Perhaps this post should be called Marketing 101, but it is about marketing one to one, person to person.  It is perhaps the most basic of marketing techniques, yet the most dismissed.

Companies spend lots of time and money and effort coming up with brilliant marketing/communications plans. They develop beautiful websites, and attention-grabbing ads. They do media outreach and get great publicity. And then the potential customer walks in the door, and the surly receptionist (or clerk or bank teller or any other frontline person) ruins the experience. He or she makes the customer feel unwelcome, unwanted, unserved. And guess what, the customer either walks away never to come back, or he/she becomes a NEGATIVE brand ambassador, sharing negative stories about your organization wherever he/she goes.

You see, many, if not all organizations, forget that marketing is really about getting people to buy your products or services or mission. It is about making it easy for them to realize how your product/service/mission fits in with their lifestyle and needs.  It is about people.

People want to be treated nicely and politely. It really is that simple.  I would argue that part of your marketing plan should be to train your frontline employees to treat people nicely and politely. If your sales are down, perhaps you should try to figure out what is going on at the point of contact.  We’ve discussed the four “Ps” here before:  price, product, promotion, place. What is the place of contact with your customer? What is happening there?

With the rise of Internet commerce, we are losing the sense of the importance of people–their feelings, their needs–when making a purchase. But in a bricks-and-mortar world it should definitely be front and center.

I am writing this post because of two positive (gasp, right?) interactions I had today on the phone.  I was making a doctor’s appointment at an office I have not been to, and the receptionist was helpful, informative and friendly. She made me feel confident that I will get professional service when I arrive there.  The other was the reminder phone call from the hair salon where I have an appointment tomorrow. The receptionist was polite (called me Ms. Brody) and friendly. I asked a question and he nicely answered me. It shows me that the salon VALUES its customers.

Are you showing your customers you value them? Are you treating them as people? Are you making sure that the one on one interactions with your organization are positive?

About Deborah Brody

Deborah Brody writes and edits anything related to marketing communications. Most blog posts are written under the influence of caffeine.

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I love Twitter.  I love reading articles others share, seeing what people are up to, and generally the no-boundaries community that exists on the micro-blogging site. I follow and am followed by people in other states, countries, continents.  In a sense, Twitter connects the world!

But there is a downside to Twitter: the people who don’t use Twitter wisely.  These people can ruin the experience, until you block them. These people are the reason for my top-ten  list of Twitter pet peeves:

1. Following and unfollowing and following again. This tactic is meant to getting followers but if I didn’t follow you the first time, or the second, chances are I AM NOT INTERESTED.
2. Excessive self-promotion. Tweets that always start with I or include the word me.  Being on Twitter exclusively to promote self and not offering any value.
3. Lurking. People who follow you and never engage or retweet.  They are just watching you. Why?
4. Not giving credit. If I tweeted something that you think is so worthwhile that you re-tweeted it, just credit me, please?
5. Follow Friday. I hate this. It makes Twitter into a popularity contest, and makes you ripe for spamming. Thanks for the shout-out but don’t add me to your list.
6. Being super selective. You have thousands of followers, yet you start your mornings saying hi to five of your favorite friends. I remind you: Twitter is not high school and all of us can see you didn’t single us out. If you want to say hi to just a few people, might I recommend DM or (gasp) EMAIL?
7. Spammers. People who send you @messages that have nothing to do with anything except what they are trying to get you to buy. There is a special place in hell for you.
8. Incomplete profiles. If you don’t have a bio, or a website, or preferably both, on what should I base my decision to follow you? Your inability to fill out your profile? This also goes for not posting a picture.
9. Cursing. I curse all the time in real life, but I don’t want to read obscenities on my Twitter stream. It generally is not necessary to put that out to the world.
10. Never acknowledging retweets or @messages. Sure I understand that reporters or celebrities with tens of thousands of followers can’t possibly respond to all these messages, but if you have under 500 followers, most likely you can spend a couple minutes each day responding. Remember you are on Twitter to create community!!!

Of course, these are MY pet Twitter peeves. You may not agree. Which is why you can feel free to leave your top Twitter peeves on the comments! (Or hey, write your own blog!)

About Deborah Brody

Deborah Brody writes and edits anything related to marketing communications. Most blog posts are written under the influence of caffeine.

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Who are you? Why are you here?

Lots of people ask themselves these questions, especially around milestone birthdays and during the “mid-life crisis.”  For individuals, there is no one right answer. Some people spend their whole lives seeking for the answers and some people just go for “one day at a time” philosophy.

But what do you do if your business has an identity crisis? First,  determine if your business does have an identity crisis. Here are some signs:

• You offer many types of services or products that can’t easily be grouped together
• Your company name and tagline do not readily communicate what you do/everything you do
• You have several different logos/different taglines
• You don’t have clear-cut branding (no signature color, font, tagline, key messages)
• If someone asks you what you do, it takes several sentences to explain (you just can summarize it in one phrase)

If you answered yes to even one of these descriptors, you probably are suffering from an identity crisis. You brand is not  strong and your business mission is not clear.

Having a business identity crisis can result in your business going under. Just down the street from where I live was a “wellness center.”  It was a retail outlet that sold vitamins and baby clothes made from organic cotton. They offered massages and facials. They held yoga and qi gong classes.  They probably would have described themselves as a lifestyle store, which is  generic. They weren’t known for any of these offerings. And they closed.  To me, this was a classic example of an identity crisis.  Too many products and service offerings. No clear differentiation. And a vague description that can mean different things to different people.

In a crowded marketplace, differentiation can make the difference (I am so punny). You won’t be able to differentiate if you have an identity crisis.

Does your business suffer from an identity crisis?  Time to ask yourself some hard, existential questions.

About Deborah Brody

Deborah Brody writes and edits anything related to marketing communications. Most blog posts are written under the influence of caffeine.

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