Caffeinated ideas and views on marketing communications


Is it the story or the storyteller?

09 Apr
by Deborah Brody, posted in Communication   |  No Comments

Lately, I have been seeing lots of articles being written about how important storytelling is, most recently 3 Reasons to Master the Art of Storytelling on Inc. Magazine’s website. This has got me to thinking on whether you can become a better storyteller, or is it something you are born with. Or, does it matter at all if you are good or bad at storytelling if your story is great (or terrible).

So, is it the story or the storyteller?

A bit of both in my opinion. A bad storyteller could ruin the best story, but a boring story won’t get any more exciting if someone tells it really well.

But, can you make the telling of the story better?

Yes!

These are my tips for improving your storytelling ability, while cautioning you that you have to have a good story to start with.

1) Have a point, and don’t bury it. Start with the end in mind. Is there anything worse than a pointless story?

2) Don’t get bogged down with all the details. I had a friend years ago who was the kind of storyteller that would make you look at your watch ten times because she had to relay every single last detail. (Like this: I was walking to the train station in my new blue shoes with tassels, and then I saw the cutest cocker spaniel, and I started talking to the woman who was walking the dog, she was wearing  a jumpsuit that I had seen in a store window…..).

3) Realize your audience may not view the story the same way you do.  You have a specific point of view, but if it is very specific to you and your worldview, it may fall flat with your audience.There are things that are more universal than others, and to resonate, your story has to have some type of “universal truth.”

4) Adapt to your surroundings. If you are telling a story to your friends in your living room you may be more informal, whereas if you are telling a story to the board in the corporate headquarters, you may need to be a tad more buttoned up.

5) Use humor, but only if it is not offensive or obtuse. Have you ever been told a story, and the teller throws in some weird joke you don’t think is funny? Or worse, you think is offensive (these jokes are usually tired canards about women, or racist stereotypes)?

What would add? And do you think the right storyteller can make up for a bad story? Let me know in the comments.

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Is your marketing communication better than you?

04 Apr
by Deborah Brody, posted in Communication, Marketing   |  2 Comments

Have you ever run into a situation where a company has absolutely gorgeous marketing materials, but its service or product is sub par? That’s a situation where the marketing draws people in, but the product  or service loses them.

I am looking to do some home improvement and I went to Angie’s List. I found several companies in the category and checked out each company website. I was pretty impressed with one company in particular. Their website was not only attractive, but functional and informative. I called to make an appointment for an estimate. The woman seemed friendly and knowledgeable and set up an appointment that would be confirmed via email. This company seems to be pretty technologically savvy. The appointment was confirmed but a couple of hours later I got an email from a manager saying that he couldn’t keep that appointment and could we change it. We went back and forth and settled on Tuesday (yesterday) at 6 p.m.

At 5 p.m. yesterday the estimator called to tell me he can’t make it and can he come tomorrow. As it turns out, I don’t have time today, and I figured that if a company can’t keep an appointment that does not bode well for the process. Further, it is not professional to keep changing appointments and to offer excuses. My time is valuable and if this company wants my business, the estimator would make an effort to show at the appointed time. I told him to forget it. There are other companies that do this work, and so far, two other companies have shown up on time for our estimate appointments. For me, punctuality and reliability are important indicators of how a company performs.

In this case, this company appears to be competent but in practice is not.

When your marketing is bad, you may not get the customers you want. But if your marketing is better than you are, your potential customers will not stick with you. They will be drawn in, but you will lose them.

Your marketing should be attractive, but if you are spending more money and time on marketing and less on your service or product, that marketing dollar is wasted.

Thoughts?

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Are you rewarding loyalty?

02 Apr
by Deborah Brody, posted in Communication, Marketing   |  No Comments

I have been thinking a lot about loyalty and whether companies value it or not.

Take for  example, my customer relationship with ATT Wireless. I have been a customer for several years now (although not by choice rather by the acquisition of my old carrier Cingular). I called customer service the other day to see if they would credit several spam texts I received (I don”t have unlimited text and pay 20 cents per message). The agent placed me on a ten  minute hold “to check my account” and later informed that it was not company policy to do so, but she would credit 40 cents to my account. Now, mind you, I had a similar conversation with another agent last year, and there was no problem crediting my account. No need to review. No lengthy process. I asked the agent if she was really giving me a hard time over 40 cents when I had been a customer for so many years.

This interaction seems to prove that ATT is not particularly concerned with customer loyalty. They would rather talk “company policy” to me than think about rewarding my patronage, which over the years is in the several $1000s.

I have been at my gym for several years. Has it ever given me anything to show appreciation for staying with it? NEW members get perks (free personal training or a t-shirt or whatever) but what do OLD members get? NOTHING. How does this reinforce customer loyalty?

Yet, everywhere you turn there are loyalty programs. From the local bakery, where 12 stamps will result in one free loaf of bread to the pharmacy where you swipe your card to get “reward dollars” after you’ve spent a certain amount.  Some of these loyalty programs do reward a loyal customer with something tangible and some are meant as a database mining operation. Guess which is which.

Large companies, especially financial institutions, seem to take customer loyalty for granted. Either that, or they simply don’t care if customers are loyal. If you have been at your bank for more than five years, are you getting anything? A better interest rate? A free safety deposit box?  I bet the answer is no, you aren’t getting a single cent. Yet, some banks will reward new customers by giving them a cash bonus deposited to their new accounts.

Customer loyalty is an area that marketing communications can’t fix by itself. It needs operations/institutional support. However, as a marketer, you need to be concerned about it. You can attract all sorts of new business with good communications efforts, but can you retain it? Are you doing something to reward “old” business?

If you aren’t thinking about customer loyalty and what you are doing to maintain it and reward it, they you are probably losing customers at this very moment.

 

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Being transparent (or, not making assumptions)

29 Mar
by Deborah Brody, posted in Communication   |  No Comments

There is a women’s networking group here in Maryland that offers some nice events every couple of months. For April, they had been touting a well known health expert as the speaker to their event. This speaker was a huge draw. Yesterday, I decided to register. When I went to event page, lo and behold, the speaker is not listed. Instead, there is a panel of speakers (none of them “famous”) who will discuss health issues.

Is this a bait and switch? Did the speaker bow out due to an unforeseen circumstance? Why the change in speakers?

I have no answer because this group has not addressed it. Instead, they proceed as if nothing has changed.

They are making an assumption that people will want to attend the event regardless. They are making an assumption that you will get it. They are making an assumption that they don’t have to provide an explanation.

Don’t make assumptions! Be transparent. Be clear. All that needed to be said in this case was: We had scheduled speaker x for this event, but due to (reason) she is no longer available. Instead, we are presenting a fabulous panel….

This type of thing is what irritates people and turns them off. Say you signed up a month ago expecting the original speaker. You get to the event and she is not there. Don’t you feel ripped off? Disappointed? Or maybe you are just uninterested in the panel.

Don’t assume your audience will follow you if you don’t explain. Be transparent. Be honest. Be upfront.

Rant over.

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Weekly communications #fail: losing momentum

23 Mar
by Deborah Brody, posted in Marketing   |  2 Comments

Momentum is a physics term, which means that speed or forward motion of an object is equal to mass times velocity. In everyday usage, momentum is the strength or speed gained by motion or a series of events (here is Merriam-Webster’s definition).

Momentum is good for marketing–it helps you build up steam and propels you forward (gets you new business, more readers, bigger audience, etc).  But if when things are starting to speed up,  you apply the brakes, you (like your car) will quite literally slow down (lose momentum).

Losing momentum is a marketing killer.

How do you lose momentum? There are many “brakes.” Here are few examples:

Not returning inquiry calls: If I call you for information, I am what they call a warm prospect. By not calling me back, you are losing me. By taking your sweet time to return said calls, you also lose momentum.

Not following up:  In mid-December I attended the inaugural event for a new DC networking group. It sounded good and I provided my email, saying I would be happy to help organize an event. I haven’t heard ONE word from them. They haven’t held another event. They lost momentum.

Changing your terms suddenly (dashing expectations): Say you always get bread served at your favorite restaurant, and suddenly, the restaurant decides to cut costs and there goes the bread basket. It may have been what you enjoyed about the place, and now your expectations are dashed. You may not return.

Not blogging (or Tweeting or posting on Facebook) for months: You started your blog, and you had lots to say. And then you stopped posting. Any readership (or followers) you had, will dwindle. You lost momentum.

Whenever you do something that slows down your interaction with a prospective customer or client, you are losing momentum. That is a marketing/communications failure.

Have you experienced lost marketing momentum? Please give me your examples in the comments.

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It’s all about personality

15 Mar
by Deborah Brody, posted in branding, Communication   |  No Comments

One of my favorite lines from a movie is this one, from Pulp Fiction:

“A pig’s got personality. Personality goes a long way.”

-Jules Winnfield (played by Samuel L. Jackson)

It seems the folks at Spike TV”s Bar Rescue didn’t think personality went a long way when they remade Silver Spring’s Piratz Tavern into the very generic Corporate Bar and Grill. As I commented here on the blog, I didn’t give the corporate makeover good chances of succeeding, and apparently neither did Piratz Tavern’s owners. The Washington Post is reporting today that the bar’s owners, Tracy and Juciano Rebelo are getting rid of the makeover and re-launching Piratz Tavern today.

The Washington Post article says this:

The bigger problem, however, was the tavern’s new identity, designed to attract Silver Spring’s corporate worker bees. The new place seemed to do just the opposite: It became a cruel joke among a number of locals.

After reading the article, I have concluded that the Bar Rescue team did have some genuine concerns about Piratz Tavern (to do with management style and food quality) but that their solution eliminated the only thing that made Piratz Tavern stand out–its personality. Remember, personality does go a long way.

 

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To network or not to network, that is a question

14 Mar
by Deborah Brody, posted in Networking   |  No Comments

Here it is, mid-March (Pi Day today because it is 3.14) and I haven’t been to a single networking event this year. Not a one. I did got to a panel presentation yesterday, but that wasn’t a networking event.

Now, I believe in networking and in networking events. It’s important to meet people in person, and form relationships. It’s good to get out. So the question is not whether to network but where and how.

Here are some factors in deciding:

Who is going. Is there a good chance that you will meet prospective clients, or good resources or just fun people? Is it going to be lots of people you already know? Will it give you a chance to reconnect? You should have a goal in mind when networking. If not, you are just attending an event.

Where and when is it. Is it convenient to attend this event? Will there be parking if I have to drive or is it near a Metro stop? How long will it take to get there? Is it at the crack of dawn or in the evening?

Cost. Some events are free and those you can decide on based on the two factors above, but some events are costly. For example, I got an event invitation for something that is $49. And it is a breakfast presentation. To me, that is a lot of $$. Will the cost cover anything other than networking–a presentation or a meal? There’s one group I know that gives a percentage of the cost to charity, so there is a feel-good/do-good aspect to paying.

Plenty of notice/time to RSVP. Sometimes you don’t have enough notice (as I am writing this I got an invitation for something tomorrow night–sorry, I already committed to something else). Sometimes you have to RSVP far in advance.

What are your reasons to attend or not attend an event? I would love to hear what makes it or breaks it for you in the comments.

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Why you must have a marketing timeline

12 Mar
by Deborah Brody, posted in Communication, Marketing   |  No Comments

This past Saturday, I received a 6″x11″ size postcard, in color (read: higher printing costs) advertising an event taking place on Sunday. Yes, you read that right. I got the expensive postcard one day before an event, and this was for a nonprofit group. You know what this postcard was? A total waste of money. I had already heard about the event via social media and enewsletter. I had already decided not to attend.

Time

Photo: Time by Thomas Hawk, via Flickr.

Why have a marketing timeline

What this organization probably failed to do was a build an accurate marketing timeline. Without a timeline, you will print and mail stuff too late (or too early), send enewsletters too often or not frequently enough, send a press release too far from the event, etc. Marketing takes planning. Planning is essential if you want to get the most for your marketing dollars. In the case above, the postcard was a complete waste of marketing dollars. Very few, if any people, decide to attend an  all-day event (which has a registration fee that is higher at the door) the day before.

How to build a marketing timeline

You probably will want to either sketch this out on a calendar or use a spreadsheet program to map this out.

1. Start with the end (your target date) and work backward.

2. Create a row for each communications vehicle, such as press release, enewsletter, email blast, brochure, etc.

3. Decide  how many days prior to the target date you want each communications vehicle to reach your audience.

4. Consider preparation time for each communications vehicle. For example, for printed materials, you have to consider printing times, shipping to you, delivery times (are you using first class mail or bulk) and approval process. Set target dates for each preparation step.

5. Fill out your timeline.

Remember to give yourself time to plan your marketing timeline!

Your thoughts?

 

 

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Weekly communications #fail: no response

10 Mar
by Deborah Brody, posted in Communication   |  No Comments

We are all inundated with messaging from every which way. We get voice mail and texts, email, direct messages, tweets, and even snail mail. Sometimes we just don’t have time to respond to everything and everyone, but that choice is a communications failure.

This week, I told you all about the incident with my website. The woman who was the root cause of this issue has yet to respond to any of the tweets or emails I sent her. Not a single word (and the words I would most like to hear are “I am sorry”).  No acknowledgment that she messed up and that her screw up affected my business (and not to mention, cost me money).  By not responding, she has made matters worse because now she has increased my anger level and shown me that she just doesn’t care.

Of course, sometimes people respond because they feel compelled to. Their parents jammed manners into them, and thus, they resent having to answer each and every message. They can become passive-aggressive and they issue responses that don’t actually respond but put it off by telling you they tell you they’ll get back to you when they are a bit less busy or when Jupiter is in line with Neptune. In a sense, this is not communication but aggression.

Sometimes we don’t respond because we don’t have an answer. This is still non-communication.

Whether you have a legitimate reason or not, when you fail to respond to someone who is talking directly to you, you are failing to communicate.

 

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