Branding
Podcast: How to Profit from the Social Media Groundswell
Social technologies have changed much more than our marketing strategies; they’ve changed us.
Social technologies have changed how we gather and share information. They’ve changed who we meet, where we meet, and, sometimes, how we meet. They’ve changed how we buy, what we buy, and where we buy. They’ve changed what, how, and how much we know about the people around us. And while social technologies may not have changed what it essentially means to be human, they’ve certainly amplified, at once, our voices, our influence, and our need to be heard.
Right now, a brand — possibly yours — is experiencing a public relations mini-disaster thanks to a comment left on a message board; a university student is recommending a movie to 372 people at once via Facebook; Barack Obama’s social media-driven campaign is beating the odds (and the Clintons).
Welcome to the groundswell.
Josh Bernoff, Vice President & Principal Analyst at Forrester Research joined us recently to discuss the soon-to-be-bestseller he’s co-authored with Forrester’s Charlene Li, Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies. The book is a brief history of social media — fully seasoned with research and anecdotes from the most notable triumphs and failures of the so-called “Web 2.0″ era — that explains how to thrive now that customers and clients own your brand.
Click here for the Groundswell podcast
Of course you’ll buy the book, but here’s a 15-minute interview you can download (by right-clicking) while you wait for your copy to be delivered.
POST (not haste)
As Josh explains the paradigm of Groundswell thinking, don’t forget POST:
• People - What are your customers ready for? What do they want? What’s motivating them?
• Objectives - What are your goals?
• Strategy - How do you want relationships with your customers to change?
• Technology - Swap “tactics” for “technology” and the same is true. The people, objectives, and strategy must come before your choice of technology/tactics.
Want to find your customers’ social technographics profile?
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Written by:Robert Gorell
Study: Brand Erosion Caused By E-Commerce Friction
The new “Ouch Point” survey from the Opinion Research Corporation suggests that U.S. e-commerce websites are still — believe it or not — frustrating shoppers.
As first reported by Direct Magazine, the survey found that…
- 19% dislike learning an item was back-ordered or out of stock after said item was placed in a shopping cart
- 14% are frustrated by Web sites that malfunction as payment is being processed
- 8% are confounded by unclear return policies
- 6% don’t like unclear shipping information
- 6% dislike not getting an acknowledgment after an order has been placed
Adding another dimension to these numbers, Jack Loechner at MediaPost explains that:
. . . iCongo, Inc., released the results of a consumer survey conducted by Harris Interactive that reveals [that] 33 percent of online U.S. adults indicated they are more likely to shop online rather than in-person at a store due to the high price of gasoline.
If there were ever a time to optimize your e-commerce website, it’s now.
What else causes friction? Read FutureNow’s 2007 Retail Customer Experience Survey for answers.
. .
Join FutureNow’s Bryan Eisenberg on June 3rd in New York City for the Call to Action seminar. Based on his bestselling book of the same title, Bryan will show you how to improve conversion and brand affinity by reducing friction for the customer.
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Written by:Robert Gorell
How to Find Your Website’s Voice (Even if it’s a Blog)
In our “Ask the Experts” post, Dina asks how to find her voice — her copywriting voice, that is — for a blog:
“Copywriting for a lifestyle blog is a mystery. How can a blogger create compelling copy that resonates in the short opportunities available, i.e. tagline, front page, about page, social media profiles so that readers subscribe?
“Long copy strategies just don’t work on my baby boomer marriage blog. There’s not enough room to describe the content, show personality and be keyword-rich without sounding crazy.
“What style of writing works best in a blog situation?”
As social media evolves, businesses of all sizes are struggling to maintain a balance in tone between website, blog, and anywhere else their content and brand are represented.
You may already know how to find your website’s voice, so let’s unpack Dina’s question a bit and see if it applies to your social media strategy as well…
Hi Dina!
First, subscribe to Brian Clark’s Copyblogger. He’s got concrete advice on web copy and content creation in general, and he’s the best of the best when it comes to copy that’s specifically tailored to blogging. In fact, one of his writers just did a post about “How to Create a Rock-Solid Tagline“.
Second — Before we, or anyone, can help you find the right tone for your blog, it’s essential to understand its goal.
How are you measuring success? You say you want to generate subscriptions, but to what end? Do you plan on monetizing the blog — and if so, how? Question your own assumptions. You’re suggesting that there are only a few “short opportunities available” to ask people to subscribe, but don’t forget that each post can present an opportunity to subscribe.
Your About Us page should be about more than just “keyword-rich” copy; it should tell your story. Take a look at Nike’s About Us page. Powerful, isn’t it? Sure, they hit all of the essential, dry corporate facts, but those few sentences that stick out let you know why people care about their brand. Your About Us page shouldn’t need to be as dramatic as Nike’s, but it should reflect your blog’s purpose. Remember, you’re asking people to subscribe to your blog, not search engines.
Let people know what you’ve done; where’ you’ve come from; what’s in it for you; what’s in it for them. Future Now’s About Us page isn’t perfect, but hopefully we’ve been both honest and persuasive — two things that are essential to our blog’s voice as well.
In your case (Dina runs a lifestyle blog about boomers getting married), here are a few questions that might help you find the right voice:
- What is the overall emotional stance that your blog has towards its subject?
- How does your blog view marriage?
- Write down some adjectives or perspectives to help.
- If your blog where an actual person, who would it be? Is your blog:
- Another girlfriend to talk to about marriage?
- A marriage counselor?
- A sincere talk show host?
- A close friend of the opposite sex who you feel comfortable asking sticky questions?
- A favorite aunt who has been there, done that, and gotten the t-shirt?
- Is there a favorite quote you have on marriage that sums things up for you?
- Is there one particular moment in the life of your blog that would capture its essence in a nutshell?
- Do certain words or phrases keep popping up in your blog, and would they help show your style/voice?
It may seem silly, but this stuff works.
Third, once you’ve established your blog’s voice, make sure it resonates in the details. Comment directions, error messages, category titles and the like are all good places to indicate your personality. But most of all, headlines are key. Make sure the post titles reflect both your brand’s personality and voice.
Finally, to the degree possible, make sure the content on the blog matches its editorial voice as well. This may be harder to do with multi-author blogs, but having a central blog voice can help. Send the style and voice guidelines out and simply ask for your writers not to stray too far from it. When some of them (quite inevitably) do stray, you can simply make it your policy to brand the post slightly differently than normal, so the readers know that not everyone shares the guest blogger’s perspective.
When in doubt, you can always ask your readers what they think.
. .
Editor’s Note: These are all things we’ve tried to do while finding our own voice at GrokDotCom. It’s not easy, particularly when offering what one hopes is constructive criticism, to be percieved as actually having been constructive. Of course, subscribing to a blog feed or a newsletter does not mean you subscribe to everything its authors say or how they say it. And as Seth Godin points out, “Sometimes, the web is more of a cocktail party than a club meeting.” Very true — and doubly so for those of us who offer advice.
On that note, we’d like to hear your thoughts on how GrokDotCom’s voice has evolved over the days, months, or years you’ve been reading. Don’t worry about hurting our feelings, either. We’d only be hurt if you thought we weren’t listening.
Feel free to share your comments below or email Robert (that’s me) directly. Thanks!
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Written by:Jeff Sexton
If Victoria’s Secret Wants Me Back…
I used to shop at Victoria’s Secret. They had really great stuff. But lately, when I walk into the store, I feel like I’m at a teenage pajama party, a porn video shoot, or both.
Victoria’s Secret used to be “my” store — a place that catered to sophisticated women. Now it feels like a store catering to teenage girls and creepy guys. Why, I wondered, doesn’t Victoria’s Secret want me as a customer anymore? Could it be because I’m not 25? But isn’t that a good thing? I’m older and I have more money.
Barbara La Placa is the associate publisher of marketing for MORE Magazine, a monthly magazine aimed at women over 40. In this OMMA article, she talks about women over 40 and their buying habits:
La Placa uses the example of lipstick to compare older women with younger consumers. “Open up my medicine cabinet and I’ve got 700 lipsticks. You don’t see that with young girls who get one brand everyone else has. Me, I’m 49, and I’m always looking for the right shade. And I have the money to buy the darn things,” La Placa adds.
Touche. Wake up and meet the boomer market. There are more women over 40 than ever before. They have money and they’re spending it.
According to The Wall Street Journal, even Victoria’s Secret is acknowledging that efforts to target younger customers may have disenfranchised their core market.
In the 1990s, professional women shopped the pastel-painted stores for colorful, European-inspired lingerie, supplementing underwear wardrobes previously filled with black, white and beige styles. Soft music played in the background while saleswomen discreetly offered help.
But over time, Victoria’s Secret adapted to a changing culture. One reason Victoria’s Secret got off track, Ms. Turney said, was the success of its Pink brand, which launched in 2002 and aimed to introduce college students to Victoria’s Secret stores. Pink has grown tremendously; in October, an executive said it would probably reach $900 million in sales for 2007.
But as teens and 20-somethings snapped up Pink underwear and pajamas, too many other product lines at Victoria’s Secret shifted to target that same customer, Ms. Turney said.
It was great that Victoria’s Secret brought in the younger audience, but they forgot about the rest of their customers (like me). I’m sorry, but a pink stuffed dog isn’t going to get me to buy more bras. (Though it might make a nice “friend” for my Boston Terrier with a humping problem.)
Victoria’s Secret is working on changing its image, toning down the “super sexy” hype and going back to its “ultra-feminine” roots. Can they win back customers?
Changing customer views will be a huge challenge. Sheri Coulter, a 42-year-old secretary in Flower Mound, Texas, worked at a Victoria’s Secret store three years ago. “It was like pulling teeth to get the women our age to come in there,” she says. “In our 40s and up, we are sexy — just not the same sexy a college gal is.”
For a time, she says, the store where she worked stopped carrying sizes 38 or larger, embarrassing some older customers who were turned away.
If they want me back, that’s great. But if they are re-re-branding, Victoria’s Secret should take some redesign cues from its own website (which does a much better job than the store, in my opinion).
Here’s what VictoriasSecret.com does well:
- The homepage shows a woman with an actual figure who looks sexy without being trashy.
- Great categorization. I can shop by collection, style of bra, see specials, or get tips on fitting.
- Product pages detail why each garment is or is not right for my body.
- I can increase the text size so I can actually read the product descriptions. (Thank you!)
For now, I’d much rather shop at the online store than the retail store. That’s a problem. If Victoria’s Secret wants me back as a customer, they’ll need to match the experience they’re presenting online with the experience they present in their stores.
[Editor’s Note: Holly Buchanan is co-author of The Soccer Mom Myth — Today’s Female Consumer: Who She Really Is, Why She Really Buys, and co-instructor of our Persuasive Online Copywriting seminar on March 28th in San Francisco.]
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Written by:Holly Buchanan
The 7th Deadly Claim — “Best Value”
“Best Value” can be a useful label, but it’s a lousy claim if you can’t back it up.
“Best value” makes a bold promise. It says to your website’s visitors, “I’ll prove to you that my product/service/whatever is worth far more than the asking price.” If you’re going to make this claim, you’d better have the proof waiting for them on the product- or service-description page.
Don’t be shy, though. If you can prove the “best value” claim, it’s a great way to simplify the customer’s selection process. High-speed decision-makers (Spontaneous and Competitive types) will likely read “best value” as your attempt at saving them time. For slower-paced customers (Methodical and Humanistic types), it helps kick-start their quest to find the very best value.
Whatever the visitors’ temperament, they’ll expect you to prove your claims, so before we talk about how to substantiate “best value” claims, let’s review the elements that evoke “value.”
As Roy Williams explains,
“The value of an item – in the mind of a consumer – is simply the difference between the anticipated price and the price on the tag. When the anticipated price is higher than the price tag, it’s a ‘good value.’”
A Bargain @ Any Price
“Best Value” should be supported in two steps:
1) A detailed description of the item — (build up the anticipated price)
2) The actual, lower-than-expected price — (surprise the visitor and entice them to buy)
Do BOTH parts well and you’ll be golden. Here’s how:
Since “value” is subjective, you’ll need to support it with an objective, factual statement. Don’t tell me your hot chocolate is a great value because it’s the “richest and most flavorful.” Tell me it contains 70% cocoa powder — twice as much as any other brand. Don’t tell me your pizza is the “cheesiest.” Tell me you use a full pound of genuine buffalo mozzarella flown in from Naples for every large pizza. You get the picture.
Then, after substantiating your product’s wonderful qualities, show me that the price isn’t much more than a typical hot chocolate, pizza, or whatever. Do those two things and people will be persuaded to click the Add-to-Cart button or fill out your lead form.
The Quality/Price Ratio
The problem for most companies is that they don’t do BOTH well: Either they don’t do enough to persuade customers of the product’s value, or they price their high-quality item even higher than what they’ve been able to substantiate to the market.
Most businesses don’t offer higher quality at slightly higher prices. They offer higher quality at proportionally higher prices, then try to sell it to us as “value.” But value is actually the ratio of (Perceived) Quality-to-Price. So, higher quality at a proportionally higher price doesn’t represent better value.
If I’m considering a cheap-o $10 knife and you offer me twice as much knife for $12, that’s a good value. If you offer me twice as much knife for $20, your $20 knife may not feel like a bargain.
The way out of this used to be to stress the intangibles of the product. Not long ago, the copywriter would build perceived value above and beyond the substantiated value by talking about, say, the fact that the knife was professional quality. That it was the same knife used by Charlie Trotter, Emeril Lagasse, or the like. The copywriter might wax poetic about the balance of the knife and its feel to the hand. He’d stress the added pleasures of using a more expensive knife over time. He’d hint at the increased social status that only brand-name cutlery can bring.
That used to work very well. But thanks to our depressed economy, our heads are hardening by the day, and those sorts of value-added extras no longer add as much value — not lately, anyway.
In this type of climate, you’ll have to prove that the value added by your product provides genuine Return on Investment — (show how jeans last 2x longer and, therefore, are worth 1.5 times as much) — or you’ll have to master yet another two-step process.
The Value Margin Two-Step
Now, before I get into that, I want to emphasize that I’m NOT preaching a discount or price-cutting mentality; on the contrary, I’m recommending you substantiate your product’s value and maintain your profit margins.
Only when your best efforts have failed should you consider Plan B:
1.) Increase the saleability of the product rather than its perceived value. In other words, allow your value-building efforts to increase the number of people who are willing to buy at a lower-than-usual price, rather than trying to use it to increase the price you charge.
2.) Decrease the buying pain enough to cause a favorable “anticipated vs. real” pricing structure. This could mean price-cutting, resizing portions, restructuring payments, reducing surcharges, etc.With any luck, doing both of these things will increase sale volume and keep you from having to lower your prices as much as you otherwise might. That’s probably not what you want to hear, and, as a copywriter, it’s not necessarily what I want to write, but it’s the truth. If you’re used to charging a high premium on intangibles there are going to be fewer people willing to pay the usual premium to get such things in the coming year.
Copy can’t fix everything. Each business must decide where to draw the line.
Show your value. Prove it. Convince hard-nosed customers. And if that stops working — or isn’t an option — go for Plan B.
In the meantime, read the other deadly claims at your own risk:
- “Superior Customer Service“
- “Easy to Use“
- “Most Experienced“
- “We’re #1“
- “100% Risk-Free“
- “Cutting Edge“
- “Best Value“
[Editor’s note: Want to improve the value of your website? Join us on March 28th in San Francisco for the first-ever West Coast edition of the Persuasive Online Copywriting seminar, our popular Web writing crash course. Jeff Sexton and Holly Buchanan will be your instructors. Class size is limited so that attendees can get real advice and actually learn something.
As a bonus leap year discount, you’ll save an extra $100 if you register by 2/29.]
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Written by:Jeff Sexton
The 7 Deadly Claims (Part 6) — “Cutting Edge”
It seems corporate siblings experience the same divergence of personality and temperament as real siblings.
Even though Black & Decker owns DeWalt, their Web copy couldn’t be more different. In fact, the contrast between the two brands illustrates both mediocre and powerful ways to handle the sixth deadly claim: “cutting edge” (aka, “next generation,” “revolutionary,” etc.)
Both companies have followed current trends by releasing a line of tools powered by lithium-ion batteries. Lithium batteries provide much greater energy density than other rechargeable battery formulations, which means you can fit more power into a smaller battery. This can allow tool manufacturers to create lighter cordless tools, provide more run time, or increase the voltage rating of a tool (or some combination of those benefits, depending on design goals).
Moreover, lithium batteries won’t self-discharge: If you charge your battery and leave it in the garage, it will still be charged by the time your spouse’s nagging finally forces you to complete that home improvement project you’ve been planning to get to “this weekend” for the past six months. 
This innovation means a company could legitimately claim that lithium-ion batteries represent the “next generation” of cordless tools. But handle with care. The claim may be true, but that doesn’t guarantee it will be persuasive to — or even believed by — the reader. The copywriter still needs to substantiate this claim.
Break Through the Hype
Let’s take a look at Black & Decker and see how they do. If I go to the Black & Decker homepage and click on the rotating Flash banner touting the VPX System™, I’m taken to a page that contains the following copy:
- Breakthrough Lithium-Ion technology - holds charge longer, so it’s ready when you need it
- Includes: VPX Screwdriver, Cutsaw and 3 LED Flashlight
- All 3 tools powered by 1 VPX 7V Lithium-Ion Battery [included]
- VPX Batteries interchangeable with all other VPX products
- VPX Chargers include Daisy Chain Cord to power multiple chargers on one outlet
So, they’ve claimed their battery technology to be a “breakthrough,” and they do a decent job of explaining the main benefit to the casual home user. Not bad, but they might want to make room for a bit more copy and to bullet point at least one other benefit of their new Lithium-Ion batteries. I’d also want to hyperlink the phrase “Breakthrough Lithium-Ion technology” so readers could click-through to find more information. As it is, I had to use the left-hand navigation to find this information by clicking on “The Power.”
This page does a nice job of illustrating the size and weight savings offered by the new battery, and the copy reiterates the “holds a charge longer” claim — though I’d strongly recommend they substantiate it by comparing the VPX charge-holding capacity to older battery technologies, so readers can know exactly how much longer they can let the batteries sit idle.
Overall, Black & Decker does a fair job of handling their claims of “breakthrough technology,” and at least the copy points out the benefits of the new battery formulation. Still, it would be much better if they dramatized the benefits.
Also, by marketing the technology against yesterday’s competition, Black & Decker fails to persuade. Chances are they’re not really competing against older battery formulations, as most consumers are likely comparing them to other Lithium-powered tools. Yet their copy ignores this entirely. They should at least address the issue of how their lithium-powered tools stack up against the competition, don’t you think?
B & D may or may not be the “best” lithium-powered tools, but the VPX System probably does represent good value for the money for the casual home user. It would help if they made that case outright. (Check out this Amazon page and accompanying reviews for one of the VPX drills. Better than the brand’s own site, isn’t it?)
Saw, Don’t Tell
Now let’s take a look at the copy for the new lithium-powered DeWalt Nano™ products.
First, note how DeWalt compares the new technology against their old Ni-Cad powered tools and other Lithium-powered tools. Also notice how DeWalt actively dramatizes the benefit of its new technology by showing how it translates to increased cycle life and faster task completion.
Finally, notice how DeWalt never mentions “cutting edge” or “breakthrough” or “next generation.” They simply talk about how they partnered with a pioneer in new battery technology and how their new (and exclusive!) battery chemistry was developed at MIT. Then they let the geeks among us drill down to the technical details on battery technology. Though they never really explain how the batteries make use of nano technology, rather than drawing attention to a would-be unsubstantiated claim, DeWalt shows us how their tools are cutting edge.
Want to see what this looks like on TV? DeWalt’s approach is basically the online equivalent of Dyson’s “airblade technology” commercial:
- “Superior Customer Service“
- “Easy to Use“
- “Most Experienced“
- “We’re #1“
- “100% Risk-Free“
- “Cutting Edge“
- “Best Value“
[Editor’s note: Is your website losing its edge? Sharpen up your virtual sales pitch at our Persuasive Online Copywriting seminar on March 28th in San Francisco. Jeff and Holly will be your instructors for this first-ever West Coast edition of our popular one-day copywriting crash course. Class size is limited so that attendees can get real advice and actually learn something. You’ll even get $100 off if you register by 2/29.]
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Written by:Jeff Sexton
How to Elf Yourself Out of Millions
One might think having the year’s biggest viral marketing hit would be any business’s dream come true. Unfortunately, though, not all Web traffic is equal, and popularity contests don’t pay the bills.
According to Advertising Age, 26.4 million people spent a total of 2,600 years at ElfYourself.com, turning themselves and unsuspecting family members and coworkers into virtual dancing elves. But chances are that unless you’re a marketer, blogger, or anyone else who might have bothered to notice in the first place, you’ve likely forgotten that OfficeMax was behind the “Elf Yourself” campaign.
Don’t take my word for it. Ask anyone who’s aware of Elf Yourself — and pronounce it carefully when you do — whether they can recall who sponsored the campaign.
Most of the answers I’ve gotten thus far (”Starbucks?”; “Barnes & Noble?”; “Wasn’t that Staples?”) have been guesses.
As OfficeMax VP of Marketing and Advertising, Bob Thacker, sold it to AdAge,
“We were looking to build the brand, warm up our image. We weren’t looking for sales. We are third-place players in our industry, so we are trying to differentiate ourselves through humor and humanization.”
Really? Not even looking for sales? Wow. If that’s the case, why even bother linking the campaign’s site to OfficeMax.com?
The article goes on to suggest that since many of those who searched for Elf Yourself around the time used the phrase “OfficeMax,” that must somehow mean their branding effort paid off. And that makes sense — so long as you ignore that it seems most people discovered the dancing elves via email and instant messenger, not search.
Get Elastic’s Linda Bustos sparked some debate about all of this, asserting that,
“Brand awareness is extremely valuable and important, especially in OfficeMax’ competitive industry. It might not result in immediate sales, but it should impact long term market position. Social media marketing (including blogging, podcasting and interactive viral campaigns) is a long-term strategy. It’s not a newspaper circular, it’s not PPC advertising, it’s not email marketing. Like celebrity endorsement or a Super Bowl ad, it won’t necessarily drive sales during a specific time period.”
Absolutely. But should the successful use of cute gimmickry — so long as it attracts a large, albeit random, audience of people who aren’t in buying mode, to a site that links to homepage, for a business that sells office supplies — be considered an automatic win?
So, millions of people go to a site that has little (no offense, elves) to do with the brand. No attempt is even made to engage would-be customers in a buying scenario (”Elf Yourself and save 10% on last-minute holiday treats when at OfficeMax.com”). No… nothing? That’s branding!?
One of the folks who commented on Linda’s post makes a telling point about the SEO logistics at play:
[…] this is search engine dynamite! The domain elfyourself.com (which is linked to by nearly 30,000 other websites) links directly (and only) to the officemax.com homepage. Conventional internet marketing dictates that this will have a huge impact on officemax.com’s ability to rank in Google on competitive terms. I’d love to see their stats - I bet it’s a big win.
Rank well on “competitive terms” — for whom? Elves? In a lot of other circumstances, this would be a great point, but in this case, it’s yet another example of why “conventional internet marketing” wisdom is misleading. Getting the extra traffic feels nice — and often impresses the boss — but there’s one thing that always feels better: Money.
Still, let’s see how much traffic Elf Yourself is driving to OfficeMax.com:
Not much of a traffic boost, is it?
But, hey, this wasn’t about traffic or revenue — it was about fun, right? Not for Toy New York, the agency that developed Elf Yourself. Nope. As Linda pointed out to me in the comments on her post, they’re the ones who are probably benefiting the most from this.
Looks like she’s got a pretty good point…
How about shareholder value? Kevin Horne points out that this is the second year in a row that the elves stuffed coal in the OMX stock price:
[…] in 2006, the company actually reported a decline of some $7 million in retail sales in its fourth quarter, 11 million “elf visitors” notwithstanding. Or notwithclicking either, apparently. Talk about squandering an opportunity. Two years in a row.
Oh well, at least OfficeMax got some national press coverage out of this. Let’s see what happens in this clip from Good Morning America:
Don’t get me wrong. I like the elves. It just seems that, since they’re already such hard workers, why not put them to work? (Even Santa’s got that figured out.)
Before you elf yourself out of millions in missed revenue from a viral marketing campaign, ask yourself: What good are millions of visitors if they don’t buy millions in goods?
Sometimes it takes better planning.
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Written by:Robert Gorell
A Political Branding Hook That Sells
“I’m different! Really, I am! Different and better. Trust me!”
Doesn’t the stench of such desperate insecurity ooze from most marketing copy one reads? Everyone wants to be unique, yet precious few brands are willing to show their warts for fear of rejection.
If there’s any field where insecurity and fear are a brand’s biggest roadblocks, it has to be politics — which is why every marketer should not only watch but study these political ads as textbook examples on how differentiation works.
Here’s an advertisement for Steve Novick’s campaign:
Novick is different. And if you didn’t see why that was a real advantage the first time, this commercial beats a phony handshake any day:
If you’ve been following my columns, you know that ethos is a big part of credibility, and credibility is king when it comes to persuading customers you’re worth it.
[Hat tip to Nate Kreuter for posting these ads.]
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Written by:Jeff Sexton
How Barack’s Strategy Could Help You Win Customers
I’m old enough to have grown up in the 1960’s, which was a “you-had-to-be-there” era of civic thinking and electrifying ideas. Not since that time have I found myself as excited as I am now over the upcoming presidential election.
I’ve been making donations to all of the major campaigns (Democratic and Republican) in order to see how each system works and talks to me, and while none of them do a bad job, there’s a definite divide between how the older and younger candidates communicate. The standout in the group is Barack Obama.
You may feel that Barack is not your candidate, but do take a look at his communication style, which is the definitive example for how to speak to customers (especially the younger generation) if you hope to do business with them.
No chest-thumping allowed. While other candidates focus on what makes them special as a candidate (count how many times a candidate uses the word “I” or “me” on their website), Barack’s campaign theme is “Yes We Can.” His website offers the theme of community, and uses terms like “you,” “we,” and “us” to draw you into the fold.
It’s all about US. When making a donation to the campaign, you are asked to write a short note about your feelings about Barack, the campaign, or anything you wish. Then, when you receive your thank-you note, it includes a message that another donor wrote (along with their first name and city). Suddenly, you are no longer a lone, isolated donor; you feel an immediate sense of community, belonging, and mission.
“Please, call me Barack.” As with any campaign, automatic emails and news items are sent to members and donors. The language used is serious in tone but not condescending. And each email is signed, “Barack.” Not “Barack Obama.” Not “The Barack Obama Campaign.” Just “Barack.” A decision as small as how you sign your name to a piece of marketing (because that’s what this is, after all), can make a world of difference.
After last weekend’s Barack Obama rally in California, an editorial in The New York Times said,
“The Times editorial board has endorsed Mrs. Clinton’s candidacy, and we are enthusiastic about her ability to be a great president. But candidates have to win in order to serve. Attending the rally here, we hoped Mrs. Clinton and her team were also watching and listening, very attentively.”
Not only should Clinton (and McCain and Romney) be paying attention, so should you. This is the communication style of the future.
Are you ready for change?
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Written by:Michele Miller
Infomercial Techniques that Work (or Your Money Back!)
After finishing my last post on “100% Risk-Free,” I couldn’t shake a nagging feeling that I’d unfairly slammed the infomercial and the people who generate large sums of money from them. (Apparently, many of you agree.) The simple fact is that infomercials work. Against some unenviable odds, infomercials manage to convince viewers to buy a lot of product. So why not learn from them?
Here’s what I meant to suggest:
1.) DO borrow from what’s best about infomercials, with an eye on what will transfer to the Web.
2.) DON’T use anything that would remind visitors of, or cause them to associate you with, infomercials.
And in case you doubt that “100% Risk-Free” falls into the “don’t” category, just try Googling that phrase — the results speak for themselves.
What Infomercials Can Teach Online Marketers
• Dramatize the benefit — Have you ever seen an infomercial that just tells you the features or merely explains the benefit? Hell no! They want you to see the thing in action and compare it to the alternative. It’s not enough that you see how well the rotisserie oven cooks. You have to see how well it cooks compared to a conventional oven. You have to visualize the thing saving you from having to pay attention to the oven (“Set it and forget it!”) and how much money your very own rotisseries oven will save you over buying rotisserie chicken at a specialty chain restaurant.
Infomercials universally dramatize the benefit to the point where viewers can’t help but picture themselves enjoying the product themselves. But don’t confuse the infomercials cheesy execution of this technique with the core strategy itself. Dramatizing the benefit is precisely what Steve Jobs did with his introduction of the iPhone. Steve always dramatized the benefit of the phone’s abilities within the context of a typical user scenario. For instance, here’s how Jobs showed the iPhone’s benefits in a real-life scenario.
Never mind the fact that Pacific Catch didn’t actually serve calamari when this commercial first aired, the case for the iPhone was so powerful, they were forced to add it to the menu.
(For websites that do an admirable job of this, check out OmniWeb and Mint.)
• Employ (and stage) “Sinatra Tests” – Honestly, have you EVER used a kitchen knife to saw through a soda can? Neither have I. But to the average viewer, the Ginsu’s ability to cut through an aluminum can, then effortlessly slice a tomato, meant the darn thing would cut through several years worth of plain-old food without ever getting dull. Same thing with the lubricant that allowed the engine to start while frozen in a block of ice. And the cleaner that can get ground in motor oil stains out of carpet.
As for the Web, the most recent, and memorable example of this technique has to be LifeLock, where the CEO posts his SSN on the homepage. (If you’re going to imitate infomercials, imitate that.)
• Use effective risk-reversal techniques — Specific, substantiated risk reversal techniques are absolutely indispensable for infomercials. Every one of them offers at least a 30-90 day money-back guarantee, or a “quit at any time with no obligation” assurance. Stay away from a generalized “100% risk-free,” but DO offer as many specific and substantiated ways to reverse or eliminate risk as you possibly can.
Lands’ End does a nice job of this, especially with their custom-made clothing. While their thorough body-shape algorithm inspires confidence, most visitors are probably still left with the nagging question of, “How can I make sure the clothing will fit just right? I’d hate to pay extra for a great fit and wind up with something that wasn’t perfect.” Lands’ End’s response:
If the fit isn’t “just so” the first time around, you can nip and tuck your profile accordingly and re-order a new item. We save all your information, so you can fill your order with just a few keystrokes. And, if your Lands’ End Custom garment is anything less than perfect, you may exchange it, or return it and we’ll reimburse you for the purchase price. Lands’ End Custom is Guaranteed. Period®.
My guess would be that this risk-reversal technique plays a significant part in Land’s End’s ability to sell 40% of their jeans and chinos as custom orders.
• Making testimonials can’t-miss, hard-hitting events — Infomercials actually break from the action in order to showcase testimonials. They don’t just sort of have them scrolling past the bottom or far right portion of your TV screen. Nor do they assume you’ll go to a website to read testimonials. They break the show in order to ensure you’ll watch normal people endorse the results. Most websites never do this. Instead, they bury testimonials on a separate page, or only have a single testimonial inconspicuously placed in the far-right column.
Infomercial testimonials, on the other hand, are frequently very specific and feature a person raving about how they’re kicking butt with the product, rather than focusing on the product itself. The interviewed customer seems ever-ready to say, “I too was skeptical, but now…” These are all things that websites would benefit from.
(Sadly, the sites that interject testimonials most consistently are those ridiculously long, single-page, direct marketing-style “internet riches in a box” sites. In addition to embodying the dark side of infomercials, these sites will also interrupt their hard-sell chest thumping every few paragraphs in order to showcase a testimonial from some semi-anonymous goober who testifies to his transformation from barely holding down a McJob to — allegedly — raking in millions per day. Check out the search results for “100% Risk-Free” to see this technique in action. Just promise me you’ll ONLY copy this one technique from these sites. And nothing else. Please.)
• Understanding the difference between saleability and value — The ever-popular “But wait, there’s more!” phrase was never used to increase the price. The price always remained $19.95, no matter how many 6-way vegetable peelers or steak knives they threw in. What the added extras were intended to do was to increase the customer’s willingness to pay the $19.95, not to make them willing to pay more. That’s the difference between saleability and value. Too often, online marketers confuse these things. They think that strong stories or ties to social causes are ineffective because they can’t always increase the selling price. Don’t get me wrong, a good story can often increase the selling price, but just as often these elements are best used to increase saleability instead of price.
So there you have it, the brighter side of infomercials. Imitate those and stay away from the “100% Risk-Free” claims.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go spray some extra hair on my head, juice a few pomegranates, set the rotisserie chicken for tonight, and watch this great documentary on Pitch People (as seen on TV).
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Written by:Jeff Sexton
