FunMarketer Lesson of the Week

Craig, You sometimes mention surrounding the customer with your brand. Is this possible? Can you overdo it?

The FunMarketer answer: How many ways do you tell your kid you love him or her? Sure, you say it. But more important, you show it. You show it with every sandwich you packed away in her lunchbox and every time you waited in the car outside school so she didn’t have to walk home in the rain.

Think that kid didn’t notice? She noticed.

Same with the customer. You must absolutely encase her with positive marketing messages that reflect your brand and your brand’s promise. When I review a client’s shop the first place I go to is the wash room to see what it’s like. Is it clean? That’s prerequisite number one. If you want to get an F on a Marketing Hawks review just have a dirty loo.

But OK, so you’ve hired folks that can pickup the trash. Yea! Now, how about a few flowers in that rest room, or maybe just a hint of something that makes it fresh. How about some lotion?

There, that wasn’t too hard. What, no push for a big old poster announcing CD rates or what’s on clearance this week? Maybe…it depends on if that promotional style reflects the personality of your store. Perhaps just a couple of nice prints hanging on the wall can bond you closer to the customer.

See, it’s the little things in marketing that your customers pick up on. Ever listen to a great story teller? Does she scream? Does she speak loudly? No, she knows the value of a pause, of just gracing her audience with a few seconds of silence. We require relief from the communications assault.

Sometimes the mind appreciates a breather from the overt marketing we are all exposed to. That’s the idea behind a Customer Respite.

Call me for more ideas at 402-423-2444 or email me at funmarketer@marketinghawks.com

FunMarketer Free Campaign Idea of the Week

It’s back to school, which means that many people are joining clubs and groups. These two young ladies look happy together – you can almost feel their arms around each other in a warm, friendship hug.

Photo: istock #4537186

Headline: Make a Friend for Life at Acme Girls Club
Alternate Headline: Find that Friend You Can Always Count On – Visit Acme Girls Club Today

FunMarketer Tip of The Week

Last week I discussed brevity in our marketing efforts. One way to keep your writing brief is to not worry about the number of words in the first draft. The first draft should cull out the ideas from your mind. Some of the perfect phrases we search for will start pecking their way out of this rough copy.

But, if you are like me, the first draft will contain many extra words and long phrases. Rather than trying to make the perfect first draft, just accept that it will be a bit wordy. Then, go back and slash out phrases and words that you can make simpler in subsequent drafts.

FunMarketer Phrase of The Week

“Silence is Golden”. In keeping with the brevity in marketing theme, here’s a phrase that we can certainly stick in the back of our mind as we construct our copy and our layout. Silence in a spoken ad is analogous to white space in a print ad. Like the ear needs the unspoken pause, the eye needs the unseen. Sometimes the presence of the blank space in an ad allows the emphasis on your headline or photo combination.

Happy Marketing!

Craig Lutz-Priefert