DUMB DOWN YOUR MARKETING
We must constantly evolve, constantly grow and constantly mold to the people because we are only in business if we have people. BY DANIELLE PUTNAM
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ummer is in full swing and, unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic is still in full bloom.
Everyone is panicked, everyone is uncertain. Will schools reopen? Will businesses close down again? Will states go back on lock down? What does all this mean for the blood line of our industry? What is the future and how do we market to a customer base in a crisis such as this ... do we halt marketing or push on? Regardless of the times, marketing requires two parallel tracks. Imagine two parallel train tracks. On the first track is your branding. 1) Consistent branding — keeping your name known and relevant in the marketplace. This can be done with truck wrapping, billboards, radio ads, door hangers, referrals, magnets…the list goes on. This marketing should represent who you are, why you are different, and why the world is better with you in it. 2) Flash Marketing — On the second track, we have what I call “flash marketing.” These are your coupons, promotions, and special deals, often used to “flash” new prospects, attract their attention, and potentially win their business.
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Once the novelty of the flash wears off, what is left is what determines if customers are going to stay or not. Your brand marketing is in it for the long haul, chugging through continuously and providing a steady message, while your flash marketing makes frequent stops along the way, maybe bringing some new people on board, but often dropping them off a few stops down the line, too. I cheated on Chick-fil-A once. Let me explain. They are my go-to if I can’t decide what to eat or am in a hurry or just want a semi-nutritious lunch. They have healthy options, good food, and a consistently positive experience. Their consistent branding got me on the loyalty train a long time ago, and I’m unlikely to get off. But then I got a coupon for Arby’s in the mail. It’s a block away from my office, they have a drive through, and there was something for free on the coupon. I almost never go to Arby’s, but that coupon won me that day. I hopped on the Arby’s train at one of the train stops. They won me in the short term. However, I got off just a couple of stops down the road
HVACR BUSINESS AUGUST 2020
since I’m more of a Chick-fil-A person. Sometimes flash marketing can win longterm customers, and sometimes it doesn’t. But the true danger in flash marketing, is when your competitors do it. You can’t afford to lose your loyal customers to your competitors flash – which is why you must use flash too. Brand your customers, and flash your customers, simultaneously.
INSPIRE EMOTION Once the novelty of the flash wears off, what is left is what determines if customers are going to stay or not. You must inspire an emotional connection. And that brings me to my most updated point about dumbing down your marketing. On that branding track, we have to take it back to basic humanness, and we so often forget that; sometimes, it takes a global disaster for us to remember our humanness. For our brand to inspire an emotional connection, we have to actually try to
connect. We have to be human with true concerns for others. We have to show that we care for others, not just about ourselves. And then we inspire a connection. And then our marketing works. Think about every company you love and why you love it. Chances are, you like more than just the product. Sure, TOMS shoes are cool looking as far as canvas slipon shoes go, but I like the philanthropic work they do. I love that the Honest Co. has great organic products for my kids, but I also love that they donate toys and raise money for a children’s hospital. These companies have aligned with things I care about, so they get my business. And even if I get “flashed” by someone else, they only lose my business in the long run if the “flasher” connects with me more than they do.
CONSTANT EVOLUTION As the times change, marketing has to change too. We must constantly evolve, constantly grow, and constantly mold to the people because we are only in business if we have people. Dan Kennedy, the author of the “No
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