Continuing our coverage from AdVenture, this afternoon we are listening to John Parikhal’s presentation on 21st Century Branding and Marketing on No Money. Here is what we covered in Part 1:
Brands are a form of trust. Trust is the end result of being comfortable over time. Make your customers trust you by keeping in these 4 things in mind:
- Intent – where are you coming from?
- Propriety – are you the only one doing what you’re doing?
- Confidence – do you know what you’re doing? Do your customers think you know what you’re doing?
- Commonality – What do you have in common with your customers? How can you connect with them on a personal level?
One way to grow trust is to represent a promise. Do this carefully, as trust takes a lot of time to grow, but can die very quickly.
Face the fact that YOU do not control yoru brand, your customers do. Cue your customers what they should be feeling about your brand, and get them to reflect back to you what your brand is. Build from their responses.
What is your promise, your guarantee, your meaningful difference? This is nearly always emotional. Find out what it is and work from there.
GAME CHANGERS
- Tech earthquake: Happens without warning and before you know it, everything has changed. (i.e. mobile devices, social media)
- Disappearing middle: The middle man is disappearing. You need to demonstrate your value to stay in the game.
- Always on: The world is now “on” 24/7. Customers can shop at all times. “That can wait ’til morning.” – no longer relevant. Give the illusion that you are always on, even if you’re not. Have a quality website that provides the services and information your customers NEED. Also, customers have instant amnesia. You need to give them a reason to remember you.
TRANSFORMATIONAL RULES
- Know and love your customers – pay attention to your physical spaces and make them better for your customers
- It’s not about you – customers think “What’s in it for me?” You need to keep earning their loyalty.
- Brand deeds matter – Creating a way for your customers to help do a good deed makes them feel good.
- Be famous for something – best service, friendliest counter people, etc.
Take away: Good is Not Good Enough.
Part 2 coming up…
– Nicky
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