Marketing — KevinBehringer.com

May 18, 2012

Remember wood roasting and ice cream swirls when branding

The other day, I linked to a post by Mitch Joel about finding your “one thing”

It’s a great post from Mitch in which he outlines how brands, both personal and professional need to have that one thing that sums up who they are. It is certainly difficult to figure out (or create), but it’s critical for achieving success in what are becoming more and more crowded markets.

I’m not going to try to expand on this concept because Mitch really does nail it. What I will say is that, after you find that one thing, you need to make sure to highlight it. You need to make that the stake you place in the ground that, if people know nothing else about you, they know that.

Then, you need to highlight it and promote the heck out of it.

Notice I say promote and highlight.

Most brands that identify their one thing have traditionally been pretty good at promoting it. Just buy a bunch of ads, make a fancy website, done.

The disconnect I’ve noticed lately is brands not highlighting or living up to the one thing they promote. It’s a failure to make the thing you’ve promoted obvious to the markets you serve.

Wood roasted coffee

Summermoon is a coffee roaster in Austin, TX with the claim to fame of roasting their coffee using a wood-fired process. Their logo is a picture of logs burning in an open flame. Pictures on their website show flames, wood stoves and everything else that would reinforce that message of roasting over a wood fire. Their website is even woodfiredcoffee.com.

Being a complete coffee fiend, I was looking forward to visiting Summermoon when I was in Austin this past March for SXSW. I worked my schedule so I’d be able to to visit the shop one morning before the sessions and drove 10 miles out of the way to go check this shop out.

I walked in and was immediately struck with how “normal” it looked. Just another coffee shop, like numerous others. I ordered a coffee and, while it was good, it wasn’t earth-shattering. All in all, it was a decent experience at a coffee shop.

Therein lies the problem.

They have this great claim to fame of wood-roasting their coffee that they highlight as their “one thing.” What was the one thing I couldn’t find when I was there? The wood stoves/roaster they use. The one thing I went there to see.

Now, admittedly, I didn’t ask to get a tour or see the entire facility because I had things to do. But, if something is the one thing you stand for, the one thing that makes you unique, shouldn’t it be obviously highlighted when you walk in the door? Leaving that part of the experience out made them just like any other coffee shop.

Can I have some cream with that?

Dairy Queen.

Just the mention of it takes me back to my childhood. A childhood filled with Blizzards, Dilly Bars and ice cream cakes. One of the original purveyors of soft-serve ice cream that have been a staple of America for over 60 years, Dairy Queen has built a brand on their unique approach to dessert that includes the “swirl on top.”

It’s unlikely, but if you’ve never been to a Dairy Queen, their signature is a small swirl on top of the cone/dish or any other frozen treat. As a Cub Scout, I went on a tour of a Dairy Queen (exciting, I know), during which the DQ employee showed us how they put the swirl on top as they make their cones and explained that it’s the signature of Dairy Queen.

They’ve even taken to including it in their branding now by putting “the cone with the swirl on top” on the wrappers they wrap around their cones when they serve them.

So, the swirl is a pretty big thing.

Recently, on multiple occasions, though, I got a cone at Dairy Queen that was delivered with no swirl, just a normal ice cream cone that I could have gotten anywhere. Same branding message on the cone about the swirl, just no delivery on the swirl.

It may be nitpicky, but that’s what’s called for

Now, you may be saying this is awfully ridiculous to harp on a little swirl on top of an ice cream cone and how a company roasts its coffee. Admittedly, I felt a little ridiculous writing about them. These two things certainly didn’t change the taste of the product, which is really what’s important.

At the same time, part of me says that every little detail is important. Those details jump in importance when that little detail is the one thing you highlight when talking about your brand.

So, yes, the swirl on an ice cream cone or the way coffee is roasted can be seen as small details, but if you are promoting them as one of (or the) your key points of difference, you are making them into big things; and they become the things you need to deliver on.

Yes, the coffee and ice cream still tasted good. It was fine. Most people may not have even noticed these small details. But, my point is, if you’re trying to figure out what your “one thing” is, be sure that when you settle on it, it’s the one thing you always deliver on.

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May 11, 2012

One reason that blog comments are broken

Shelly Kramer

Building links to and from your content is also a critical part of SEO. And one of the easiest ways to create links to your blog from a wide number of sources is to comment on other blogs. It can be hard to make time to do this if you’re juggling a busy schedule, but it’s an important—and often overlooked—step. Most comment forms allow you to include a URL that will appear with your comment. You may want to consider linking back to a specific post that aligns with the subject matter you’re commenting on, rather than your site’s homepage.

I think this is part of the problem with blog comments as the are currently.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for SEO and helping your content be found on the search engines. Leaving aside the fact that many blogs treat the urls in comments as nofollow (so the link juice is nonexistent), my problem is with what this strategy does to blog commenting as a whole. I see so many comments on blogs these days that are essentially spam. People paying lipservice to the topic on the post as an excuse to point someone to their blog.

I just think we can do it better.

Absolutely, leave a link to your blog – for many sites, this is part of the commenting process. But rather than saying, “Great idea. Here’s a post on my blog that’s tangentially related,” leave a comment that illustrates your viewpoint, stays on topic and positions you as someone interesting. That way, people will follow the link to your blog to see what else you may have to say.

Commenting on other blogs is certainly a great way to build your following, but do it right. You wouldn’t walk up to a stranger at business dinner, listen to something they have to say and reply, “Good point. Read my book about that, available at Barnes and Noble everywhere.” So, don’t treat your online interactions that way.

Comments should be a catalyst to further conversation, not just a cleverly (or, more often than not, not so cleverly) hidden advertisement.

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May 7, 2012

Thank You Mitch Joel

Dear Mitch:

I’ve really enjoyed your recent posts thanking people publicly on your blog for their impact in their life. When I read the first “note” you sent to Seth Godin, I was immediately struck with a desire to write a similar note to one of my biggest marketing inspirations. You.

I still remember one of your first podcasting appearances on Jaffe’s Across the Sound where you two provided commentary to a shared experience on Second Life. I had been listening to Jaffe for some time and was interested who this “new guy” was that he was talking to. I’ve watched with amazement since then as you have gone from “who’s that” to the “rockstar of marketing.”

Your passion for marketing and the high level of esteem in which you hold this profession are both inspirations to me. In a world where marketing is largely viewed on par with used car salesmen pushing snake oil, you stand as a representation of what marketing can and should be. Your unwavering belief that marketing is a role to be respected and revered (when done properly) has reassured me of my chosen career path on numerous occasions.

One of the most important things I have learned from you is your level-headed approach to marketing. Your seemingly unflappable demeanor when everyone else is frantically chasing after the latest trends and running off half-cocked in response to the latest news story has challenged me to take a breath and examine situations from all sides. That level of calm is one of the many things that has led me to view you as the smartest marketer out there right now.

Even though I’ve only met you briefly on one occasion – at the Word Of Mouth Marketing Conference in Chicago a couple years ago – I have learned more about business and marketing from you than people I have known my entire life. Coming away from that conference, I couldn’t wait to tell my wife how I had met my biggest marketing hero in person.

Mitch, you have shaped my view of marketing and business more than I could ever properly thank you for. You are the one person who I point people to when they are trying to understand marketing and where it is headed. Yours is the one blog that I can’t miss every day. I love listening in on your podcast interviews because it’s so obvious how you are enjoying getting to talk to these people and we just get to “come along for the ride.”

Thank you, Mitch, for the years of learning you’ve already given me and the years I’m sure are to come.

Kevin

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May 5, 2012

Spreading the news #BlogSomething2012

At some point in your life, you may have been approached by a Christian evangelist. You may have stopped and listened, you may have ignored them, you may have even been a little annoyed that you were approached.

Have you ever wondered why someone like that would approach a stranger out of the blue and start talking about Jesus dying to save sinners? It’s likely (if their motives are correct) that their entire reasoning for doing so is they believe that without Jesus, people will go to hell. They believe it so strongly that they are motivated by love to tell as many people as they can, because they want to share the message they have been given.

Now, believe them or not, it does paint such a person in a different light, doesn’t it? One of a desire to help, to share and to pass along something they strongly believe you need to hear.

Customer evangelists are the same

Your customers can (and, hopefully, do) have a similar passion for your offering that compels them tell their friends, family, everyone about the great experience they had with your comapny. If you’re doing your job, they should so believe in your company and what you stand for that they happily tell everyone they think will benefit from what you offer.

The thing many marketers don’t realize is that this evangelism, this desire to share the news about your company, doesn’t just start after they purchase. It starts all the way at the beginning of the relationship. Then, throughout the various interactions with your company, their confidence builds that you are reliable and trustworthy.

A leap of faith

It’s likely that many people who have been blogging in the week of #BlogSomething2012 will have a similar take on today’s picture. That’s because it really does capture what you are asking your customers to do when it comes to evangelising your company. You are asking them to take a leap of faith.

Now, their vouching for your company may not carry the same weight as vouching for someone on, say, The Sopranos, but it still is asking a lot. You are effectively asking your customers to put their reputation on the line with people who trust them. You are asking them to trust that, when they recommend your brand, you will back them up and prove yourself worthy of their risking their reputation.

This is no small thing and one you should take very seriously.

It’s a process

Like I said, this doesn’t start after the sale. In fact, if you’ve been doing all the other stages right (moving them from casual looker to prospect to interested to customer) this will just be a natural outcome.

What can you do to make sure this is where your customers land?

Reassure them along the way that you deserve their trust. Show them that you will make them look good for recommending you.

Ultimately, make sure that the experience they have had with you is one worth telling people about and risking their reputation on.

A quick thank you

I just wanted to give Christopher Penn a quick thanks for the topic ideas this week. His laying out the program for the week really gave me a kick in the butt to write consistently.

I also want to thank you for reading this week and I hope you’ll subscribe so I can see you back here next week!

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May 4, 2012

When closing, clarity is key #BlogSomething2012

If you’ve seen Glengarry Glenross, you know the importance of closing a sale. You don’t want to be left with that set of steak knives…or worse.

The problem is, there’s been such a backlash against sales (and, by extension, marketing) that it’s often a little nerve-wracking to ask for the sale. Be it lack of belief in their offering, a lack of understanding of the prospect’s true need, or just simply a fear of the person sitting across the desk, too many people are uneasy asking for the sale.

So, when it comes time to get down to business, to bring all the work they’ve put in on the front-end to a culmination, many salespeople (or websites acting as sales people) offer up some vague call to action hoping to fall over backwards into a sale.

That’s what today’s #BlogSomething2012 picture says to me (in hieroglyphs, no less) – be clear when closing.

Don’t put some call to action out there that doesn’t really ask for the sale because you’re nervous about offending the person in front of you – either in person or virtually. If what you are offering them is truly of value, you should feel like you can’t imagine them not buying because what you are offering is exactly what they need. (If not, that’s a different discussion)

But, if they truly have a need, and if your product or service truly meets that need, be clear in asking for the sale. Don’t beat around the bush. Tell them you believe they will benefit from doing business with you and outline why.

Then ask for the sale. If you’ve done your homework on the front end, they’ll be happy you did.

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May 3, 2012

#BlogSomething2012 What a terrible waiter taught me about marketing

A few weeks ago I had, without a doubt, the worst waiter in the history of food service.

After long weeks of Pixar movies bookending our meals and food ending up on the floor (from our toddler, not us), my wife and I decided to go out for a nice steak dinner. We thought through all the restaurants in the area and settled on one that seemed like it would be a good fit that came with rave reviews of the food.

Friday finally came and, after wishing the babysitter luck, we headed out to the restaurant, sat down, ordered drinks and breathed a collective sigh of relief.

That’s when things got weird.

Our waiter started out fine. We ordered our drinks, a light appetizer and entrees (I got a porterhouse if you must know). He seemed like pleasant enough guy, but as soon as our meals arrived, he turned a corner. Suddenly, we couldn’t get rid of the guy.

He would come over every minute and a half or so and ask if we wanted to order anything else – more appetizers, another drink, dessert, etc. At one point, halfway through my steak, he set the dessert menu on my plate and asked me to order dessert. He said it’d really help him out because it would command a larger tip.

Ok, maybe not…

I admit, that’s a fabrication inspired by today’s #BlogSomething2012 picture, but doesn’t it seem to align with much of modern marketing?

Someone finally raises their hand, offers a company the information needed to begin a relationship and all that company does is spam them with information they didn’t ask for, or overwhelms them with so much information that they forget why they volunteered in the first place.

And it’s all because the company is focused on their goals over the needs of their customers/prospects. They figure if they send out enough content, over and over, eventually you’ll buy. They don’t do it because it’s beneficial to you or they feel it will help you solve a problem. No, they do it because the company or marketer has sales goals to meet.

That’s certainly not a path to sustained success.

Learning from another fake waiter

Think about those times you’ve had a great waiter at a restaurant. The one you were more than happy to over-tip because they did such an amazing job.

What was it about them that so impressed you?

Maybe they were available at a moment’s notice – when you wanted them, not when they wanted something from you.

Maybe they cared enough to show genuine concern for your enjoyment, but not to the point of annoyance.

Maybe the anticipated your needs and were there at the exact right moment to fill your water glass before you realized you needed it.

Most likely, they treated you like a valued customer, like a person. And they acted like a person too.

Moving someone from the bar to a table

Ultimately, if you want somone to move from being a prospect to a qualified lead (or, move from having a drink at the bar to having dinner) you need to be attuned to their wants and needs and work to serve them, rather than yourself.

Think about the type of content and service they desire and so delight them with how you provide it that they’re thrilled to buy from you again and again.

Being a valuable resource in this new era of business rather than a nuisance is the only path to long-term success. Step one down that path is making sure that your prospects are so impressed with you and like your company so much, that they happily move themselves into the category of qualified lead.

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May 1, 2012

#BlogSomething2012 Find prospects with a giant axe and gold

That is a photo of a halberd, which is apparently a “two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 14th and 15th centuries.”

Yeah, I didn’t know either.

Today’s topic from Christopher Penn’s week of #BlogSomething2012 is “finding prospects,” which he illustrates using that photo. I’m certainly not the weapons expert that Mr. Penn is. In fact, until I read his post today, I had just given the photo a quick glance and thought it was a pickaxe (which makes the second half of this post make more sense).

Obviously, upon closer inspection of the photo, I realized it is certainly not a pickaxe, but in researching what a halberd is, I did see some (albeit loose) correlations to the concept of turning “just looking” into people raising their hand and saying, “talk to me.”

Get in close

Seemingly, halberds and pole weapons are only useful for close combat. Getting down to the one-on-one level. Can’t really do a whole lot of “spray and pray” type warfare with a big axe. Given that, what are some keys to success of that type of combat?

You want to know your opponent. Understand their strengths and weaknesses. Understand their tendencies and know how they may react to your attack. You need to get “up close and personal” to be effective in this type of battle.

Similarly, to effectively move someone from a casual glance to a strong prospect, you need to understand them. Know their desires, their needs, their weak points that you can help address. You need to get personal and truly understand this person or group of people. Not so you can attack, but so you can provide value to them.

There’s gold in them, thar hills!

There’s no great way to transition from the topic of attacking someone with a large axe to the American Gold Rush, but here we go!

Like I mentioned earlier, I first thought the photo was of a pickaxe, which matched nicely with the word prospects (or, more appropriately, prospecting). Obviously (ok, maybe only obvious to me), my mind went to the gold rush of the 1800s. In every gold rush, things start small with a few people finding gold. Then, word spreads and everyone wants to be a part of it.

I think this is can be analogous to the idea of finding prospects, but the angle of view will differ based on the person.

It’s all in how you look at it

From the angle of the company, you are searching for “gold.” That gold could be a prospect, customer, subscriber to your blog, reader of your whitepaper, anything that furthers the engagement with that person or group. Unfortunately, like in the gold rush, you’re not the only one looking for that gold, which means that you have to do what successful prospectors did – stick with it.

The successful prospectors both for gold and customers are the ones that stay with it. Day in and day out. Doing the tough work, trying new tactics, experimenting with different techniques, looking for new opportunities. It won’t always be easy, and some days may just leave you with a pan full of sand, but eventually, hopefully, you’ll have a pile of gold to show for it.

From the viewpoint of the customer, gold is still the goal, but they are looking for the gold of great content, or solutions to their problems. Especially on the internet, it’s tough to sift through the “non-gold” out there, so when a prospect finds some gold, they’re likely to stick around in hopes of finding more.

Then, as in the gold rush, word will spread as others want to be a part of what’s happening.

So, how does this apply to transforming lookers into prospects?

I admit, my analogies are a bit stretched, but I think the conclusions make up for it.

How do you entice people to raise their hand?

Know them well – their wants, needs, desires and pain points.
Put in the time to build the “gold nuggets” of content that…
Creates a desire in them to be a part of what’s happening.

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April 30, 2012

Build an audience with something to believe in #BlogSomething2012

Jonathan Edwards is largely regarded as one of the greatest Puritans of all time. He lived in the 1700s and has the legacy of playing an essential role in the First Great Awakening.

A year or so ago, I read a biography of Edwards (affiliate link). I went into it knowing very little about Edwards, other than he is seen as one of Christianity’s theological giants.

As I read about this man’s life, something struck me. As smart, well read and driven as he was, his confidence wasn’t in himself. Instead he placed an enormous amount of confidence in his message – namely, the Bible.

I think that’s a key part of growing an audience. Having a message/product/company behind you that is worthy of your confidence.

To kick off this week of #blogsomething2012, Christopher Penn has a great post about believing in what you’re promoting. I think this is critical. You need to believe in what you’re promoting if you have any hope of success. But, that belief needs to be in something worth believing in.

Before you rush out to promote your “next great product,” or spread your message, take the time to make sure that it’s worth promoting.

To use a tactic of Jonathan Edwards (he’s famous for his scores of resolutions), resolve to work tirelessly to build something that is worthy of your belief. Worthy of your confidence. Worthy of your hard work.

Then, go out and promote it with a confidence that comes from knowing you did everything you could to make it great.

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April 20, 2012

“Free” is not a synonym for valuable

Valeria Maltoni:

For the prospect, user, and client, free is a gift. Yet it becomes a benefit only when it is used, learned, put into practice, and delivers results. Yes, even free books — the $25-business card, as they call them — will not do you any good until you read them and put what you learn into practice.

Free is designed to get people into the conversation, yet when the conversation is about your product and service and not about their problem and need, it remains a feature and never becomes a benefit. I will gladly try this and that, yet that doesn’t mean I will purchase your item or avail myself of your services.

Only when what is offered is an experience that truly speaks to your prospect and user’s needs and wants, you begin to convert free from feature to benefit.

The concept of free has been kicking around in my head a lot lately.

As marketers, we seem to have placed an inherent value on something being free, regardless of its usefulness. We assume that if we put something “out there” for free, people will value it simply because it’s free, regardless of whether it’s valuable.

I see this most often on “Free Stuff “X”day” type blog posts. The blogger has a weekly feature of “free” stuff. If you look closely, though, these posts seem to be little more than linkbait. Their “free” stuff days are often filled with “free” opportunities to enter a drawing for some product.

Is that really free? Is that really valuable? You’re going to “let” met enter a contest which will as likely as not end up getting me spammed or, at the very least, provide more value for you than me? I’d rather you call them “Contest Fridays” or something similar. At least that’s more accurate.

Just because we put something out for free, doesn’t mean we can ignore the concept of adding value to it. Remember, people put “free” stuff out on their curb every week and the garbage collectors come and pick it up.

Free is not a synonym for valuable and if you want your “free” item/product/content to be successful, you need to think of it as “free and helpful.” Otherwise, it’s probably just garbage.

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