Getting your arms around marketing

Doors and Hardware, Feb, 2007 by John Graham

3. CREATE A BRAND PROMISE. If there is no promise, there is no brand. While it seems simple, it's difficult to put into practice. With every cell phone provider making endless claims, how does one stand out from another in a way that resonates with the customer? Cingular is particularly adept at using a brand promise strategy to connect with customers. It identified dropped calls as high on cell users' irritation lists. Seeing this as an opportunity, Cingular weds its tagline, "Raising the bar," to the brand promise, "fewest dropped calls."

Since dropped calls do occur, even with Cingular, the branding reminds the customer that there are fewer with Cingular than with other providers.

4. PERSONALIZE PERTINENTLY. If anything is clear today, customers want to be recognized and appreciated. To some extent, companies have taken advantage of "personalization" when it comes to communications. Personalized letters have long been a marketing staple and a giant leap beyond "Dear Valued Customer," even though such nonsense persists.

However, the "new personalization" goes well beyond the basic use of the customer's name. In fact, if only the name is used, many customers can be turned off. It's the content that must be personalized today. Amazon.com is very effective at data mining to deliver products that match customer interest. Those frequenting that website often say, "It's as if they know me." They do.

5. PRACTICE the power of persistence. The 2006 holiday season was a challenging one for the Macy's brand. After acquiring Filene's, The May Company and Marshall Fields department stores, there was one major question: Could Macy's hold the customers? Throughout the fall of 2006, Macy's discount coupons filled mailboxes and were featured in full-page print ads across the nation. When Thanksgiving arrived, they stepped up the pace.

It was war: "Don't let the consumer go anywhere else." The owner, Federated Department Stores, reported an 8.5% November sales increase, higher than just about all rivals. It also increased its December sales forecast from 5% to 8%.

It was a strategy of staying in front of the consumer with a continuous stream of compelling offers designed to take them straight to Macy's.

Persistence goes a long way to keep customers focused--and buying.

Getting out of the way is the overwhelming problem in marketing. As it turns out, the only way to get our arms around marketing is to get them around the customer.

John R. Graham is president of Graham Communications, a marketing services and sales consulting firm. He is the author of The New Magnet Marketing and Break the Rules Selling, writes for a variety of business publications, and speaks on business, marketing and sales topics for company and association meetings. He is the winner of an APEX Grand Award in writing and the only two-time recipient of the Door & Hardware Institute's Ryan Award in Business Writing. He can be contacted at 40 Oval Road, Quincy, MA 02170 (617-328-0069; fax 617-471-1504); j_graham@grahamcomm.com. The company's web site is grahamcomm.com.