Truth Bombs In Marketing
Sometimes it's that which you know but isn't top of mind, or that which you really don't want to hear that holds the difference you seek.
How Honest Is Your Marketing?
Marketing should be based on revealing what is true, not seeming to be something you're not. It IS the social media age, and while tempting to air brush and curate your image, customers can sense what is real and what isn't. If you want to be different, try being painfully honest (not modest, just honest) - both at what you're good at, and what you're not.
You're Great But... Messaging Should Rarely Be About You
We all have a narrative in our heads and it centers on us. Customers think and talk about themselves. Companies think and talk about themselves. When it comes to marketing narratives, flip the script. Make the customer the center of your narrative and treat them as the main character of a story where you in some way help them be the hero they want to become. It doesn't matter how good you are. It's about them.
Caring Is The New Economy
It doesn't matter if you are in sales, marketing or client service. If you want to win, you have to care beyond what's in it for you. "It's just business" doesn't fly any more. Open your heart, care about your audience, figure out what they need as if it was the most important thing you do, and give it to them. If you get close enough to care about your audience, what you talk about and how you serve them becomes obvious.
Character (And Brand) Is What You Do
If you want to find your brand, take a hard look at how you do what you do. How well do you treat your customers? How well do you treat your staff? How well do you treat your vendors? What values do you say you have vs the values you actually live.
The meaning of your brand is co-created by how your customers perceive your marketing AND your actions. The two should be in alignment.