The most important thing to keep in mind is that customer experience-based campaigns are not short-term focused sales messages. This especially holds true for those in the realm of selling a product. You can talk all day about why your product is superior or why a consumer should purchase your product, but that will only get you so far. Instead, completely switch gears and ask the question “how can I SHOW my potential customers why my product is superior through a fun, appealing experience?” P.S. We’re talking online AND offline experiences. This puts your consumer and their wants/needs first. That type of attitude will result in a far better success rate. Allow your potential customers to come to their own conclusions about your product through positive emotions. Truth is, the modern consumer is not going to listen to an advertiser telling them what to think anyway!

Here are some examples of customer experience/interactive initiatives that I love:

Burts Bees invites their visitors to “discover their naturally beautiful shade.”

Google gives tourists a great photo-op with this fun, interactive outdoor billboard.

LOFT gives their customers a chance to interact with stylists to perfect their fall wardrobe.

Make customer experience part of your marketing mix!

Here is Mr. Kearny’s letter:

Your editorial (July 21) against the “clever” idea of opening up highway emergency signs to advertising was too tepid and cautious. The genius of that idea is how many other openings for easy state funding it opens up.

Think of fire engines — those lights, those sirens, those long sides cluttered with ladders instead of ads. And why should they make that god-awful screech when they could be playing a Pepsi jingle instead?

And the roadways themselves. Those endless 10-foot-wide ribbons of boring asphalt and concrete could be jazzed up with the genius of Madison Avenue.

Or how about a two-track 911: “If you would like to expedite service, please press 1 and have your credit card handy. Otherwise, stay on the line and one of our dispatchers will be with you shortly”?

Our highways are befouled by too many billboards. Instead of adding more, we should tax them by the square foot, using the money to remove obsolete and unprofitable signs, to beautify the roads and to promote the tourist industry. Instead of privatizing yet another public asset, we should charge private industry when it encroaches on the commons — our beautiful Penn’s Woods.

To this I responded with the following:

I love the idea of the jingle playing when the fire engine is coming down the street! But Pepsi? Why not make a local tie in with the Hershey “Sweetest Place on Earth” jingle. That way we’ll be reminded how great this area is during times of tragedy.

Lastly, I think you forgot the annoying cross-walk sound. Instead of “beep beep” it could be “Metro bank gives you dog treats” or “Capital Blue Cross-we care about your health, so cross cautiously”. You sir, are a genius!

Think "outside" the box.

Mr. Kearney,

Unlike a lot of people are able to do in this day and age, you THINK outside of the box. Without knowing it (or maybe you do), your demonstration of marketing thought processes should be rewarded (no matter how tongue-in-cheek). Too many businesses these days care more about painting inside the lines and copying their competition, that truly imaginative advertising is few and far between. I commend your ability to brain storm and I hope you are involved with the advertising industry.

Business owners take note, be creative, don’t just “run an ad” — turn some heads!  I bet a fire-truck blasting “ba-da-da-da-da, I’m loving it” would get a second look.

This is a very good example of guerrilla marketing at its finest. When was the last time you did something that pushed the envelope? Our goal is to always do something a little different, never be just a part of the crowd.  The next time you’re faced with an advertising decision, ask yourself if what you’re doing will make that splash or not. Domino’s did an outstanding job getting the point across in a new, unique and news-worthy way. Not to mention, the harnessed power of YouTube as part of anything you do will only assist in pushing you way ahead of your competitor.

Do us all a favor and be creative, think outside the safety zone and make an impact.

The first one comes from Mercedes.  They’re alleging that Santa rides his bike around and works for quality control at a Mercedes factory, which is attached to his home office. No wonder Mercedes are so expensive, they ship from the North Pole?

When Santa isn’t busy assuring quality at Mercedes, he’s shopping for flatscreens at Sears (with the reindeer). I don’t think I’d be allowed to bring my weiner dog into Sears, let alone 12 reindeer.

But be careful out there. That Sears Research Center might not be as simple as it seems. The Consumerist has a story about a woman who wasted 4 hours at various Sears locations trying to find a PS3.

All Santa commercials aside, who doesn’t love ugly sweaters?

Cozy! Sophisticated!

The Kansas City Art Institute’s website lets you make your own digital ugly Christmas sweater.

Happy Holidays!

While I could sit here and churn out facts on why text message (aka SMS) marketing is so simple and adaptable to work for literally any type of business…

• On average, text messages are read within four minutes compared to 48 hours with e-mail.
• 4.1 billion texts are sent per day in the US. by approximately 1.8 billion users.
• Response rates are 2 to 10 times higher than online display ads.

…it’s definitely nicer to see a text marketing success story in real life. Enter Fox Chevrolet in Timonium, MD.

Fox Chevrolet teamed up in a campaign with radio station 98 Rock to try and drive people to Fox’s lot during this years horrible economic downturn (especially for the auto industry). Fox did this well before the government sponsored “cash for clunkers” program kicked in, and tried to use mobile marketing to bolster sales.

Ten and fifteen-second promos were aired on 98 Rock telling listeners to text in to enter to win a $98 car.

The success was staggering. 500 listeners texted “FOX” to the station’s short code, and 300 people attended a special day-long event. After all was said and done, Fox sold 36 cars that day, 17 new, 17 used, and two winners drove off in two $98 cars.

Jeff Hasen is the man behind the plan and says, “Customers who opt-in are customers who are looking to buy. You would be hard-pressed to find a campaign that performed as well during the recession.”

This is a testament to mobile marketing. Even in the face of a cold hard recession, SMS marketing scores huge results and it makes sense why. People are increasingly CRAZY about texting, even so much that they find it wise to text while driving. And people don’t go anywhere without their phone, it’s always on them, just waiting for businesses to prompt them unforgettable coupons like “Text MCDS to 55543 for a free double cheeseburger”. Or something like that. Who doesn’t want a $98 dollar car or a free double cheeseburger?

It seems that businesses are cutting back as much as they can. Unfortunately, this often means that marketing and advertising budgets take a back seat. This is one of the worst things to do! Remaining consistent with your advertising while others are cutting back and disappearing results in gaining market share and more customers!

However, we all realize that sometimes budget cuts are inevitable. Here are some marketing tricks and hints that will help your business boost marketing effectiveness, even when money is tight.

• Begin Employing a Social Media Strategy: If you haven’t heard about the massive power and impact social media marketing holds for your business, you may need to check your pulse! Social media presents the perfect avenue for customer conversation and interaction! Get your customers and potential customers involved, talk to them, and ask for feedback. There are SO many ways social media can be used to benefit your business. Just a few of them include:

• Build relationships with loyal customers
• Communicate, communicate, communicate!
• Drive traffic to your blog and website
• Market your brand and your business
• Share your expertise
• Answer questions/ ask questions
• Stay current with the latest industry trends
• Search engine optimization
• Avenue for promotions

Confused about getting started? These entries may also be helpful for you to check out:

A Social Media Strategy Is a Must

Twitter for Business

• Get Creative – Use Guerrilla Marketing Techniques: Guerrilla marketing encompasses a vast category of methods, but at the core I like to explain it as “marketing with an added value.” This may be entertainment, information, or just making someone feel good! For example, guerrilla marketing could be sending out a quarterly or monthly newsletter. The newsletter must contain valuable information (i.e. preview of new products, tips and advice). Another example could be using unusual, attention-getting media, like sidewalk displays. Yet another example would be to record your customer’s birthdays, anniversaries, and other occasions and send them a special note from your business. The possibilities are endless! Guerrilla marketing requires more creativity, but works wonderfully for those on a tight marketing budget.

• In-Store Marketing: A sometimes ignored method, in-store marketing is extremely important in turning the people coming through your door into loyal, long-term and repeat customers. There are a variety of inexpensive methods that can take your business to new levels in the mind’s of your customers.

• Offer your customers complimentary coffee
• Collect names for a drawing or contest
• Offer a gift with purchase
• Create a loyalty program

These are just some of the ways you can inexpensively market in your store and turn customers into fans!

Have other “Marketing on a Tight Budget” Tips? I would love to hear them! Please share below.

True!

Let me explain what I’m talking about. Marketing messages and creating positive experiences for your customers can be a daunting and overwhelming task. There is so much to think about – staying consistent, making your messages match your in-store experience, keeping your customers happy, motivating your employees, constantly offering new and improved experiences. For that reason, it is easy to look at what your competitors are doing and form your business’ marketing and ideas into a similar mold.

Afterall, this is the “acceptable” method and “the way things are done”, right?

Wrong!

Just because it has never been attempted doesn’t mean it won’t work. Great ideas often come out of so-called stupid ideas. The only obstacle to conquer is being unafraid to voice them.

This happens all the time at 3^rd Idea. Someone has a “stupid idea.” The rest of us look at each other and laugh. Then say, wait a minute…that might work. What if instead of doing this, we alter it a bit and try that. The “detail-oriented, perfectionists” (which just so happens to be my personality type) has a way of working with the over-the-top-sky’s-the-limit personalities to create a truly unique and creative, yet realistic plan.  The point is, those of us who naturally tend to be more realistic need to allow for those absolutely, positively absurd ideas.

IKEA, known for their affordable, yet sophisticated home furnishings and unique stores, comes up with great marketing ideas all the time. Check out IKEA’s genius idea of creating a 3-d catalouge cover that people could actually get their picture taken in. Talk about creating a memorable and positive experience!!!! I wonder if this started out as someone’s “stupid idea” ….

A few of the images in this video flash a little too quickly to have an impact, but most of them are extremely entertaining and creative! Enjoy!
P.S. Make sure your volume is up…

In this time of recession everyone is finding ways to cut back, well, not everyone… but huge Fortune 500s are in a big way. The geniousness of Apple is that Apple is news. They can pull back on the ad budget in the beginning of 2009 because the news media has kept Apple in the spot light due to Job’s absence. Call me crazy (and many do), but everything Steve Jobs is usually motivated by something much beyond the surface. In this case? I think my bet is that he is basking in the press while sitting deviously ready to unveil his next wild and crazy toy………… Guerrilla marketing at its best.