time they’ve run a business.
Thriving business people build networks that enable them to draw on others’ experience and knowledge. The really successful ones do it before they get into trouble – and are never afraid or embarrassed to turn to their networks for help.
Be what’s missing
If you’re looking for a place to start, Seth says to identify what’s missing. Map out your competition and look at their price points, their offerings, how they (appear) to do what they do, and find the holes.
Is there a segment of the population they’re ignoring? Is there a process they’re not doing? Is there room for you to identify yourself as being an alternative to the norm? Keep your eyes open for opportunities that your competitors are missing.
Those are just a handful of ways I’d encourage small business to make themselves stand out online. What other techniques do you use? What’s worked in helping you find your audience?
So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you. But believe in the effectiveness of word of mouth marketing. And put it to good use.
It’s up to you to keep improving your creative marketing efforts. Lessons are all around you. In this case, your competitor may be providing the ideas and or inspiration. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.
When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improve your marketing, branding, and advertising?
Do you have a lesson about making your marketing strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.
More reading on marketing strategy from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Talking to or performing in front of crowds is a real art, isn’t it? Bands do it. Magicians do it. Politicians and inspirational speakers do it. They personalize their performances and their messages for excellent customer engagement.
When politicians enter a crowded auditorium, and as they walk down the aisle they stop to warmly shake hands with a few people on the aisle and shares a few friendly words with each.
The lead singer in a band bounds onto the stage of a packed arena, punching the air with energy. He pauses at the stage edge as if he’s caught someone’s eye in the crowd. He smiles broadly, points and waves at what appears to be a fan he’s spotted. He then calls out to the whole city all the time maintaining a pointed finger to his “friend” in the crowd.
Related: What Little Things Small Businesses Can Do To Build Customer Relationships
So remember this. Once you stop treating the crowd like a crowd and start focusing on individuals, people notice. The more you do it, the more everyone engages.
One by one, the experience and expectation in the crowd is that this isn’t just one of many things. It’s about the performer and me, a unique, unrepeatable, magic moment shared. Even people who don’t get individually called out still start to believe this.
Multi-channel communications need to focus on customer journeys and customer-centric communications. It is all about the imperative of getting into the crowd, waving and smiling and connecting with our customers where they are.
Quite simply, we are moving to a customer-centric marketing approach.
So here are ten building blocks for even better customer engagement and customer-centric marketing:
Make changes
… based on your insights.
Do the right thing.
Do the right thing
… even if it adds costs. Dealing with people means that you will have to take the good with the bad. The patience to deal with all types of customers is vital.
Exercise
… occasional random acts of kindness.
Be social
… offer smiles and friendly words. When dealing with the public, things can go wrong. You have to be flexible enough to roll with the punches and think outside the box sometimes. And be social at all costs.
Demonstrate
… that you listen, hear, and most of all, remember.
Pay attention
… while you listen and observe.
Make it easy
Make it easy.
… for customers to do business with you. Keep in mind that time is the most valuable resource for most customers. Being able to look at a situation through the eyes of a customer is an extremely valuable skill that can enable you to provide the highest degree of service.
Personalize
… your services as much as you can.
Be proactive
… take the initiative for as many actions as possible. It’s never a good idea to wait until a customer is stressed or agitated before offering assistance. Being one step ahead to gauge when someone needs help is the best way to minimize a brewing situation.
Customers don’t want to deal with sales associates who have to force themselves to be pleasant and nice.
A great example
JetBlue recently launched a brilliant new ad campaign called “Air on the Side of Humanity.” Have you seen it? You might want to check it out.
They ingeniously use pigeons as a transposed metaphor for frequent flyers who are challenged by business travel and crowded flights. I can relate. The spot shows crowded skies full of pigeons while an off-camera narrator says “the reality of flying is not very pretty.” It’s a royal headache and a major inconvenience.
They show crowded jostled pigeons on a building ledge lined up single file facing the camera while the narrator says, “They pack you in there, you hardly have any space for yourself. Hey, I’m a big guy, and I need some room to breathe”. As the narrator continues talking about the future situation being bleak the camera focuses on a man’s legs sitting on a park bench throwing crumbs to pigeons on the sidewalk as the narrator says, “They throw you crumbs and act as if it’s a five-course meal.”
Next, they show a lonely pigeon on a busy pedestrian sidewalk as people walk around ignoring a confused bird as the narrator says, “I feel completely ignored.” Then the narrator asks the question, “There’s gotta be a way to fly with a little respect, you know?”
Then they cut to a different voiceover announcer who says, “Enjoy JetBlue’s award-winning service, free unlimited snacks and the most legroom in coach.” An awesome way to engage customers, isn’t it?
What I love about this engagement approach is that it takes a customer experience perspective that no doubt was derived from deep customer insights. As a frequent flyer myself I was able to relate to the spot on multiple levels. I can just imagine what the creative brainstorming session must’ve looked like.
It probably went something like this… Let’s find a metaphor for flying … pigeons. Put them in crowded lines and jostled frustrating situation … crowded skies of birds flapping their wings. Demonstrate the food is not very good … throw some crumbs. And show how nobody cares about the passenger … show bird on a crowded sidewalk alone being ignored.
Then ask the question, there has to be a better way, and the answer from JetBlue is … Air on the side of humanity! Simple and easy. And brilliant.
Do you have a lesson about making your customer engagement better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add to the section below?
So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you.
It’s up to you to keep improving your customer attention and focus. Lessons are all around you. In many situations, your competitor may be providing the ideas and or inspiration. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.
When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your continuous learning for yourself and your team?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.
More reading on customer engagement from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Whole Foods Customer Engagement Using Social Media
Is Employee Engagement the Backbone of the Publix Culture?
13 Employee Engagement Lessons From Best Employee Brands
Positive Attitude Is Everything for Customer Engagement
Mike Schoultz likes to write about the topics that lead to small business success. He also likes to share his many business experiences. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.
