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When The Marketing Works
filed in Marketing, Storytelling, Strategy
We spend so much of our time in ‘push mode’ that we can forget to celebrate what went well or to evaluate why. When you make the sale it’s natural to begin working out how to make the next one.
We make the next one by working out why we made the first.
It’s important to spend as much time questioning why the story resonated, as you do working out how to tell it.
Image by Baptiste Pond.
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What Are Your Rules Designed To Do?
filed in Marketing, Storytelling, Strategy
It’s never a good sign when a flight doesn’t board on time. When the ground staff make announcements about ‘engineering faults’ and begin handing out meal vouchers you know you’re in trouble. And so it went last month for flight 029 to Hong Kong. Three hours after the first announcement the flight was cancelled, leaving the ground staff with five hundred customer service issues to deal with in one hit. No wonder few airlines do this well.
There were a few options for me to choose from—accept a downgrade to a different flight class taking, one of the last remaining seats on a partner airline’s flight that was departing later that day, wait to fly on the ‘next available’ (no more flights today and not sure when there will be any in that class tomorrow), or cancel the trip. The first rule of flying is, always go on the flight that’s going, so it was a no brainer, and besides this was a work trip and there was no way I would let this client down even if I had to swim to Hong Kong.
There was a rush to get a couple of us ticketed and boarded and no mention about how the airline would compensate passengers for the inconvenience and the downgrade, that would be sorted out later. Much later.
Six weeks on I’ve repeated this story to three of the airline’s ‘customer care’ representatives and one supervisor, after they asked if I had kept my new boarding pass (even though they could see I had boarded and travelled).
Initially I was offered Frequent Flyer Points (and no refund) “as a gesture of goodwill”. I was told that because of the ‘fare rules’ the difference between the fares could not be refunded in cold hard cash. When I tried to dig deeper about those rules I was informed that rep number three hadn’t been “trained in the fare rules”.
And there’s what’s at the heart of the problem.
If your rules are so complex that staff can’t understand them, what hope is there for customers? What are those rules designed to do? Are they there to protect customers and staff, to ensure that everyone is treated well and fairly, to empower the delivery of surprise and delight? Or are they designed to enable the organisation to maximise its return on investment in the short term, thus forsaking things that matter?
If your rules are not designed to make customers happy or to empower staff to make that happen, then what are they designed for?
Seven weeks and another conversation with the supervisor later it seems I might get a partial refund. The customer care representative who is handling my case was due to email me about the decision late last week. I’m still waiting to hear if the rules are designed to be broken and fair.
Image by Jonathan Cohen.
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What To Question
The comedian doesn’t think about how he to be funnier, he tries to understand what makes people laugh and why.
The shoe designer doesn’t simply consider what will look good, she obsesses over what will make a woman feel good.
The architect doesn’t just consider the orientation of the building, he cares about how people will go about their day inside it.
What do you spend your days questioning and caring about? Is it the things that truly matter?
Image by Steve Spangler
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Double Your Business
Greg opened his diary and booked the new client in. It was a small electrical job, hardly worth going out of his way for the call out fee of $120—the kind of job that most of his competitors wouldn’t have dreamed of booking this close to Christmas when everyone wanted everything yesterday.
He turned up on time and replaced the power outlet in less that 20 minutes. The call out fee was secured in a third of the time allocated and Greg could have been on his way, his competitors would certainly have made use of those extra forty minutes that he now had up his sleeve, not Greg.
He stayed to chat to the customer, getting to know him, admiring the space and the decor and suggesting ways that the lighting could be improved in ways that would save electricity and enhance the appearance and functionality of the room. Before the hour was up without pushing or coercion Greg had secured this second job that was worth ten times the initial call out charge. He would be back to fit the new lights in January.
We spend a lot of time trying to work out how to get people to notice us. It turns out that we have a far greater chance of success when we notice them first. If you want to double your business try doubling your service. Opportunities for growth might be closer than you think.
Image by compacflt.
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The Right Thing To Do
filed in Marketing, Storytelling
Joe was in a real fix. The equipment he’d been scheduled to hire from the builder’s supplier had accidentally been hired to another customer, there wasn’t an alternative machine available for a month. Joe needed to do something fast, if he didn’t the job he was working on would be behind time by weeks and this delay would have a knock on effect on the whole project, impacting not just him, but other tradespeople and most importantly his client.
Delays in his industry were always costly.
He quickly began phoning around. It was early but most hire places were open. As he expected there was no joy from the first two, the equipment was specialised and not readily available at the drop of a hat. The last number he tried was more promising, the sales assistant told him that they had a machine for sale and an older model for rent. The sales guy began trying to convince Joe to buy the new machine, Joe explained that he was saving up for one but couldn’t justify the investment with other end of year expenses coming in. He agreed to come and collect the older rental model and to discuss buying the new one in a few months time.
Relieved, Joe set off across town. Ten minutes into his journey he got a call back from the sales assistant. While they did have the equipment available to hire a ‘higher authority’ at the yard had decided that if Joe wanted it he’d have to order and pay for the brand new machine in full today. If he didn’t they wouldn’t hire the machine to him. No amount of pleading could change the decision.
Authority affords someone the power to give orders, make decisions, make (or change) the rules and enforce obedience. These are the ‘whats’ of leadership—but they are not the ‘whys’ and without those ‘whys’, or a reason to serve there is no need for an authority, higher or no.
The highest function of any business is to do the right thing by the customer and to make that customer happy. When we forget that we disempower our teams and alienate our customers. Because it’s the right thing to do, is a far better leadership strategy than, because I’ve got the power.
Image by Pict73.
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The Value Of Unknowns
Will the new product launch be successful?
Is this really what customers want?
Will the digital marketing initiative drive enough sales?
Is this the right person to hire?
Will the redesign improve engagement?
Is the timing perfect?
The truth is that we can’t know for sure. That doesn’t stop us trying to act as if we do.
There’s nothing more seductive than confirmation and validation.
We actively seek them out, and yet we will do anything to avoid what we don’t know about our customers, the marketplace or the difference we hope to create.
The only way to know if we’ve done enough is to stop hiding from what we don’t know.
The act of digging into the unknowns is more useful than reaffirming what’s certain.
Image by Bob Vondereau.
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Design For The Outcome You Want
filed in Marketing, Storytelling, Strategy
Susan is the VP of Sales at a large company. She’s more than a little frustrated that her sales team keep selling legacy products to customers and don’t make the effort to introduce new product lines to them instead. Of course it’s easier for the sales guy to earn his bonus by filling repeat orders than it is to spend valuable time educating customers about what’s new and what the future might look like. And so the cycle perpetuates because of the way the sales team is compensated and rewarded.
Joe is an electrician, he has four children and his wife works full time, so he purposely doesn’t work 9 to 5. He’s designed his business to serve people who need an emergency call out service that operates after hours, when all of the other electricians in his area have gone knocked off for the day. Joe’s mobile phone number is the most visible thing on his website and that, along with his hours of operation are the main calls to action. Because of this he only gets relevant calls and doesn’t have to field enquiries from the kind of customers he doesn’t want to work with.
Messina sells the best gelato in Australia, and so they are not short of customers even on a cold winter Wednesday evening. In a world and an area where nobody carries cash, Messina runs a ‘cash only’ payment system in order to keep the lines running smoothly. Every Melburnian knows that if you want the best Salted Coconut and Mango Sorbet in Australia you’ll need to bring cash. In the end the constraints of the system the company has put in place creates a better experience for their customers.
For every action you take in your business, every signal you send and story you tell there will be a reaction from your customers. We often overlook the power the choices we make have to shape what will happen next.
What do you want your customer to do in the moment?
What does he need to know in order to be able to do that?
What systems and processes do you need to put in place to help him?
When you design your business (health care system, company, platform, family and on and on) for the outcomes you want, you not only get them, but your customers and your teams thank you for lighting the way.
Image by Ivano Bellini.
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Doing The Maximum
Everywhere you look today you will see people doing the minimum. The cashier at the electrical store processing customers without acknowledgement. The doctor who casually flips through your notes without making eye contact. The lecturer using the ‘death by PowerPoint’ teaching method.
We hardly ever experience someone doing the maximum (like the driver on the route 86 tram to Docklands who cracks a cheesy joke at every stop to brighten your day), and when we do it blows us away.
If you care, you have an obligation to do the maximum.
What does that look like in your business? Did you do that today?
Image by Kanaka Menehune
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What’s The End Game?
Before you pivot.
Before you expand.
Before you take on extra staff.
Before you act on conventional wisdom.
Before you panic about the numbers.
Before you say ‘yes’ to something when you really mean ‘no’.
Before you become someone you don’t recognise.
Ask yourself, What was my original intention for this business?
Now write those answers down.
Do the actions you’re taking today, or planning to take tomorrow align with those original intentions? Is where you’re headed next really where you want to go?
Image by The Cool Quest.
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The Long Way Round
In most situations if there’s a shortcut we’re tempted to take it. It’s human nature to conserve energy and take the most efficient route from point A to point B. This makes the business of selling hard, because we are naturally impatient to see signs of success and to avoid nagging doubts about the fear of failure.
When fear gets in the way and we become impatient for results we start to compromise. We hurry to interrupt and make people want things. We ignore the opportunity cost of gaining just one more sale and begin to do things that simply don’t sit well with us. Our marketing should always align with the values we hold true and be respectful of the people it is created for.
We have a choice, one that’s not often talked about in marketing circles, where growth hacking and fast market penetration are the tactics of the day. That choice involves giving ourselves permission and TIME to do things right and creating the buffer that enables us to take the long way round.
Image by Natalie Maynor.