Here's an article I wrote on a program that Xerox is doing to send thank you cards to the troops. Would love your thoughts on how and if small businesses can make community service pay off at times when marketing doesn't do as much as quickly as it used to?
LITTLE GESTURES HAVE BIG PAY OFFS
When the economy is rocky like its been for the past several months, one of the best ways to poise yourself for profitable times ahead is by engaging in random acts of kindness. Simple things like supporting local charities, hosting events for the homeless, and in the case of Xerox, sending postcards to U.S. troops at war, can have a big impact on keeping your brand’s visibility high and equity growing.
Since 2005, Xerox has invited people all around the country to go on a website, select a card and write a personalized message of thanks to U.S. troops abroad. At last count, more than 23 million messages of support have been sent.
Not only is the volume of Thank You cards sent through this program impressive, so too is the good will and community partnerships it has built for Xerox. School children throughout the country have designed and created postcards for the program, businesses have partnered with Xerox to print the messages, and a non-profit organization, Give2TheTroops, works to deliver them in care packages to the troops. Celebrities, such as Whoopi Goldberg and George Lopez, have signed cards for the troops as well, further broadening the reach and impact of this campaign. These are just a few of the relationships resulting from this campaign.
The program, called Lets Say Thanks, brings together many people all for a good cause that has no commercial gain, yet the marketing value is significant.
Because of this effort to do something kind in a random manner, “Many people are now aware of Xerox and what the brand stands for that were not before,” says vice president of Global Public Relations for Xerox, Carl Langsenkamp. “We know we’ve made an impact on our community by the high number of thank you’s we get from people participating, literally hundreds a week.”
Adding to the brand visibility Xerox gets from this campaign of kindness is a strong burst of random viral marketing. I, for one, received numerous emails from friends encouraging me to participate and expressing their appreciation to Xerox for such a great program. Consumers are emailing and celebrities are tweeting about this great way to thank those that serve our country.
Clearly a program like Let’s Say Thanks which involves printing and distributing millions of greetings cards abroad requires a large company like Xerox to pull it off. Yet there are many lessons for small businesses in all industries. The obvious one of course is that giving campaigns gives back to brands. Nothing new here. The wide reaching impact and viral marketing of Let’s Say Thanks illustrates the importance of staying engaged with your communities at all times. Xerox is highly engaged with its customers who use Xerox equipment to print the postcards, and communities all over the U.S. who sign the cards and send their thanks.
At times when advertising might produce what it used to in terms of sales leads, and buyers are spending as freely as in the past, staying engaged sets your company up for greater success down the road. In the case of Let’s Say Thanks, Langenskamp has received comments from participants stating that if they were in the print industry, they’d buy Xerox products because of what they are doing for the troops.
Following are some ways you can stay engaged with customers and communities that don’t take the resources or technology of a global brand:
1. Be there. When your community needs help, step it up. Send your CEO, not just your junior staff, to the Food Drive to hand out boxes to people in need, or serve the homeless during the holidays. Show your company cares at all levels, and that your values start at the top.
2. Enlist your customers: Whether you have a store front with cash registers, or you meet with clients at their businesses, find ways to involve customers in a worthy cause. Ask them to help sponsor a charity you’ve adopted to help for the year; ask them to engage in joint volunteerism or match a charitable donation. When you do this, you create a partnership based on like values that lasts far beyond business transactions.
3. Share your value: Whenever possible, share your skills with others that can’t afford what you do. If you’re in marketing, do a pro-bono campaign for a local charity. If you sell equipment, donate refurbished or used items to non-profits in need.
These are just some of many ideas for engaging with your communities. Whatever you do, make it real and make it sincere. Don’t expect marketing returns, just expect to do something worthwhile. That is when the true pay off happens.
About the Author:
Jeanette McMurtry is a consultant and trainer specializing in customer engagement and marketing strategies. She is the principal of e4marketing and can be reached at jeanette@e4marketingco.com or 970 390 6909.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Integrating Mind and Media
INTEGRATING MIND AND MEDIA
Advertising’s recession started long before the rest of the world’s. For years, global spend on mass media has seen dramatic falls. Reasons for the fall of the mighty media are as complex as the economy is frail. Undercurrents that cannot be ignored include the demise of trust for brands globally, and eroding credibly for the paid message. Worldwide, consumer trust for business has declined 50% in recent years, and 78% of consumers trust other consumers more than traditional information sources.
Yet throughout it all, one traditional form of marketing continues to hold its own: Direct.
Direct is much more than “mail” as many perceive it to be. Direct marketing as it was named in its early days as Lester Wunderman’s brain child is all about generating responses directly from the consumers via multiple channels rather than just creating more awareness and boosting a brand’s image. While we’ve put on a new face since Wunderman’s pioneering days of toll-free numbers and magazine subscription cards, direct is the still among the best methods for generating sales.
As this new era of consumerism continues to unfold, and marketing as we used to know it diminishes daily, the path for continued growth and profitability is clear: creating relevant brand episodes by integrating consumer psychology, personalized value, and marketing channels that support today’s lifestyles and emotional needs.
Integrating Consumer Psychology
More important than coming up with new discounts and promotions to create short-lived revenue boosts, marketers need to focus their efforts on what really drives consumer buying behavior. Research that delves deep into the human mind validates that we consumers are not very rational, making highly emotional decisions that aren’t always practical. Note the overwhelming levels of credit card debt that imprison consumers. How rational was it to spend beyond our means for years? Clearly it wasn’t, but the emotions of having something cool, prestigious, or fun overrode common sense and drove behavior. Nothing has changed, and in fact, the key characteristics of what makes us humans happy haven’t changed since the beginning time.
Psychologists past and present teach us that happiness is predicated on fulfilling the soul through meaningful relationships, feelings of worth, and the ability to impact others’ lives and make a difference in the world. Happiness due to getting a great deal on a new product, or something for free because we are VIP customers is fleeting. To generate lasting happiness among customers, we need to create feelings of connectedness, fairness, and relevant value.
Successful marketing today is based then based upon understanding the emotions behind consumer behavior, rational and irrational, and how to address them accordingly via various marketing channels. Research that tracks the unconscious mind shows significant increases in brain activity when presented with messages that have emotional relevance. And quite often, this activity leads to sales or another desired behavior.
Personalized Value
Personalization has long been leading the way for response rates and marketing ROI. It is now taking on a new life and product category through personalized digital books and photo albums. The fact that these one-of-a-kind personal products are a $25 billion business in the U.S. alone validates what psychologists say about us consumers. We want to feel connected and part of something fulfilling. And we want products, communications and experiences that are all about us, not about pushing some brand’s sales message that sounds like everybody else’s.
Integrating Lifestyle Media
Discussions at marketing conferences worldwide in which I have participated this year all point to the need to integrate our messages throughout various touch points in consumer lives. While direct mail might drive existing customers to new information on a website, mobile marketing might be used to send instant coupons for goods and services consumers can use “right now.” Print, e.g., magazines and newspapers also play an important role in reinforcing brand values and characteristics, both of which influence choice and loyalty. Social media too is critical as it shows customers your brand is not only a part of their world, but actually gets it. Consumers support innovative brands and move on from those that aren’t.
Successful media integration today involves three key phases:
1. Set up the relationship: Personalized direct mail gets attention, states the value of the relationship, and sets the stage for all other communications. In addition, it quite often pulls in double digit responses.
2. Define the value: Personalized URLs are a great way to create individual value and support the customer relationship. Populate these sites with information that informs, involves and inspires consumers.
3. Address the lifestyle: Consumers use multiple channels to manage their world and so should we. We are always connected to some form of communications – text, phone, email, websites, networks. Ignoring these channels is simply ignoring what matters most to your customers.
Advertising’s recession started long before the rest of the world’s. For years, global spend on mass media has seen dramatic falls. Reasons for the fall of the mighty media are as complex as the economy is frail. Undercurrents that cannot be ignored include the demise of trust for brands globally, and eroding credibly for the paid message. Worldwide, consumer trust for business has declined 50% in recent years, and 78% of consumers trust other consumers more than traditional information sources.
Yet throughout it all, one traditional form of marketing continues to hold its own: Direct.
Direct is much more than “mail” as many perceive it to be. Direct marketing as it was named in its early days as Lester Wunderman’s brain child is all about generating responses directly from the consumers via multiple channels rather than just creating more awareness and boosting a brand’s image. While we’ve put on a new face since Wunderman’s pioneering days of toll-free numbers and magazine subscription cards, direct is the still among the best methods for generating sales.
As this new era of consumerism continues to unfold, and marketing as we used to know it diminishes daily, the path for continued growth and profitability is clear: creating relevant brand episodes by integrating consumer psychology, personalized value, and marketing channels that support today’s lifestyles and emotional needs.
Integrating Consumer Psychology
More important than coming up with new discounts and promotions to create short-lived revenue boosts, marketers need to focus their efforts on what really drives consumer buying behavior. Research that delves deep into the human mind validates that we consumers are not very rational, making highly emotional decisions that aren’t always practical. Note the overwhelming levels of credit card debt that imprison consumers. How rational was it to spend beyond our means for years? Clearly it wasn’t, but the emotions of having something cool, prestigious, or fun overrode common sense and drove behavior. Nothing has changed, and in fact, the key characteristics of what makes us humans happy haven’t changed since the beginning time.
Psychologists past and present teach us that happiness is predicated on fulfilling the soul through meaningful relationships, feelings of worth, and the ability to impact others’ lives and make a difference in the world. Happiness due to getting a great deal on a new product, or something for free because we are VIP customers is fleeting. To generate lasting happiness among customers, we need to create feelings of connectedness, fairness, and relevant value.
Successful marketing today is based then based upon understanding the emotions behind consumer behavior, rational and irrational, and how to address them accordingly via various marketing channels. Research that tracks the unconscious mind shows significant increases in brain activity when presented with messages that have emotional relevance. And quite often, this activity leads to sales or another desired behavior.
Personalized Value
Personalization has long been leading the way for response rates and marketing ROI. It is now taking on a new life and product category through personalized digital books and photo albums. The fact that these one-of-a-kind personal products are a $25 billion business in the U.S. alone validates what psychologists say about us consumers. We want to feel connected and part of something fulfilling. And we want products, communications and experiences that are all about us, not about pushing some brand’s sales message that sounds like everybody else’s.
Integrating Lifestyle Media
Discussions at marketing conferences worldwide in which I have participated this year all point to the need to integrate our messages throughout various touch points in consumer lives. While direct mail might drive existing customers to new information on a website, mobile marketing might be used to send instant coupons for goods and services consumers can use “right now.” Print, e.g., magazines and newspapers also play an important role in reinforcing brand values and characteristics, both of which influence choice and loyalty. Social media too is critical as it shows customers your brand is not only a part of their world, but actually gets it. Consumers support innovative brands and move on from those that aren’t.
Successful media integration today involves three key phases:
1. Set up the relationship: Personalized direct mail gets attention, states the value of the relationship, and sets the stage for all other communications. In addition, it quite often pulls in double digit responses.
2. Define the value: Personalized URLs are a great way to create individual value and support the customer relationship. Populate these sites with information that informs, involves and inspires consumers.
3. Address the lifestyle: Consumers use multiple channels to manage their world and so should we. We are always connected to some form of communications – text, phone, email, websites, networks. Ignoring these channels is simply ignoring what matters most to your customers.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Never Under Estimate the Power of Color
Never Under Estimate the Power of Color
As marketers, we spend a great deal of time and money crafting strategies, messages, catchy headlines, and compelling offers in hopes of capturing the attention and business of our target consumers. Yet according to several different studies on what most influences purchase decisions at the point of sale, the above components of a marketing campaign pale in importance to the choice of colors we use in our design. Research conducted by the Institute for Color Research reveals that we consumers make an unconscious judgment about a product, person, and our environment within 90 seconds of introduction, and that color influences up to 90% of our assessment.
While color has different meanings in different cultures, e.g., yellow is caution, cowardly or fun in the U.S. and represents royalty and prosperity in parts of Asia, color is universal in its influence on our reactions and attitudes towards products, messages, and brands, and even people. Most often, according to Diane Roggow, principal of Market Illumination and an expert in how color impacts marketing, color dictates how we feel about a brand without our realizing it. Yet when it comes to color choices in marketing, they are most often made according to personal preference than strategic reasoning, and this can negatively affect a brand’s image and sales.
For example, says Roggow, a lot of brands like red and black as they are clean and bold, yet when used together, they can create feelings or attitudes of hostility or unfriendliness. “If you use red and black in your logo and combine it with a tagline stating ‘great customer service’, you’re likely sending mixed signals to your consumer as their conscious mind sees ‘friendly’ in your words while the unconscious mind feels threatened,” says Roggow.
Another example Roggow cites is Black and Decker and their use of black and yellow. Per Roggow, these colors are predatory colors and create a sense of dominance, or “top cat” if you will. As a consultant, Roggow has seen clients move inventory that sat idle and generate significantly higher response or desired awareness of brand attributes by simply changing the color of products or brand iconology. “
Color not only taints our perception but our responsiveness to marketing materials as well, or so says independent research by Jan Whit, Ronald Green, and Virginia Johnson, which collectively state:
* Color versions of the same ad are read up to 42% more than their black and white counterparts
* Color is 80% more likely to be read than black and white marketing materials
* Consumers tend to find information in color up to 80% faster than information in black and white only
* Communications materials produced in color increase leaning and retention up to 78%
And according to research by Frank Romano for the Digital Printing Council, when you add color to a direct marketing piece, the response rate can increase by 45%.
These are no small numbers. Yet I think its safe to say that most marketers spend far less time planning color schemes than messaging themes. Roggow has seen many a sound color strategy rooted in psychological research killed by a CEO who simply wanted something else.
So what does this mean for you and your marketing programs? It may not be prudent to go about changing your corporate identity overnight because you discover the colors of your logo don’t represent your brand attributes. But you can perhaps apply some color psychology to your advertising and direct marketing materials. Do your homework and find out how colors have different meanings for different cultures within and without of the United States, and how even different tones of the same color can change meanings; and per Roggow’s suggestion, how combining colors can hurt or help you.
Some examples:
• Direct Mail: If you are trying to create a sense of status or privilege for your brand and those that use your products, try using tones of purple as it symbolizes wealth, nobility, luxury and extravagance.
• Display ads: If you want your brand to stand out on the page or in a publication as the stable, trustworthy choice for your business category, use blue as it symbolizes all of the above. As Roggow says, it is no mistake that many banks use shades of blue in their company color palettes.
• Brochures/Annual Report: If you want communicate growth, harmony, safety, security, and even stability, use shades of green of and blue.
There are many resources available to help you get a better understanding of how to use color to visually create the power of your brand. Whatever resource you use, use something. The visuals you use to promote your brand are no small matter. The total imagery, not just your color palette, defines your brand’s level of sophistication, expertise, quality and success immediately to your audience, and creates a first impression that cannot easily be redone.
As marketers, we spend a great deal of time and money crafting strategies, messages, catchy headlines, and compelling offers in hopes of capturing the attention and business of our target consumers. Yet according to several different studies on what most influences purchase decisions at the point of sale, the above components of a marketing campaign pale in importance to the choice of colors we use in our design. Research conducted by the Institute for Color Research reveals that we consumers make an unconscious judgment about a product, person, and our environment within 90 seconds of introduction, and that color influences up to 90% of our assessment.
While color has different meanings in different cultures, e.g., yellow is caution, cowardly or fun in the U.S. and represents royalty and prosperity in parts of Asia, color is universal in its influence on our reactions and attitudes towards products, messages, and brands, and even people. Most often, according to Diane Roggow, principal of Market Illumination and an expert in how color impacts marketing, color dictates how we feel about a brand without our realizing it. Yet when it comes to color choices in marketing, they are most often made according to personal preference than strategic reasoning, and this can negatively affect a brand’s image and sales.
For example, says Roggow, a lot of brands like red and black as they are clean and bold, yet when used together, they can create feelings or attitudes of hostility or unfriendliness. “If you use red and black in your logo and combine it with a tagline stating ‘great customer service’, you’re likely sending mixed signals to your consumer as their conscious mind sees ‘friendly’ in your words while the unconscious mind feels threatened,” says Roggow.
Another example Roggow cites is Black and Decker and their use of black and yellow. Per Roggow, these colors are predatory colors and create a sense of dominance, or “top cat” if you will. As a consultant, Roggow has seen clients move inventory that sat idle and generate significantly higher response or desired awareness of brand attributes by simply changing the color of products or brand iconology. “
Color not only taints our perception but our responsiveness to marketing materials as well, or so says independent research by Jan Whit, Ronald Green, and Virginia Johnson, which collectively state:
* Color versions of the same ad are read up to 42% more than their black and white counterparts
* Color is 80% more likely to be read than black and white marketing materials
* Consumers tend to find information in color up to 80% faster than information in black and white only
* Communications materials produced in color increase leaning and retention up to 78%
And according to research by Frank Romano for the Digital Printing Council, when you add color to a direct marketing piece, the response rate can increase by 45%.
These are no small numbers. Yet I think its safe to say that most marketers spend far less time planning color schemes than messaging themes. Roggow has seen many a sound color strategy rooted in psychological research killed by a CEO who simply wanted something else.
So what does this mean for you and your marketing programs? It may not be prudent to go about changing your corporate identity overnight because you discover the colors of your logo don’t represent your brand attributes. But you can perhaps apply some color psychology to your advertising and direct marketing materials. Do your homework and find out how colors have different meanings for different cultures within and without of the United States, and how even different tones of the same color can change meanings; and per Roggow’s suggestion, how combining colors can hurt or help you.
Some examples:
• Direct Mail: If you are trying to create a sense of status or privilege for your brand and those that use your products, try using tones of purple as it symbolizes wealth, nobility, luxury and extravagance.
• Display ads: If you want your brand to stand out on the page or in a publication as the stable, trustworthy choice for your business category, use blue as it symbolizes all of the above. As Roggow says, it is no mistake that many banks use shades of blue in their company color palettes.
• Brochures/Annual Report: If you want communicate growth, harmony, safety, security, and even stability, use shades of green of and blue.
There are many resources available to help you get a better understanding of how to use color to visually create the power of your brand. Whatever resource you use, use something. The visuals you use to promote your brand are no small matter. The total imagery, not just your color palette, defines your brand’s level of sophistication, expertise, quality and success immediately to your audience, and creates a first impression that cannot easily be redone.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Why Sales Training is Rarely More than an Oxymoron
Why Sales Training is rarely more than an Oxymoron
We spend countless hours and dollars developing clever messages, compelling promises and expensive graphics, and training sales teams to get to “yes”, yet we often neglect to “train” our customer facing employees to deliver exceptional experiences that create enthusiasm, even excitement for our brands and all that we offer. Instead, most often sales teams focus on selling, and who wants to be sold? When we feel sold or like a transaction toward a sales quota instead of being treated as partners working toward a common goal, all marketing efforts can quickly be for not as customers remember the bad or lackluster customer experiences far better and far longer than they do the award-winning advertisements.
Example:
I recently test drove a car at a nice luxury car dealership. Before leaving, I called the sales person to tell him I was coming. He confirmed that it would take me about 30 minutes to get there. Twenty minutes into my ride, he called to tell me that the car I wanted had just sold, but since I was only 10 minutes away, I should still come and look at some others (higher priced of course). Though I didn’t fall for this sales game, I decided to go drive the car anyway. I loved it!!! I wanted to drive it home that very day. And even though I could afford it, I refused to purchase the car from someone who had gamed me. I questioned everything about anything he had told me about any of their cars, especially when my husband called the next day just to find out the lower priced car I was supposed to see had not sold at all. Weeks later it was still being promoted on their web site.
In this case, I was ready to buy and because of a bad apple sales rep or more likely entire culture, I walked away and called the competition, willing to buy the same car at a higher price from someone I could trust. My experience is unfortunately not so uncommon. The best and most expensive advertising is for nothing if you don’t train your sales staff to deliver on the promises you make in every way. In fact, sales training should be stopped altogether as we shouldn’t train someone to sell, we should be train sales people to create experiences because again, we consumers don’t want to be sold, and quite often walk away, like I did, even when they want the product, if they feel they are being sold, rather than served.
Sales skills do not equal negotiation skills
Sales training that lasting impact on business goals is much more than negotiation skills, and even account management techniques. It is about creating genuine experiences that are all about the customer, not the brand, and feelings of trust, credibility and affinity. Training needs to teach sales staff how to build emotional bonds through random acts of customer engagement that surprise and delight the customer.
Emotionally-engaging training is inspiring. It inspires sales staff to rise to a new level of service and customer care, and it inspires customers to want to learn more about how you can become their partner for the long-term. Following are some of the characteristics of what training needs to be in order to build your business for the now and long-term:
Characteristics of Successful Selling:
1. Selling is not a process of manipulation. It is a process of forming partnerships based upon mutually-beneficial outcomes for both parties.
2. Selling is not about closing the deal. It is about creating an experience that is gratifying beyond the product or service sold.
3. Selling is not about a single contract or a transaction. It is about a lifetime of continuous service.
4. Selling is not about one sales person and his/her customer. It is about embracing customers within a culture that is all about them.
5. Selling is not about making revenue goals or quotas. It is about representing a company with integrity and honesty at all costs.
Look at all the ads you encounter today. My guess is that the majority of them all have some claim about quality service, honesty and integrity. And my next guess is that most of these companies have done little to nothing to assure that their sales people treat their customers accordingly. In fact, in my years as a marketing consultant, and as a customer, I am pretty amazed at how many brands don’t even show their sales teams the advertisements their marketing teams have created full of many promises yet to be fulfilled by sales.
Lifetime Sales Starts with Basic Human Psychology
And beyond the above characteristics, sales training really shouldn’t be about sales skills but rather basic consumer psychology. This is where my training differs from many experienced sales consultants. I believe that far more important than sales skills is a strong understanding of consumer psychology and what makes us humans approach a new offer or a sales person or withdraw and look for alternatives. We are all born with affective systems – the predisposition to approach new ideas eagerly or withdraw to comfort zones – and these affective systems govern nearly all of our behavior and decisions without our realizing it. As neuromarketing expert and authority Gerald Zaltman says after years of experience in studying the brain’s reactions to stimuli, 95% of all thought is unconscious. When a sales person understands what is going on in the mind of a customer or prospect, consciously and otherwise, he/she can be far more effective in building trust, credibility and worth as a partner for life vs. a sales person trying to meet numbers.
Sale and marketing strategies and programs must go far beyond the fundamentals and newest communications channels to address the lifelong customer experience, and without training, you have no way to control the experience and create consistency for your customers at every interaction. Adding Training to your marketing mix gives you that competitive edge that today is critical to survival.
We spend countless hours and dollars developing clever messages, compelling promises and expensive graphics, and training sales teams to get to “yes”, yet we often neglect to “train” our customer facing employees to deliver exceptional experiences that create enthusiasm, even excitement for our brands and all that we offer. Instead, most often sales teams focus on selling, and who wants to be sold? When we feel sold or like a transaction toward a sales quota instead of being treated as partners working toward a common goal, all marketing efforts can quickly be for not as customers remember the bad or lackluster customer experiences far better and far longer than they do the award-winning advertisements.
Example:
I recently test drove a car at a nice luxury car dealership. Before leaving, I called the sales person to tell him I was coming. He confirmed that it would take me about 30 minutes to get there. Twenty minutes into my ride, he called to tell me that the car I wanted had just sold, but since I was only 10 minutes away, I should still come and look at some others (higher priced of course). Though I didn’t fall for this sales game, I decided to go drive the car anyway. I loved it!!! I wanted to drive it home that very day. And even though I could afford it, I refused to purchase the car from someone who had gamed me. I questioned everything about anything he had told me about any of their cars, especially when my husband called the next day just to find out the lower priced car I was supposed to see had not sold at all. Weeks later it was still being promoted on their web site.
In this case, I was ready to buy and because of a bad apple sales rep or more likely entire culture, I walked away and called the competition, willing to buy the same car at a higher price from someone I could trust. My experience is unfortunately not so uncommon. The best and most expensive advertising is for nothing if you don’t train your sales staff to deliver on the promises you make in every way. In fact, sales training should be stopped altogether as we shouldn’t train someone to sell, we should be train sales people to create experiences because again, we consumers don’t want to be sold, and quite often walk away, like I did, even when they want the product, if they feel they are being sold, rather than served.
Sales skills do not equal negotiation skills
Sales training that lasting impact on business goals is much more than negotiation skills, and even account management techniques. It is about creating genuine experiences that are all about the customer, not the brand, and feelings of trust, credibility and affinity. Training needs to teach sales staff how to build emotional bonds through random acts of customer engagement that surprise and delight the customer.
Emotionally-engaging training is inspiring. It inspires sales staff to rise to a new level of service and customer care, and it inspires customers to want to learn more about how you can become their partner for the long-term. Following are some of the characteristics of what training needs to be in order to build your business for the now and long-term:
Characteristics of Successful Selling:
1. Selling is not a process of manipulation. It is a process of forming partnerships based upon mutually-beneficial outcomes for both parties.
2. Selling is not about closing the deal. It is about creating an experience that is gratifying beyond the product or service sold.
3. Selling is not about a single contract or a transaction. It is about a lifetime of continuous service.
4. Selling is not about one sales person and his/her customer. It is about embracing customers within a culture that is all about them.
5. Selling is not about making revenue goals or quotas. It is about representing a company with integrity and honesty at all costs.
Look at all the ads you encounter today. My guess is that the majority of them all have some claim about quality service, honesty and integrity. And my next guess is that most of these companies have done little to nothing to assure that their sales people treat their customers accordingly. In fact, in my years as a marketing consultant, and as a customer, I am pretty amazed at how many brands don’t even show their sales teams the advertisements their marketing teams have created full of many promises yet to be fulfilled by sales.
Lifetime Sales Starts with Basic Human Psychology
And beyond the above characteristics, sales training really shouldn’t be about sales skills but rather basic consumer psychology. This is where my training differs from many experienced sales consultants. I believe that far more important than sales skills is a strong understanding of consumer psychology and what makes us humans approach a new offer or a sales person or withdraw and look for alternatives. We are all born with affective systems – the predisposition to approach new ideas eagerly or withdraw to comfort zones – and these affective systems govern nearly all of our behavior and decisions without our realizing it. As neuromarketing expert and authority Gerald Zaltman says after years of experience in studying the brain’s reactions to stimuli, 95% of all thought is unconscious. When a sales person understands what is going on in the mind of a customer or prospect, consciously and otherwise, he/she can be far more effective in building trust, credibility and worth as a partner for life vs. a sales person trying to meet numbers.
Sale and marketing strategies and programs must go far beyond the fundamentals and newest communications channels to address the lifelong customer experience, and without training, you have no way to control the experience and create consistency for your customers at every interaction. Adding Training to your marketing mix gives you that competitive edge that today is critical to survival.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Welcome
Hi Friends...I'm excited to start a blog about "emotional" marketing experiences. As 95% of our thoughts are unconscious, and many of our choices unexplained and irrational, according to the psychologists who study our behavior, I'd like to share experiences about marketing programs that have gotten through to the complex consumer psyche. For example, experiences that made you emotionally charged about doing business with a brand - positive or negative; experiences where you created a brand experience that resulted in positive emotion for your business or a client's; or favorite examples of campaigns and programs that were worth getting excited about.
An example...I recently developed a Heart Museum for one of my health care clients to introduce a new wing of an established hospital that was being dedicated to cardiovascular services. Instead of a typical open house, we invited the public to come to a Heart Museum where they could see current technology juxtaposed with past technology, see a classic like the first successful artificial heart, the Jarvik-7; and get their own personal heart scores. We expected 200 people and stopped counting at 1200. The elevator broke in the first hour as the crowd was so thick. As we analyzed the turn out phenomenon, we realized it was due to the fact that people were very emotional about heart health - many attendees had had heart surgery, pacemakers, artificial valves, or had loved ones that had, so literally this theme was near and dear to their heart. We also invited past patients to submit their stories and share with attendees. Their passion alone for helping others embarking on their same journey to heart health made this event worthwhile. Had we just invited people to see new hospital rooms, there would not have been anything exciting about this event.
Please share your ideas, thoughts, comments, suggestions for how we marketers can create enthusiasm and passion for the brands we serve. I'm already excited to hear your stories.
Jeanette
An example...I recently developed a Heart Museum for one of my health care clients to introduce a new wing of an established hospital that was being dedicated to cardiovascular services. Instead of a typical open house, we invited the public to come to a Heart Museum where they could see current technology juxtaposed with past technology, see a classic like the first successful artificial heart, the Jarvik-7; and get their own personal heart scores. We expected 200 people and stopped counting at 1200. The elevator broke in the first hour as the crowd was so thick. As we analyzed the turn out phenomenon, we realized it was due to the fact that people were very emotional about heart health - many attendees had had heart surgery, pacemakers, artificial valves, or had loved ones that had, so literally this theme was near and dear to their heart. We also invited past patients to submit their stories and share with attendees. Their passion alone for helping others embarking on their same journey to heart health made this event worthwhile. Had we just invited people to see new hospital rooms, there would not have been anything exciting about this event.
Please share your ideas, thoughts, comments, suggestions for how we marketers can create enthusiasm and passion for the brands we serve. I'm already excited to hear your stories.
Jeanette
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