Posted on 03/19/2009, by
DMC
I read something recently that there are no boring product categories, only boring brands. From my perspective, a boring brand is a fate worse than death. A boring brand is something that prospective customers treat with apathy one that gets ignored in the competitive discussion. In any market at any time, who can really afford to be ignored when customers are making buying decisions.
A boring brand costs you across a whole host of business metrics including profitability, revenue per customer, longer sales cycles and lower conversion rates. If you’re brand is boring today, or you’re worried that it could become boring, don’t worry. Here are five things you can start doing TODAY to ensure your brand doesn’t get thrown in the discount rack when customers are choosing products and services to buy.
1) Listen to your customers
We are constantly running across companies that say things like “our customers have no idea we had X product/service.” Even worse, when we speak to customers of our clients they have a vastly different perceived value of the products/services they purchase. This can all be solved by being better listeners. Your customers will tell you what they want, what is important to them and where they see value in your offerings. Ask them. Then respond. Do that and you’ll find that you’re solving problems that your customers actually have, which is anything but boring.
2) Forget about me too efforts
The more you try to make yourself look like another competitor, the less you show your customers why you have unique value. In that case, why should a customer choose you at all? You should just send a check to your competitor, because that is all your doing. Spending money to enhance someone else’s brand. Look for the competitive advantage you have, the unique capabilities or your company/products. Focus on those things and you’ve got something customers and prospects will find worth paying attention to.
3) Engage, engage, engage
Are you sitting in your office, waiting for your phone to ring? Today’s customer evaluating potential partners and having conversations about your services with or without you. Take an active, collaborative, role in that conversation. There are far more opportunities to engage your audience that we have room for here. However, good starting points are your corporate blog (you do have one right?), the social media sites your customers are using (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, etc.), user forums, trade media and on an on.
Don’t know what social media tools your customers are using? Refer to point #1.
4) Get help
Find a respected outside voice to help you identify if your brand is boring your customers and what you can do about it. There are few things more difficult to destined for failure than developing marketing plans and messages in a vacuum. A trusted third party should bring perspective to your efforts and balance internal perceptions with marketplace reality.
5) Repeat
If it’s been at least six months since you’ve done any of the above, assume your brand is at least starting to get boring. The more you listen, the more you engage the more you will be able to provide unique value to your customers and prospects. Add focus to the delivery of that value and you have a roadmap to success.
Brands don’t have to be boring, but when neglected they have no other choice.
