Marketing starts from the inside out.
This is something that is often forgotten.
Do the employees believe in your product or service?
Are they buying in 100% to the brand?
Is there a purpose or meaning that the workers can connect with?
Is the brand saying one thing outwardly but internally not walking the talk?
This came up in an email ping pong this week with Petar
We've discussed the idea of how brands can participate in the social web many times here and always come back to the notion of creating value in situations where the brand can be relevant.
In the workplace is where this starts.
Here's my diagram of the 3 kinds of advocacy.
1 - Customers
This is the no-brainer, and where the focus often stops.
Satisfied customers are loyal and will keep buying. Though there is both passive and active loyalty (passive loyalists are equally likely to stick or split if they get better 'value' elsewhere)
2 - Fans
Fans are the 20% or so of customers who absolutely love what you do, and will happily tell others about it. though fans may not actually be customers (fans of luxury brands for instance may not have the actual economic situation to be owners - this is where low cost brand extentions come in handy, but thats another story).
3 - Evangelists
This is the trick that's often missed.
This week Seth said:
'Every industry has people who are worth more, buzz more, care more and buy more than other people. Don't treat people the same, find the ones that matter more to you, and hug them.'
Marketing starts from the inside out.
Do the employees believe in your product or service?
If they do then it's the best word-of-mouth tool you've got.
If they dont?
I'm sure we have all experienced this, chatting to someone who works for company x and being told ' I wouldn't buy product x if i was you, I've seen what goes in it..' or suchlike.
In the same way that great advertising will not save a shit product and a great product can be killed by shit customer service, a brand without meaning, that says one thing outward and another thing inward will not generate those internal evangelists, the ones with the passion...
I spotted this from Spike Jones..
'Passion is contagious. It’s exciting. It fuels word of mouth. And we’ve talked about how it’s no longer a product conversation - it’s no longer about you and what you can do. It’s a passion conversation - it’s about how you fit into people’s lives and how you can be a conduit to their passion. You’re the enabler, not the destination.'
Protect Against Cold..
