MY ARTICLES

IN-DEPTH

• HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR BRAND USING DIFFERENTIATING FACTORS?

SERIES:

BRANDING

• WHAT IS A BRAND EXTENSION?
• WHAT IS THE BRAND IMAGE?
• WHAT IS CAUSE MARKETING?
• IS NEGATIVE PUBLICITY ALWAYS NEGATIVE?
• WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BRAND, BRANDING, A PERSONAL BRAND AND A COMPANY/PRODUCT NAME?
• WHAT IS CROSS-MARKETING?
• WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING YOUR COMPANY'S IMAGE?
• WHAT IS BRANDING?
• HOW TO SELECT YOUR COMPANY NAME?
• HOW TO MAXIMIZE THE VALUE OF YOUR SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP BUSINESS
• WHY IS PRODUCT DIFFERENCIATION IMPORTANT?
• RIGHT SELL AND OVER DELIVER

HOW TO TURN YOUR CLIENTS INTO BRAND AMBASSADORS.

For many businesses, there is a very narrow line between producing customers and having satisfied customers. This responsibility is often shared by the advertising/marketing department and operations. The advertising/marketing department having the responsibility of "producing" the customer and the operations having the responsibility of "producing" the satisfied customers.

But this responsibility is not that clear. Because the advertising/marketing department certainly produces customers, but also produces expectations. These expectations may or may not be met by operations.

Why this disconnection sometimes happens between the departments of the same company? Are the operations to blame? Sure, for some companies operations need to have some adjustments, but I would say that for many, the blame can be laid at the feet of fierce competition and a lack of differentiating factors between companies.

With the Internet, more and more companies are selling internationally. For some, this can prove a little more difficult depending on the type of product. A physical presence might be necessary to solve certain problems specific to their products/services, for example, customs fees, imposed tariffs, certification needs, delivery and insurance pricing, assembly complexity, product's technicality, offered guarantees, support requirement, etc.

But for others, a website in several languages, an adequate advertising budget, a good delivery strategy, and voila; you sell in several markets. This reality puts enormous pressure on advertising/marketing to produce customers. This means that promises sometimes made to customers can become unachievable by operations.

Examples? The language training industry is full of the most grandiose promises (I have not included company websites to protect their identities, but the titles are real. If you search online, you will find them):

How to be bilingual in three months.

Start speaking a new language in seven days.

Learn English in 30 days.

The reality is quite different, at least in my experience. Learning to speak a new language can take years. So what happens to companies that promise to teach the language in much less time? Of course, they will have their share of customers, but will they manage to have satisfied customers? Ambassadors for their company? Unless these companies found a revolutionary way to teach, operations may not be able to properly manage the expectations they will have produced with these promises. Excuses like; you did not do the required amount of homework during the day, you did not participate in the required activities, etc will be used to justify not meeting the specified goal. But, if a customer enters the training to learn a new language in seven days, regardless of the reason given for not being able to deliver, the customer will be disappointed.

Another industry with promises that are often impossible to achieve; weight loss. The "before" and "after" images taken in a very short time give the impression that this type of result is accessible to everyone. Possibly, but with extraordinary determination, extremely close follow-ups, and the eating discipline of a monk. This is to say that few people can follow these goals. Usually, we have a normal motivation and will cheat now and then. So this type of result is quite possible but over a longer period. The same as with language courses; many enter the process, few persevere until the end, and even fewer succeed. The result: very few customers are satisfied and become the company's ambassadors.

A final example? The marketing industry. More and more people are calling themselves marketing "experts". This makes the field ultra-competitive and the promises made to obtain the mandates are too often unrealistic. This also affects customer expectations. I just turned down a mandate for a service industry start-up that wanted, with an advertising budget of $5,000.00, to get enough clients to support five consultants in just a few months. But the manager found someone willing to take on the project. Will this person be able to meet this objective?

I have a longtime friend who was doing commercial real estate loans. And his private lenders were very wealthy Montrealers. The vast majority had acquired their fortunes by doing something exceptionally well for decades. Sometimes over more than one generation. Success is possible and very attainable, but most of the time it takes time. The secret sauce does not seem to exist. There are, of course, the so-called "unicorn" companies, which have amazing performances because they had a great idea, at the right time, with a very good organization, a good support system, and a lot of luck. But, just like unicorns, they do not come around that often. So usually when it sounds too good to be true; this is generally the case.

So we have established that you should not oversell, so as to not put unrealistic pressure on operations, and thus producing satisfied customers who will be ambassadors for your company. So how do you stand out in such a competitive environment? In my series of articles in this blog, there is one common denominator: differentiation. You have to find a way in which you are different from others. Without this differentiation, potential customers will not see what sets you apart. But isn't making those promises a form of differentiation? Isn't that what we call "a unique selling proposition"? Not really. Because to be valid, a differentiating factor must be difficult to reproduce by your competitors. The number of years of experience, the results obtained, a difficult degree to obtain, an operational aspect that your competitors do not have, a guarantee, or any other dimension that makes you a unique option for your potential client.

In the article on how to develop your brand using differentiating factors, we go into depth on the subject.

One of the differentiating factors is achievements. I see ads on my social media feed for "volunteers" to participate in a free weight loss program. When "fitness coaches" do this, it is precisely to have results and to have a differentiator. In the 20 or so, participants, several will not complete the program, some persevere, but without having the expected results, and ultimately very few will achieve the objectives. These are the people who will be used for the before/after stories to sell the services. But is this a valid differentiator? Is the fact that you were able to do something exceptional once, be used to differentiate yourself from others? We go back to our previous argument: the creation of expectations. The factor must be achievable by operations. Otherwise, we fall into the trap that this article aims to avoid. However, if you can achieve this level of result consistently, then yes, it can become a differentiator. You found the path, and you can guide your clients to a healthy weight. Not only will you have found your differentiator, but you will be able to have satisfied customers who will become ambassadors. This is the holy grail of marketing.

So, once you identify this factor (or these, if you have more than one), your communications should move away from the world of unattainable promises and back to something possible.

If you have questions, do not hesitate to contact me.

Stéphane Elmaleh-Riel, B.Ed., MBA
Marketing consultant