Don’t Drive Angry.

In honor of Groundhog Day and one of my favorite movies by the same name, I wanted to recall a blog post from a little over a year ago regarding the elusive elevator speech.  It continues to be a hot topic with many of my clients and networking groups.  While getting it right takes work, once it is done it can make the difference of whether or not you get your foot in the door.

Originally Posted January 5, 2009

I am often amazed that even in the smallest companies discrepancies exist between how employees convey the company story.  And if you can’t get your story straight, you can’t expect customers to truly understand what you do.

So what to do.

Have all your employees memorize your mission statement?  I have seen it done and it doesn’t work.

Create the perfect elevator pitch* and print it on the back of their business cards? The elevator pitch is a good start, but if it feels rote, it won’t be believable.

The answer – create that elevator pitch, but help your employees make it their own.  Help them internalize the idea you set forth for your brand and let them express it in their own way.  That way it is delivered with conviction.

*Your elevator pitch is the 10 – 15 second description of why someone should hire your company.  If you don’t have one, creating one should be a priority.

To see where you stand, conduct a simple exercise.

1. Write down what you think is your elevator pitch.
2. Have everyone write down what they think is your elevator pitch.
3. Analyze the findings to see if everyone is on the same page.  Be honest and do not infer what people mean to say.
4. If everyone is on the same page, great.  If not, you have a starting point to see what needs to be fixed.
5. If the differences are significant try to identify trends.  Do the customer-facing people describe your company one way, and the back office another?  Do your long-time employees have a different perspective than your newer employees?
6. Honestly assess the findings and determine if your elevator pitch is the best one or does a better solution exist.
7. Present the final elevator pitch to your employees and have them write down what it means to them.  Doing so will help them internalize the pitch so they can it with conviction.

With any branding activity, it does require monitoring.

Every six months ask your employees if they think the elevator pitch is still relevant to your audience.  This is a non-threatening way to get their input and to ensure they know how important it is to you.

If things begin to stray repeat the exercise outlined above.

What is your elevator speech?  Help each other out by posting your in the comments section.

What Are You Learning From Your Email Marketing?

To improve customer engagement, use your email marketing to learn more about your customers.

Third party email companies like Constant Contact, Emma and StreamSend are great tools to create an effective email marketing program, though most companies only use them to send out emails and track who opens them.

That’s just the beginning for these tools.  The real fun comes from segmenting your database based on their email activities.

• Test which day of the week provides the best open rates for your database, and make that your email date
• Test subject lines to see which version has a greater open rate
• Test what information generates the most interest by measuring click-thru rates, and craft your future content accordingly
• If some of your audience responds to a certain type of offer, segment them and continue to offer them more of the same.  If another segment of your audience responds to a different stimulus, reach out to them with the information they want to receive.

Through their actions (or inactions), you can learn what your customers want if you take the time to dig into the data. The end results will improve customer engagement so you get the most out of your email marketing.

What have you learned about your customer database from your email marketing?

How Will New Consumer Habits Impact Your Business?

Many experts predict that new habits created in this current economic downturn will be long lasting.  A recent article in US News by Rick Newman highlights the 17 ways consumer habits have changed. The impact is far reaching in regard to what people buy as well as how they buy.

The consumer is volunteering more, becoming more self-sufficient and doing away with the excesses they once “had to have”.  Now is the time for you to rethink how you connect with consumers in your effort to meet their needs.

Here are Newman’s 17 Ways Consumers Are Changing:

• Less credit, more cash
• It is no longer about the monthly payment, but the total cost
• Greater suspicion of banks and business
• Being more resourceful
• Less brand loyalty
• Smaller is bigger
• Renting is popular again
• Less window shopping
• More closet shopping
• Decluttering
• Food frugality
• More gardening
• Less waste
• Less healthcare
• More negotiating
• More volunteering
• Redefining success

Consider how you can help simplify the consumer’s life. For example, proactively call your customers when it’s time for their next appointment or service, instead of sending them a reminder notice and waiting for them to reach out to you.

The more you can do to make that connection, the better your business will adjust to this new consumer.

FYI – lowering your price is not the answer.

Hey Netflix – Just Tell Me You Want Me Back

Six months ago I canceled my Netflix account, simply because we weren’t using it.  I like the service, but since we weren’t watching movies, the $4.99 monthly fee was adding up.

Last week I received a direct mail solicitation from Netflix asking me to come back. It was a traditional “win back” offer targeting cancelled customers.

The piece encouraged me to use my Priority Code by February 28, 2010 to get “so much for only $4.99 a month”.  Secondarily, it mentioned Netflix’s newest feature, the ability to download movies to my Tivo or computer, as well as their competitive advantages: no due dates, no late fees, and no need to rush to a kiosk (the latter being a direct shot at RedBox).

I thought the six-month follow-up from Netflix was terrific, as cancelled customers are highly responsive, but the meaningless priority code seemed a bit deceptive and the heavy-handed focus on price seemed off base.  I would have preferred a simple letter saying “we want you back and here are some new things you can do with Netflix.”

If you want to win a customer back, be open and honest.  Tell them why you want them back and what they have been missing.  Former customers chose you once so they know who you are. As a result, your sales pitch should be more transparent.

The Little Things Make A Big Difference

When a company does the little things to make your interaction more enjoyable, it goes a long way.

Over the Christmas break I spent some time in Chattanooga, TN at the Doubletree Hotel.

While Doubletree is best known for its warm chocolate chip cookies, it was some of the other things they did that really made the difference:

-   They called a nearby hotel with an indoor pool so my kids could go swimming.

-   The clock radio had pre-set stations listed as rock, news, pop and sports, so I didn’t have to navigate unfamiliar stations.

-   Even the language they used for the ever-present room signage made me appreciate the experience that much more.

Current economic trends might be preventing you from increasing your marketing spend, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make a positive impact on your customers by making small, positive changes in how you do business.

• I’ve seen home service companies bring the newspaper to the door or clear cobwebs from around the house.
• Publix employees still bring your groceries to your car and they are not allowed to accept tips.
• I’ve received a personal note from my Nordstrom’s sales person.
• Zappo’s typically upgrades shipping to next day air.

In this day of social media – where anyone can make their opinion known to millions – doing the little things to make a positive impact can go far. And often these little things don’t cost you anything.

As you look at 2010, share what you are doing to make a difference with your customers.

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.

Happy Thanksgiving

In lieu of this week’s blog post, I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

While it has been a tough business year I am sure you will agree there is much in which to be thankful.

Look for a new post next week.

Best,

- Andy