Are you memorable? As a business/organization, or individual, or product, or service? People talk and share memorable…
But memorable isn’t being the best of the best of the best as Will Smith so aptly quoted in his movie “Men in Black”. No, memorable is being the one that someone remembers to tell someone else about you. Let’s kill a myth right out of the gate. You don’t have to have the best product or latest development to be memorable. If that was the case there would only be one memorable company in any one category, clearly not the case for how businesses succeed and thrive today.
Being memorable is more closely related to the experience and your people delivering the experience than to any one particular product. And if you are looking for the “Long Tail” effect from your efforts, these areas will give you a much longer tail well after a product or service fades away or is eclipsed by some other leading edge product. Take the often talked about success story Apple. Is it their iPhone and iProducts that are the memorable aspect for their company? While they are good and are leading the way in many areas, what makes them memorable started way before the latest iSomething craze. It was their “cult-like” following of people who loved their experience and what they stood for that has made them the most memorable. You have probably already forgotten about their earlier products, but not the experience.
The corner deli or grocery store can’t possibly compete with Kroger or WalMart on selection or price – but they are the one that is memorable to people and is what they talk about to others and spread the word-of-mouth to their friends. It’s the experience and the people that make them memorable. How they deliver this to you or interact with you is paramount to your continued patronage and their survival. And the good businesses know it.
Step back from all the noise and hype of social media and think about what strategy you have in place to make you memorable, not how many tweets and facebook posts your staff can throw on the board and call you “connected” and “revered.” This isn’t what it is all about. When I created our “Business Engagement Strategy” it was with this in mind – how does an organization become memorable and still deliver on their overall business strategy. It isn’t easy, but is what really works and lasts well beyond the latest hype of some campaign you just launched into the social media sphere…
Wit
h the upcoming 4th of July holiday coming up, it made me think of the parades and fanfare that goes on around this terrific holiday. But it also made me start thinking about the “noise” level that accompanies these events. Then it hit me…
With all the companies I talk to about social media, by far the majority of them are using social media as if they were in the 4th of July parade we go watch every year.
There are bunches of floats coming down the street – each one “trying” to look different and get noticed. They are telling us, “Look at me, we are different and unique and we want all the attention on us.” Interspersed with all the floats are of course the marching bands that are making lots of “noise” with the same intent, “Look at me, we are different and unique and I want all the attention on us.” And we can’t forget the bicycle acts and the motorcycles and the dance teams, and the list goes on and on. Sometimes, you might remember one or two of these after the parade is over and your back at your house having a party with some friends…but you will forget most of them quickly.
But wait, there is a group missing from this list – the one that gets remembered every time…THE CLOWNS! What makes the clowns memorable and leaves people “talking about them to their friends” well after the parade is over? They are FOCUSED ON YOU! It isn’t about them strutting down the street in a line saying notice me – yet they always get noticed. What do they do different? They “HELP YOU” enjoy the experience of the parade. They give you candy. They come over and do a balloon animal for your kids. They squirt you in the face with their water ring (OK, that is one we could live without). They let you take pictures with them. They ENGAGE YOU in what they do – making your experience at the parade MEMORABLE! And at the barbecue they are the ones you talk about and share your experience with others!
Now, go back and think about your company and how you are using social media. Are you the clown or the rest of the noise in the parade? Are you creating a memorable experience and helping through what you do or are you just finding another way to promote yourself and make more noise on the internet? You know the answer…
If you truly want to create “Word-of-Mouth on Steroids” and get your audience to notice you, be the Clown.
“Passion” generally takes the backseat to “Promotion” – it is just way easier to promote than to build your messaging around Passion. The path of least resistance is of course, least resistant.
Take, for example, the normal Business Owner started or came into their business because of this very reason – they were passionate about what they were offering. It’s still there – just not shared freely with their current and prospective audiences. When I consult with companies, I don’t hunt down the brightest and smartest people in the company. Nope, I look for those with the most passion. They are the only ones that can truly answer the “Why” question…
When you are in the business I am in – helping companies build an integrated “Engagement Strategy” – this is the key ingredient. Without it, the company’s path of least resistance will be promoting themselves, talking about how great they are, “pimping” their products and services, and doing a host of other activities that actually drive their desired audience away from them on both the social and non-social channels.
I leave you with one question to answer for yourself and you decide. If you interact with a company where you feel their people and leadership isn’t passionate about what they do and why they exist, “Is there any reason to build a relationship and not think of them as a commodity and beat them up on price?” Don’t think so. And one final note – people don’t spread Word-of-Mouth about you when they don’t feel you are passionate about what you do…
It happened again last week…when I was giving a speech, someone asked me who was using social media because they thought their target audience wasn’t a big user. Guess again…but that’s a topic for another day.
The question I came back and asked them was, “Who is their demographic, and social media aside, do they think they “talk” to other people about their company or what they do?” Of course the answer was a resounding yes and they went on to describe their demographic – more senior management and a newer workforce of younger people entering the workforce. But they ALL have one thing in common…they talk to their peers and other people just like themselves. All generations are use Word-of-Mouth to share information, experiences, and opinions…
Now let’s fast forward to today…the era of the next revolution, Social Media. Not everyone is adopting it at the same rate, not to be expected. But what we are seeing is that different generations are using different “channels” (often referred to as social media tools) to communicate – using some form of social media. Expand your definition of social media beyond facebook and you will find a whole host of channels people are using (there are over 350 of them today).
When we went around the room and had people talk about what channels, if any, they were using to share and communicate, well over 90% of the room were using something – it shocked everyone! We had the usual channels of facebook, LinkedIn, twitter, and blogs, but then when we expanded their thinking, we also found YouTube, Pinterest, Flickr, and even a MySpace person. The bottom line…everyone uses Word-of-Mouth AND almost all of them were using some type of tool to share their experiences and perspectives. I wonder how the test would go inside your own company…maybe we should find out, it might just surprise everyone!
Everyone in business and beyond knows the meaning of “using a Silver Bullet” – where you use something very valuable to get something else very valuable, like a reference to get new customer/client. It is usually used in the regard to getting a reference from someone who you can’t ask too frequently so when you do use their reference, it better be for a really good purpose – and you don’t waste one of your few limited supply “silver bullets” on something that isn’t a big deal. I would challenge you to think of it in a different way in today’s highly connected and conversational world…
We all know Word-of-Mouth is the most powerful form of communication – always has been and by all accounts, always will be – that’s a given. But the real question is, “What are they saying about you when they tell others about you?” This is the most important question you should be asking yourself and your people today. Why? This is the NEW SILVER BULLET in today’s world!!
In this fast-paced world of communications and sharing information almost immediately, if someone is your “advocate” and telling others about you, WHAT ARE THEY SAYING? What have you “armed” them with that would cause them to check you out (other than being personally recommended, which is awesome) and reach out to contact you. What is it they are saying that will cause this new person to “take action” and connect with you so you can work your magic with them? This is the new SILVER BULLET in the online, real time, and connected world. References are too slow – Social Media has made this super fast, if not instant. Today someone wants to know now or they will make other decisions.
The big difference, they can share it in 140 characters or even an e-mail “Proactively” rather than going through the ask process we have lived in up until now. For example, if someone wants to know what someone might say about me, I can now send them to LinkedIn to check out my “Recommendations” or to “Client Blogs” where they have actually blogged about our relationship and the value they got from it (which is super powerful). Why would I put a client through the process of writing a really good reference to ONE potential client when today they can write it ONCE and anyone can see my silver bullets on display? The world has definitely changed in this regard – are you using the power of the NEW SILVER BULLET yet? Something I talk about with the management teams I work with and would encourage you to talk about with your teams…
The question has come up more than once, “What if we put in a rewards program for referrals or word-of-mouth to our audience, does it still carry the power of WOM?” Great question and deserves some exploration…
Social media has completely changed the game in so many ways, but no more than in the world of “Word-of-Mouth.” It has both “leveraged” and “amplified” it so that now instead of just sharing something one-on-one or in a small group, you can literally share it with thousands in minutes. The game has changed…which means there are those out there dying to take advantage of your thoughts and opinions – and even willing to pay you or reward you in some fashion. So now that this has happened, how can you either leverage it or capitalize on it more than you normally would with “traditional” Word-of-Mouth?
Some have turned to “Referral Programs” where you are literally rewarded in some way for “telling others” and essentially spreading “Word-of-Mouth” about them or their business. But does it really work? The real question always lies with the targeted audience. The other aspect of social media that often gets “muted” in the discussion is “transparency and authenticity” – two cornerstones to the success of social media. If these are violated in any way, your audience can turn on you like a pack of wolves looking for their next meal.
If you are “compensated” in some way to share information (content) with your audience and you don’t disclose it and someone finds out, you’ve broken these commandments and the audience won’t only turn on you but will tell others to turn on you – negative Word-of-Mouth. It also impacts the company, almost more severely. If the audience believes you as a company are paying someone to say nice things about you, your credibility is also damaged and they will probably “flame” you with their network as well. Paying for referrals simply doesn’t work if you are trying to create a trusted and well respected Word-of-Mouth network.
However, there is a solution that allows you to engage this way with your audience and future audience – be honest and transparent about what you are doing. If you are rewarding people for offering their opinions, tell everyone you are doing this and encourage your audience to tell their audience they were rewarded for saying something. If you are upfront about it, no one can attack you for trying to mislead anyone. And if your audience says they were rewarded, they get points for being honest as well. Now whatever they say may be taken with a little less emphasis, but the audience will still tend to listen because they were upfront with them. For example, if they said, “I was given a reward to review this product and talk about it – but after using it, I would use it anyway and even give the reward back because it is amazing at what it does for me.”
This type of statement still has validity and will allow you to use some type of reward program without the risk of being flamed. It might not carry as much clout as if they weren’t rewarded, but it will at least let everyone know you were being honest about it – which counts tons in the social media world. And it is always better to be 50% effective and honest about it than dishonest and manipulative because that ALWAYS gets called out today and there are lots of examples of those that spent millions of dollars recovering from some of these antics.
Word-of-Mouth has been around since the beginning of time – no one will every refute that fact. While it is the most powerful form of communications – because it carries with it things like “trust” and “integrity” and “recommendations” and “confirmation” and “credibility” and a host of other such terms – it has always been…
I don’t know if you are in the same boat as I am, but I get bombarded by tons of people and companies anxious to tell me “HOW” to do social media and “WHAT” I need to have to be successful and “WHERE” I should go to get these super special services and results –…
In the 100+ speeches I give every year, this one question is definitely in the “Top 5″ list of those I get asked, “What’s the ROI of Social Media?” Good question, much more difficult answer depending on the company, their strategy, goals, and expected outcomes. In all my previous training working in a “Big 5″…
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to every mother out there – what a beautiful day we have been blessed with to honor our mothers, wives, grandmothers, mother-in-laws, and any other mother you know that deserves to be honored today! My message is simple today… For one day of the year (at least) stop telling everyone how wonderful…