Archive for December, 2009
Let's Make Sure This Goes Viral
Have you ever uttered the words “this is going to go viral” or know someone who has? Are you amazed at how a video of a kitten playing the piano can reach 3 million people, but only 15 people view the corporate video you posted on YouTube – and 12 of those people are employees or relatives?
Why some things go viral can’t always be explained; however, in the book “The Viral Loop“, Adam Penenberg does a nice job discussing how businesses can create success by knowing what a customer wants and creating an environment that encourages people to share.
Penenberg gives real world examples like Twitter, Facebook and Ning as well as Tupperware – one of the earliest examples of viral marketing.
“The trick is they created something people really want, so much so that their customers happily spread their product for them through their own social network of friends, family, colleagues, and peers.”
The key to success is designing your product or service the right way.
As you start looking towards 2010, take a look at this book to see how you can apply some of its principles to your business.
Hey Look I'm On Entrepreneur.com
I know this is shameless self-promotion (something I try to avoid on my blog), but I am very excited about my article on Entrepreneur.com and I wanted to share it with you. It discusses on six things you can do to start growing your business again.
I promise, next week I will be back to offering tips on how to better market your business.
If there are topics you’d like me to cover, please let me know.
When Did You Last Talk With Your Audience?
In last week’s Atlanta Business Chronicle, Ken Bernhardt discussed the changing role of the Chief Marketing Officer – from one who just focuses on marketing, to one who should serve as a strategic adviser to the CEO.
The key to achieving the strategic adviser role is getting closer to the consumer.
Bernhardt goes on to discuss the role of research in gaining that consumer insight even in product development, yet “approximately half of companies surveyed use research in the product development process”.
When was the last time you spoke with your audience? Reaching consumers is now easier than ever with social networking tools like blogs, Facebook, and Twitter.
Monitoring what they say about your products and services can provide great insight on how to position your services or develop new products. It allows you to have an ongoing pulse on your market.
Sometimes more formal research is needed beyond monitoring consumer feedback. An investment in research can easily pay for itself by allowing your company to better focus resources on things consumers want or marketing your product more effectively. And with online research tools, market research is more cost effective than ever.
If you can do only one thing to better market your business, talking with your audience should be that one thing.
Is Your Brand Indispensable?
Two years ago, who would have thought Coke and Energizer could ever be cast aside by retailers?
Well – it’s happening.
Costco recently announced it was no longer selling Coca-Cola products as a result of a price battle. CVS is dropping most Energizer products and will only carry Duracell and its private label. Following this trend, Wal-Mart continues to move towards its product mix goal of one top brand, one value brand and its private label.
Costco is betting people will continue to come to Costco and buy alternatives to Coke. CVS has used its customer shopping data to predict a minimal sales drop if they no longer sell Energizer.
What should all businesses take away from this?
Few brands are indispensable to the customer. In fact, you know your customers could find a pretty good alternative if you were no longer in business.
So what can you do to become as close to indispensable as possible?
Know your customers
- Why do they choose to buy your product/service?
- What do you offer them that they can’t get anywhere else?
- Why do they buy from your competitors if you aren’t available?
- What do your competitors offer that you don’t?
- How are they using your product or service?
- How do they use your competitor’s product or service?
(These questions can be easily answered through one-on-one interviews and quantified through online research.)
Know your competition
- What are they offering that you don’t?
- What makes them unique in the market?
- Do they partner with other companies?
Upon learning about your customers, develop service offerings that they can only get from your company. Some ideas could be:
- Guarantees
- Special hours
- Rewards programs
- Loyal customer specials
- Packaged service offering
- Something extra every time they do business with you (for example, a local Chinese restaurant gives you an extra appetizer as their way of saying thank you)
Why no mention of lowering prices on these lists? Making your brand indispensable is not about price; it is about creating value that your audience can not receive anywhere else.
How are you creating value to make your brand indispensable?
Post your comments so others can learn from what you are doing.
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