How-To: Democratizing Marketing
5 Tips from MotiveQuest's Kerry Stranman
The relationship between companies and consumers is changing. "It used to be an 'us' vs. 'them' mentality, where 'we' (the marketing industry) controlled the message and 'they' received it passively," explains Kerry Stranman, Partner and Chief Strategist for MotiveQuest. Based on what she calls the "democratization of the marketplace", Kerry offers these tips to get people talking.
Tip #1. Wow 'em with your product
It's an old truism: Without product excitement, there's nothing to evangelize. Kerry points to what Motorola has done with the Razr phone. They used influencers to speed talk of the product, then sustained the buzz by launching new versions like PINK and SLVR.
Tip #2. Meet an unmet need
"Listen" online and via other avenues to be certain that your new product is need-centric rather than product-centric. For example, Kerry says, she has been observing growth in the online mention of banking & credit card fees. So when Citibank launched the Citi Simplicity Card -- a credit card with no fees -- they were putting themselves in the shoes of the consumer and listening, then using what they had learned to create a new product.
Tip #3. Become a resource for information
Mavens thrive on being subject matter experts. For example, British Petroleum has an online "carbon calculator" that measures how household and lifestyle choices affect your CO2 emissions. Also, news sources and subject matter experts often quote British Petroleum's world energy statistics. Making this data public feeds the desire of the influencers to be "in the know".
Tip #4. Create community
Companies can engage consumers by bringing people of like interests together through events or promotions, and then extend it online via community boards or blogs. You can empower them to be involved by letting them vote on which treatment will be the cover of the next issue of a magazine like "Cooking Light" does for example -- and by doing so, you not only engage them but you generate valuable market research for yourself.
Tip #5. Invite them to help create marketing
Break down the wall and make the marketing co-creative, Kerry urges. For example, as New Balance was repositioning itself against Nike, it looked to its heritage in amateur athletics in its "For Love or Money" campaign. They created a space online & asked consumers to post pictures of themselves and tell their "everyday athlete" story. The stories that were generated ("I run because I almost lost my mother-in-law to cancer and it was the one thing I could control...") allow the consumers to feel a sense of participation in the brand, and gave the brand a level of authenticity that straight-forward advertising can't do alone.
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