Why Try To Get Out Of Your Box, When You Can Use What's In It?
This brewery doesn’t care what you like.
But…and this is a big but: “We do care that you find something at our taproom that you like.”
Within that statement, there is care and empathy and a push toward doing things that the brewer may not personally want to do.
It’s target-centric marketing at its finest.
Jarring at first, but fitting in the end. As solid marketing is.
Stay Positive & Make Your Statement
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The barista didn’t need to make eye contact and smile as she handed over the cortado.
The manufacturer didn’t need to call and apologize about the hassle of an equipment delivery.
The event organizer didn’t need to stop his racing around the event to shake a volunteer’s hand.
They didn’t have to do any of that, but they did.
Think it made a difference?
Stay Positive & Are You Doing What You Don’t Have To?
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Here’s a communication exercise not enough brands do after they draft a piece of content: they don’t ask what questions remain.
It’s dandy to write a post for a restaurant that’s pulling out of a location to focus on a different location, but a poorly written post results in more questions from the reader.
What happens to the staff? Is anything replacing the space?
Answering questions instills confidence in your brand, even if the answer is “we’re not sure about X yet.”
This applies to news release, too. After you’re done saying all you want to make sure to say, what questions remain?
Or how about that sell sheet? or buyer’s guide? or anything other content that doesn’t end with a live Q&A?
Stay Positive & More Answers Sooner
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The best way to retain loyalty is to proactively communicate.
Communicate when it’s good news.
Communicate when it’s bad.
Communicate when you screwed up.
Communicate when you have more to give.
It’s not that everyone will listen, but it’s critical that those who do, hear you.
This goes for relationships in general.
If you need to increase your price because if you don’t, your business will begin to tank… communicate it.
If you can no longer accommodate a promise you made to a friend… communicate it.
The cool thing about retaining loyalty is that it’s as impactful to those you’re communicating to as it is to yourself or your business or your organization’s stakeholders.
Lack of communication isn’t just a sign of someone who doesn’t care; it’s a sign of an organization that’s internally struggling.
Why would anyone want to remain loyal to that?
Stay Positive & Communicate
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To a degree, quality used to be better than quantity.
Now? Not so much.
What’s important is the quantity that you ship.
Quality still matters, but not in the sense of shipping only when things are perfect.
It’s shipping so regularly that people can see and feel the improvements happen.
That’s when people see it as authentic, real, and like they are part of the quality journey.
Stay Positive & Ship More Often
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Surprise and delight lives outside the norm.
Same with remarkability.
Loyalty is enhanced with tactics outside the norm.
The list goes on.
Stay Positive & Brands Die Inside The Norm
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You can plow through the work and get it done. You might get a few scrapes along the way and feel alone.
You can go through the work and surround yourself with people willing to help you along the way.
A third alternative is to build support points first before you go through the work. Call friends to help along the way. Set yourself up for success. Have trial points and rewards throughout the process.
Sometimes support is given to us; most of the time it’s up to us to give it to ourselves.
Stay Positive & Set Yourself Up For Success
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