I couldn't agree more with Neal Stewart's advice, which includes ... "Find ways to engage in conversation with your heavy users and fanatical consumers. More than ever, your brand’s stalkers are going to help you spread the word."
As we marketers know, it is far less expensive to market to current customers than it is to acquire new customers ... especially during this dismal economy.
In July, I ranted about how there isn’t a faster way to commoditizing a brand than using unemotional and uncreative language. The example I used was Starbucks and this billboard:
I wasn’t knocking the billboard tactic as OOH advertising can be used effectively. I was knocking the fast food mentality of the copy used in the billboard.
Communicating a new and improved position is totally of the fast food mindset. And, to feel the need to say BETTER COFFEE is off-putting to me. (Shouldn't the Starbucks cup automatically convey Better Coffee? After all, the "Better Coffee" angle should be the culmination of everything Starbucks has strived to communicate to customers since its inception.)
The other week I noticed a new Starbucks billboard execution going eastbound to the Austin airport. It’s being used as a directional guide to support a just-opened Starbucks location nearby.
Kudos. The language/tone isn’t unemotional and uncreative. It’s (somewhat) interesting and functional. In other words … Better Billboard. Fresher. A marked improvement.
"Big Ups" to SCOTT ANDERSON ... his SWOMfest Haiku was chosen as the bestest. His prize is a comp'd ticket to SWOMfest.
Kathy Sierra brilliantly (and succinctly) sums up the difference between "Buzz" and "Sustainable" Word-of-Mouth.
In June, Time magazine ran a story about the business philosophies of Kip Tindell (ceo/co-founder of The Container Store) and John Mackey (ceo/co-founder of Whole Foods Market). Kip and John are kindred spirits because they hold fast to the belief “empowered employees beget happy customers.”
The article is interesting. However, the transcript of the CONVERSATION between Tindell and Mackey is FASCINATING.
This CONVERSATION is required reading for anyone remotely interested in building a business that matters.
I’m on vacation this week. But you can’t take a vacation until you READ THIS.
What are you still doing here? I ain’t kidding you. I am imploring you to READ THIS. (There will be a quiz.)
** Kudos to Lilly Rockwell of the Austin-American Statesman for the heads-up.
I first met Zane Safrit at a Word of Mouth Marketing Association Conference in Orlando back in 2006. He was on a panel discussing how he, as then CEO of Conference Calls Unlimited, baked Word-of-Mouth into the corporate culture of his company. By far, he was the most lucid and approachable of the panelist. I was impressed.
These days, Zane is working on the next phase of this career. He's also blogging and hosting a weekly conversation on Blog Talk Radio with interesting businesspeople. And earlier today, we chatted.
We chatted about the Five Common Causes of Brand Demise [at 8:40], the business challenges Starbucks is facing [at 32:45], and lessons Whole Foods Market has learned from recent failures [at 71:45]. Some the advice I share about what Starbucks could do to regain vitality might surprise ya [at 53:00].
Listen in ...
