What do you do when the unexpected happens? When a small plane hits one of the schools in your district? When an executive is accused of misconduct? When a fire breaks out in your stockroom? A disaster/crisis-management plan should take the guesswork out of “what do we do now?”
Intellectual, Emotional, Intuitive & Sensual Branding
Some folks in the psychological world say there are four aspects to our personality – intellectual, emotional, intuitive, sensual. Or what a psychologist friend once simplified as “head, heart, gut, groin.”
Whether or not we believe in those exact categories, our personalities are made up of several levels. Communications theory says that the more different ways we connect with a receiver (customer, client, voter, employee, etc.) the more likely we are to affect a favorable response.
Good branding should try to address as many personality levels as possible. For example, the merged branding (from a visual standpoint) of Continental and United airlines used the Continental globe tail logo and the United name. Gold (the color in the globe and in the stripe along the side of the planes) is a rich, positive color that can connect on an intellectual (rich) level, an emotional one (security), and a sensual one (warmth).
Whether or not we believe in those exact categories, our personalities are made up of several levels. Communications theory says that the more different ways we connect with a receiver (customer, client, voter, employee, etc.) the more likely we are to affect a favorable response.
Good branding should try to address as many personality levels as possible. For example, the merged branding (from a visual standpoint) of Continental and United airlines used the Continental globe tail logo and the United name. Gold (the color in the globe and in the stripe along the side of the planes) is a rich, positive color that can connect on an intellectual (rich) level, an emotional one (security), and a sensual one (warmth).
Persuasive Communications
"Selling is persuasion; Persuasion is attitude change; Attitudes can be changed."
“Sales” has been bandied around as a dirty word in some aspects of our culture, with the ancient stereotype of the used-car salesman as the prototypical example of negative selling imagery.
Yet selling is life. Selling is what we do when we flirt and date and propose. It’s what we do when we buy a buddy a beer. It’s found in board rooms, politics, and the bedroom. Selling is simply persuasion; and the tools of selling could be simply rephrased as the arts of persuasive communication.
There are two significant types of communication – personal and mediated. Personal communication is what we do across the back fence with our neighbors. It’s going to the movies with the girls. It’s a city council meeting; an Amway multi-level-marketing business; lunch with friends.
Mediated communication is where the sender and receiver are removed in time and space. This includes TV, newspapers, letters, e-mail, advertisements, books, websites, social media sites, brochures, texting, and everything else where the sender and receiver are not in direct personal contact.
Long Article Alert: What follows is not a typical web snippet.
“Sales” has been bandied around as a dirty word in some aspects of our culture, with the ancient stereotype of the used-car salesman as the prototypical example of negative selling imagery.
Yet selling is life. Selling is what we do when we flirt and date and propose. It’s what we do when we buy a buddy a beer. It’s found in board rooms, politics, and the bedroom. Selling is simply persuasion; and the tools of selling could be simply rephrased as the arts of persuasive communication.
There are two significant types of communication – personal and mediated. Personal communication is what we do across the back fence with our neighbors. It’s going to the movies with the girls. It’s a city council meeting; an Amway multi-level-marketing business; lunch with friends.
Mediated communication is where the sender and receiver are removed in time and space. This includes TV, newspapers, letters, e-mail, advertisements, books, websites, social media sites, brochures, texting, and everything else where the sender and receiver are not in direct personal contact.
Long Article Alert: What follows is not a typical web snippet.
Online is Just a Delivery Method
“The Internet has changed everything.” Uh, huh. “It’s a new paradigm for advertising, branding, sales, public relations, blah, blah, blah.” We think not. Having been intimately involved in the marketing/communications game for a LONG time, I believe that, unfortunately, “nothing is new under the sun.” At least not yet. No communicator has yet to tap the superb potential of the online/connected/social world.
Just about everything online now is simply a different delivery method. A customer-service-dedicated Twitter employee who responds to customer complaints is still just a customer-service employee. Sure, broadcast customer-service Tweets reach more folks than to just the individual complaining or asking the question. Nonetheless, it’s still a simple one-to-many communications channel.
Just about everything online now is simply a different delivery method. A customer-service-dedicated Twitter employee who responds to customer complaints is still just a customer-service employee. Sure, broadcast customer-service Tweets reach more folks than to just the individual complaining or asking the question. Nonetheless, it’s still a simple one-to-many communications channel.
Why Do Realtors Put Their Pictures on Their Business Cards?
(And on ads, brochures, signs, too.) I’ve heard many explanations, but none really convincing. “It’s a relationship business.” “It’s recognition.” “It’s vanity in a vain industry.” “It’s expected, since everyone else does it.” (This one makes sense – kind of like a negative feedback loop.) Art sales is a relationship business; stockbrokers want the same level of recognition; cosmetic surgeons are in the vanity business.
Maybe all the above reasons are a little true, maybe none. But from a sales and marketing perspective it doesn’t really make sense. A model or actor might put their photo on their card, but their face is their product; they are their brand. A Realtor’s product is a house, it’s not themselves. And a Realtor’s brand is more related to the company they work for than to themselves.
Short Thoughts on Niche Marketing, Target Marketing & Branding
Very few industries understand the power of niche marketing. It’s often viewed as too expensive per prospect – not realizing that the quality of the lead is usually so much higher. American Airlines tried it a few years ago with their “women’s” website, but that is/was too broad of a niche. Niche marketing is usually seen as something that niche businesses do (manufacturers of fishing rods, motorcycles, etc.), rather than as a viable tool for general marketers.
Niche marketing differs from Targeted marketing in that Niche aims to appeal to a group differentiated by interests (“the pet-friendly airline”); while Targeted sends a specific offer (a “20% off” email to folks who haven’t flown in the past 6 months) to a distinct but undifferentiated audience.
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