The Snowball Effect

Walking into my financial institution today, I was reminded of the excellent job their marketing department had done on their recent brochures. Attractively and conveniently displayed for customers to pick up, the brochures invite attention.

How do they do this?

Each brochure has one simple verb in large type at the top of the front tri-fold panel. Access. Grow. Benefit. Invest. These are a few of the verbs. The verb leads into a statement which becomes the headline. “Access your accounts with ease.” “Grow your savings.” “Benefit from our checking accounts.” “Invest in a certificate of deposit.” This headline lays the groundwork of what to expect within the brochure.

In addition to using a verb to draw attention, each brochure features one single image on the front panel which illustrates the contents. Some of these images are quite inventive, including the child in yellow, knee-high, waterproof boots watering a tall sunflower. All feature people doing activities representative of the brochure’s contents such as using a laptop to check accounts or leaning on a vehicle for an auto loan. These images further attract attention. They also communicate the financial institution’s focus on its customers.

Finally, the blue color representative of the organization is woven into the brochures with a blue quarter-inch border across the top of all panels and as the main text color. An off-white background throughout makes the text easy-to-read. Text headlines and highlights are in gold. Both colors are attractive on the off-white background and easily read, whatever the size of the font.

The look and message of these brochures is continued on the institution’s Web site with the verbs in large gold type and the text in blue against a biege background. Mirroring the brochures, a verb and a single image are at the top of each page on the site. Taking this a step further, signage inside the locations reflects the same look and the same message as the Web site and the brochures.

This is profitable marketing.

Why?

The financial institution took the time to decide what message they wanted to convey. Once they decided, the message was set up to be attractively presented and easily understood. Then, they reinforced the message by presenting the same message with the same look in their brochures, in their signage, and on their Web site. By doing this, they received the benefit of the snowball effect. Each contact with the organization built upon the past contact, firmly imprinting the organization’s message upon its customers.

What is your reaction to their profitable marketing? Do you think, “Of course they can do this. They probably have lots of money and staff.” Or, do your think, “That just makes sense. Doesn’t everyone do what they did?” What I hope that you think is “Good point! Are we doing that in our business?”

Make sure that you are.

Listen

Late last week I spent two days at a teachers' convention promoting the products of one of my businesses, Monarch Tree Publishing. We released a new book and a new CD at the event. The book for young adults, Jesse and Cash and The Illegal Trappers, was the second in the six-book series. My emphasis in promoting the book was to focus on the series and the book's position as second in it. However, after listening to the teachers' reactions to the book, my focus changed.

Since the book is set in Madeline Island, Wisconsin, during Christmas vacation and these teachers are from Wisconsin, their interest was piqued by the location and the time of year. They found the series of secondary interest and illustrated that by asking, "Do the books need to be read in sequence?" When they were told that was not necessary, they always chose the second book first. As I reviewed our results at the end of the convention, I was struck by their response and, as a result, have changed my focus on how to market the book.

My focus changed because I listened to my customer.

Yesterday, I was reminded of this when a friend pointed out a reader's comment in Entertainment Weekly. "Look at this," she commented. "This person is criticizing HBO for dropping series. He says that HBO's viewership is declining because viewers don't trust the network. Viewers don't want to invest the time in watching HBO's series because they have been burned too many times when HBO abruptly discontinued popular series. He is saying that HBO doesn't listen to its customers."

She readily agreed with this feeling because she loved Deadwood, an HBO series, and has been agonizing over its demise for the last couple of years. When HBO suddenly dropped the series, the network promised three made-for-TV movies to wrap up loose ends of the story, but that, too, was scrapped. Her upset with HBO was so great that she dropped her subscription to the network. As you can tell, she continues to gravitate toward others who share her complaints about HBO.

HBO did not listen to its customers.

These are two good examples of what happens when you do and when you don't listen to your customers. When you do listen, you find out about your product or services from your customer's point of view. Getting your customer's perspective allows you to make adjustments in how you present your offerings. It allows you to change your offering to better suit what your customer wants. It shows you opportunities for additional business. When you do not listen, you miss all of that valuable information. Not getting your customer's perspective loses revenue. It misses opportunities. Worst of all, it could contribute to the downfall of your business.

You can improve your business today by getting your customer's point of view. Are you doing this?