Read the Latest B2B Content Blog in your RSS ReaderHonest and Transparent Marketing
This topic’s been brewing in the back of my head for a couple of years, ever since I read ‘All Marketers Are Liars‘, by Seth Godin. It bugged me then, and I find it even more irksome now.
To be fair, the title is meant to provoke and the book is more about story-telling than making false claims. Godin’s premise is that perception trumps reality. For example, wine tastes better in a $20 glass than in a $2 glass, as long as the marketer comes up with a vivid, entertaining and believable story about that $20 glass. While I’m in total agreement about using stories to sell products and services, I think the days of ’spin’, exaggeration and half-truths are over.
Nobody Gets Away with Lying
Technology has made everything too transparent. Witness Hillary Clinton’s story about dodging bullets on a Bosnian tarmac; or the outing of the Whole Food’s CEO who was talking up the stock online under a false identity. It’s so much more effective to just tell the truth, if you tell it in an interesting and memorable way.
“One of the four Ps in the marketing mix is Product. If your product (or service) has a shortcoming when compared to its competitors; fix the product. Give it the features it needs to be competitive… or shoot it.”
Most business executives, at least in the B2B world, understand this. On rare occasions I’ve been asked to gloss over, or omit, perceived negative factors in a product or service. Most of the time, it’s been possible to take that negative and explain it in a way that made the product or service more attractive.
Here Comes the Story
For example, technology providers often run pilot programs prior to a new product launch. Once in a while, these pilots result in problems for the companies that agree to be guinea pigs. I have a client that had this happen. The new product had a glitch. It resulted in crashed systems and down time. My client, understandably, wanted to bury this fact.
I lobbied to feature it in a case study. Why? Because my client had handled the situation well. They made everything right. Their pilot customer was happy (in the end). The bugs were fixed, and the system had been running like a champ for a couple of months. AND IT MADE A BETTER STORY. Before including that episode in the case study, it had no conflict… no obstacles overcome. If everything runs smoothly, it’s not believable and it’s boring!
The case study works. The prospects are smart people. They know problems crop up during pilots… that’s why they exist. The story is being read because it’s interesting, and my client is selling product because they come across as stand up guys, a company who takes care of its customers.
So to paraphrase Mr. Godin…
“Successful marketers tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”
Tags: authentic marketing, content marketing, sales tools
Not only does honesty work as a general marketing tool, but fixing a problem in a forthright manner can be a great way to win a customer’s future loyalty.
Case in point: I had my old Jeep serviced and its front end aligned by a local repair shop. Afterwards, it had a slight pull to the the right that got worse as time went on.
About three months after the service, the shop called me to ask if I was satisfied and if I was ready for another oil change and lube. I had driven very little during those months, so I was not ready for another oil change, but I mentioned the front-end problem — and was invited to bring my Jeep in for a no-charge realignment.
Now, adjustments such as front end alignments are not typically covered by repair warranties, since it is easy for a customer — especially a Jeep owner like me who routinely goes off-road — to knock the thing out of whack. That offer of a free recheck was above and beyond the call of duty. And you know what? It won my loyalty to the point where my car (and my wife’s car) now go to Roy’s Automotive (14th St. W @ 13th Ave., Bradenton) for *all* service work.
Defective parts and service are a statistical certainty if you have a sizable number of customers. A company that gets defensive about (inevitable) customer problems inevitably makes customers angry, and angry customers go elsewhere. But a company that uses a problem as an opportunity to cement its relationship with a customer does just the opposite: it wins that customer’s loyalty *and* almost always gets some word-of-mouth buzz from the customer whose problem it went out of the way to fix.
Did I mention that my wife and I have found Roy’s Automotive, 14th St. W @ 13th Ave. in Bradenton, to be one of the nicest and most helpful repair shops with which we’ve ever dealt?
I agree with Bob that honesty sells today and I feel that marketing needs more disclosure. I speak to many potential customers at a large computer storage and software company. These IT professionals are bombarded with vendor claims and, lets face it, all of us vendors are making roughly the same claims. If, by some cleverness or slight technology advantage, one vendor begins making fundamentally new claims, it’s not three months before several competitors are selling the same features/benefits.
So where’s the differentiation? Selling technology is complex, but nothing compared to the complexity of the ownership experience. Solutions are complicated and customer skill sets are already stretched to the limit. Compelling a potential customer toward one’s solution involves more than vague and look-alike claims. Today, the value of a solution has to be illuminated not just in terms of feature/functionality and basic business merit, but in a full disclosure in customer/ownership terms.
There are multiple facets to this truthful disclosure. Bring every product feature back to a discussion of the customer’s basic needs, concerns and beliefs. If you’re marketing how something works, you have already stopped focusing on your customer. Additionally, respect your customer’ intelligence by appreciating their current solution implementation. Use your understanding of your customer’s current solution to demonstrate how your solution enables an entirely new approach not available when the their current system was designed; and that it resolves issues their current design cannot. Finally, convey your commitment to the customer and their success. This can’t be communicated through four-color glossy handouts of select, happy customers in studio poses. To really convey customer commitment, share the gritty ways your company has dealt with the unexpected by delivering outstanding devotion to customer success and satisfaction.
I believe that truthful marketing is well respected by potential customers. The truth ultimately disarms reluctant and hesitant customers. Truth breaks down the barriers that inhibit sales. Decision-makers today are braced against glossy marketing and will not commit to a sale until they feel they have uncovered the truth. Starting with the truth streamline sales cycles.