GarthBox

If you’re going to make it personal, then make it personal.

Too often a marketer advocates for personalization and then tries to automate it.

Doing so might work, but certainly not as well as the time and energy investment of making it as personal as possible.

The funny thing about personalization is that it’s not actually what gets delivered that resonates with someone; it’s that that someone knows how much you put in to deliver on it.

That’s why personalization builds trust and loyalty.

Stay Positive & Personalize It, Completely.

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There’s not much in the world that gets better under more stress.

Not airport security checks. Not our bodies. Now our websites.

(Maybe those cool hydraulic press videos are the exception.)

Thus the practical advice is to go left when everyone is going right. The path isn’t the one traveled, it’s the one that avoids a bottleneck. Choosing to market to a few large customers is a different strategy than marketing to millions.

Stress doesn’t equate worth.

Stay Positive & If You Notice The Stress, Now You Know Your Next Move

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Parenting is exhausting.

So is marketing.

Mainly because the premise for doing both successfully is the same: you’re there to take care of someone.

Here are a few thoughts to remember:

– Giving away swag isn’t about giving away swag; it’s about using swag to open a dialogue for you to ask someone how you can help them more.

– If you have a customer that you haven’t reached out to in the last month… are they really a customer? Are they being taken care of?

– If you talked more than listened with the last prospect you pitched, then it’s time to fix that for the next one.

It’s not only best practice to take care of a customer or client; it’s fulfilling, too.

Stay Positive & If Someone Asked Your Customer If You Cared About Them, What’s The Answer?

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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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