FunMarketer Lesson of the Week

Craig, Why is it important for a service company to have a Brand Banner?

The FunMarketer answer is: Because Word-Of-Mouth propels a service company. And your employees need to absolutely know what your company stands for. The Brand Banner accomplishes both.

The Brand Banner is an easily-remembered phrase or concept that your customers and employees can repeat effortlessly to other people. It’s much more than a tag-line or headline for a specific campaign; it must reflect the promise you are delivering to your customers, day in and day out.

One of the best is Hy-Vee’s “Where There’s a Helpful Smile in Every Aisle”. I am not a frequent Hy-Vee shopper, but last year I was in a Hy-Vee , bogged down with too many items in my hands because I had just ducked in to pick up one item and ended up snagging five. As the Hy-Vee employee walked by she literally lifted a twelve-pack of soda pop from my hands and shepherded me to checkout. All this was unsolicited, but definitely appreciated. (Hey, I’m a guy, and you know how we hate to ask for help).

Now that’s going the distance for a customer. That employee was 100% aligned with the company’s primary brand message – helpfulness.

Your brand has a position in the market. Notice, Hy-Vee isn’t positioned as the low-price leader. Although they have sales promote their prices as competitive, their brand stands for service and convenience, not price. It’s extremely difficult for your brand to occupy two places in the customer’s head – better to just have one that is clear in the mind of the employee and the customer. Keep your company loyal to one Brand Banner and you’ll win.

So, make sure your service business has a Brand Banner that customers and employees can remember. It’s not an easy task to build one – call me if you want some tips. Or else check out the tips in my Marketing Workouts

FunMarketer Free Campaign Idea of the Week

Here’s a photo that screams: “We appreciate our customer!”

Photo: Istock #4625200

Headline: To All You Who Help Make Us Great – Take a Bow!

Got any great ideas of your own? Just reply to the Funmarketer blog with your istock number and your headline and subhead (Clean Only, Please).

Oh, if you do use the campaign, make sure you give credit where due.

FunMarketer Tip of The Week

Use Google Alerts for your competition. If you are trying to find out when your competition is mentioned on the web, one way to do just that is using Google Alerts. Of course, it’s a good idea to sign up for alerts for your own company, too.

FunMarketer Phrase of The Week

“We’ve Got Your Back”. Remember, Trust and Value is our theme this summer. This phrase falls into the “trust” camp. It implies that you, as a company, will take care of the client. But just think of all the ways you can use this phrase:

Suntan lotion
Recliner chair (or a lawnchair, since it is still summer)
Chiropractor
Winter Overcoats (coupled with a strong, cold wind icon blowing)

More generally, the phrase is great for Customer Service. Some of you that are clever can probably even incorporate it into a tag-line for your Customer Service guarantee.

Happy Marketing!

Craig Lutz-Priefert