Your brand is at risk! The risk is tied directly to how you have been operating. It’s simple, if you have decided this is the way things will be done, and this is what you are delivering, to coin a phrase; “Houston we have a problem!”
Arrogance and ego can help you climb a corporate ladder. They can help you build a brand, but at the same time they can quickly become your enemy. Marketing is about delivering messages to all of your audiences be they internal or external. Fail to engage people at any point because you believe you are right, you know what they need and you will do everything to make all of them buy…then failure is around the corner.
Successful marketing makes brands. The first key is the ability to listen. This is why…
From the video
When you bring marketing right back down to its basics, it is fundamentally about communication and quite often we forget to look at what is right in front of us, because communication is a two-way process.
It is not just about listening. And sometimes you can forget those obvious markers that are right in front of you because you are determined to push forward in a particular direction.
And that is one of the real dangers of your marketing.
You can steamroll right ahead and miss the obvious warning signs that are being put there by your audience that you really should be looking at things in a slightly different way – maybe turning left instead of turning right.
So have a think this week about your communication. And have a think about whether you are really and truly listening to what is going on to either side of you and not just fixated on what’s right in front.
The second key is acting strategically
Listening does not always mean changing automatically to fit in with a minority, no matter how large a group they may represent. It means making an educated decision to either accept they no longer represent your core audience who are the majority you want to cater for (assuming they are the most profitable), or you must develop a separate communications and marketing strategy to lure them back.
The seductive dance of marketing
Seduction is an art which is no stranger to marketing. This type of dance has been behind many campaigns and even less obviously, but just as successfully in the message which help sell things to us all the time. Tempting people speaks to the essence of building an emotional connection which is the foundation of marketing. However it only works long term if your product or service is able to deliver.
If you seduce someone and fail to deliver, you lose. If you seduce someone and you do deliver, the question they will still ask is whether the sacrifice was worth it?
For example, through quality marketing messages you decide to buy a new car. The car comes with all the bells and whistles (which you were seduced into believing you needed) which do exactly as stated…but your debt is mounting and the value of the asset is decreasing. How do you feel now about your purchase?
The point…work out what is right for your brand. Don’t tempt the wrong audience, because ultimately it is you who will pay the price because their circumstances will change the way they feel.
The message is simple, arrogance and ego need to be recognised and set aside in order to develop the right marketing strategy.
