Wax blog Tag

23 Apr

Posted at 07:50h in Integrated Marketing by
A brand reputation is an extremely fragile concept. As Warren Buffett said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” We all make mistakes, and even some of the greatest and most popular brands have had their own share of disasters, with Volkswagen’s cheating on emission tests, as well as the Coca Cola’s MagiCan campaign are just two that come to mind. Despite suffering significant reputational setbacks, these companies managed to put things straight. Of course, this process can be more challenging for smaller brands but with a good strategy, it’s possible to fix your brand reputation.

Own your mistakes

14 Dec

Posted at 09:48h in IMC, Integrated Marketing by
Why are Bond films so successful? First, you start with an incredible hero brand. Enter the dynamic James Bond -- a man with a hypnotic and cheeky personality loved by both men and women. He owns the coolest gadgets and cars on the planet and saves the world from destruction and terror. What more is there to love? Throw in a far-fetched espionage script with exotic cinematography set in stellar locations coupled with electrifying stunts. And finally, no Bond film is ever complete without a creepy assassin and an uptight British supporting cast. Energy, suspense and sheer entertainment -- therein lies the secret sauce. (No, not the martini.) For more than 50 years, this recipe of success has not changed. And why should it? The Bond brand has kept its core audience and gained new fans along the way. Producer Albert R. Broccoli figured out how to make a ton of gold bullion and keep people coming back 50 years later, despite repackaging the lead a number of times. Here are five things Agent 007 can teach us about branding:
  1. Know your audience. Cater to them and give them everything they expect and love from your brand. Don't mess with your brand. Think Coca-Cola -- don't mess with a good thing.
  2. Keep the message simple. Don't convolute your product message. You can't be everything to everyone, so keep it simple. Brands like Dove, Apple, KFC and Tiffany & Co. all stay closely aligned with their brand purpose and so should you.
  3. Stick to your core product design. We like the tux, we want a catchy theme song, and we relish the villains. Like Bond, stay with what works for you.
  4. Deliver an indelible brand experience. Make your customers feel and appreciate what you do at every touch point. Make them ambassadors of your brand. (Me writing this blog post is an excellent example!)
  5. Keep the brand fresh. Although you have to know what works, you also must ensure your brand is relevant for current audiences. You may be 50 years old, but you've got to keep it fresh. This is what we mean by a "transformative" brand. (Thank you Adele for singing Skyfall.)

27 Oct

Posted at 08:41h in Content Marketing, Digital Marketing by
authentic blogIf you've been blogging for a while, you remember that thrilling moment when you realize someone is actually reading what you're writing. Maybe a few comments appear. Perhaps your blog URL gets retweeted by a kind friend. Or maybe yours just went viral all of a sudden. For me, blogging has been a slow burn.  Being syndicated has helped grow my blog traffic, but for me the  moment came the first time I realized I had a "fan." That's also the exact time when I began to struggle with authenticity.  I started pandering for traffic and stopped writing from the heart. I forgot my mission in the pursuit of popularity. And like all bloggers, I had to learn the ultimate lesson. Your writing has to be authentic to survive. I had lost my authentic voice. In hindsight it was a great lesson. The more I forget about pleasing people, the more popular my blog gets. When I think about it there were several signs that I missed along the road to fakiness. Hopefully you can learn from this hindsight and avoid making the same mistakes I did. Here is a checklist to make sure you're being authentic in your own work. More than a couple yes answers to these questions might be a red flag that your authenticity could be suffering: 

07 May

Posted at 12:50h in How to Pitch, Integrated Marketing by
People at the conferenceAccording to Aberdeen Research, 84 percent of marketers use some form of social media today. And, the number of businesses that say social channels like Facebook are important to their business has increased by 75 percent. But in a time before the birth of social media, both marketers and businesses were generating leads by passing out business cards and connecting with customers face to face. It's time to get back to the literal reality of organic connecting. Here are four ways to successfully promote your business offline:

Seminars

Seminars are one of the most popular lead generators and they are great for attracting and connecting with customers. Don’t go to a conference or seminar with the assumption that you have to sell yourself and your business to other attendees. Networking at events is all about making connections, not prospecting. Kevin Stirtz, writing for Business Know-How, suggests asking people about their businesses, and says to be friendly and relaxed. Stirtz also advises against giving everyone you meet a business card; instead, he recommends passing out your business cards when others ask or when you make a good connection.

Trade Shows

Setting up a booth at a trade show gives you the opportunity to connect with new customers who are interested in what your business has to offer. Companies like Apple Rubber, a leading designer and manufacturer of sealing devices, have found success by attending trade shows. The company sets up booths at trade shows in cities from coast to coast and lists each show's date and location on their website, merging both offline and digital marketing. Mark Krenn, founder of Coastal Creative Reprographics, writing for Business 2 Community, says that you need to stand out from the crowd. Your business will be alongside other industry competitors, so you’ll have to get creative when connecting with potential customers and designing your booth.

Giveaways

10 Apr

Posted at 09:59h in Integrated Marketing, Social Media by
millennialsGeneralizations are never a good thing, but marketers are noticing some trends in how millennials find and consume products and services. Things are definitely changing, my friends. The term “millennials” is used to describe the 18 to 36-year-old demographic who have grown up in the digital age. Also referred to as Generation Y, they are known as the socially savvy generation that’s always connected to the Internet via multiple communication devices. Because of their short attention spans and demand for personalized services and goods, connecting with millennials can be a difficult task for many businesses. Each year, Generation Y grows in purchasing power, and they are on track to spend more than Baby Boomers by 2017, according to a study conducted by by Berglass + Associates and Women’s Wear Daily — so if you’re not developing a strategy to reach out, you could be left behind. By assembling a well-integrated and thought-out strategy, your company can tap into this demographic.

Focus on Customer Service

Millennials have a much different idea about how customer service should work, along with expectations on how to be helped as a consumer. According to Nielsen, 42 percent of millennials expect to receive customer service on social media within 12 hours of raising their issue. Instead of having a phone number to call, most young people expect to be able to find answers to their questions online or through an app, and may become frustrated if a solution to their problem requires a phone call. One way to boost your online customer service presence is to work with acloud-based contact management company, which can provide and maintain the online infrastructure for a streamlined customer service experience.

Let Others Market for You

According to socialchorus.com, 95 percent of millennials say their friends are the most credible source of product information. Over the last few decades, marketing has shifted from an overarching "push" strategy to a now more popular "pull" approach. In his book The Thank You Economy, Gary Varynerchuk lays out his philosophies on how to effectively market in contemporary culture and he emphasizes the importance of brands communicating directly with customers via social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Vine. He explains, “At its core, social media requires that business leaders start thinking like small shop owners." Because the social channels are open, Vaynerchuk urges companies to use these mediums not as faceless entities or corporate representatives of a brand, but as real people. He describes the impact this can make: "When faced with two equal choices, people often buy for no other reason than they associate one choice with someone they know."

29 Dec

Posted at 07:57h in IMC by
Okay, in this task you PULL IT ALL TOGETHER! If you're like me, you probably have a bunch of Word docs scattered - or one that looks like a mess. Or you printed it out and it's covered in handwritten notes. Or maybe you're bloody perfect and it's all written out neatly already. If that is the case, the rest of us hate you and you're done for today. If not, it's time to get your document together. This might take you today and tomorrow, so don't sweat it. Tomorrow's task is REALLY easy. Here is the outline with the information you should have by now: 1. End Goal - This is the sentence where you write in quantifiable terms what you'll achieve in 2015. For most of you, this will be a sales figure. 2. Measurement - How will you measure this, and how often? Again, a sentence or two will suffice. 

26 Dec

Posted at 16:28h in IMC by
First of all, let me say that there are a bajillion pictures of mad scientists out there on the net. This one was my favorite by far. 2015 marketing plan   And why, do you ask, do I need a photo of a mad scientist in the 2015 Marketing Plan? Here is where we begin to think about how we'll test the efficacy of our marketing programs. For most entrepreneurs and small businesses - well, for most people really - we mainly just look at sales. Did we sell more or didn't we? If you wait that long until you review your results you could be dead in the water. Waiting until the end game means that you hold your breath, click your heels three times and hope your marketing works by looking at your numbers every three months or so. Yeah, that's pretty stupid...and why most people hate marketing. Instead you've got to test your results - and you have to test at the tactic level. And in order to do that, you have to decide if the tactic has contributed to the strategy. You've done enough work now to know that your strategies are pretty solid. So here is where you put the guarantee into your marketing plan. Take the 2014 tactics you want to keep - and you know they're good because a) they contribute to a chosen strategy and b) they were effective (3 or more). Add the new tactics you've chosen. And then write down how you'll know if they worked and when you'll check. Here are our tactic examples again, with the test criteria added. What you're really measuring here are the conversions that lead you to your best customer and ultimately to more sales -