In the art of communication, strategy is vitally important. Anyone who has heard someone tell a good story instinctively knows that what is being told is almost less important in the moment than when and how it’s told. Good stories delay, they have you wait there in your seat until the story teller is done with you. Imagine if at the beginning of a murder mystery novel there was a page with a list of bullet points for everyone who dies, and who the killer was. I imagine you’d be less inclined to read the book.
Unfortunately, perfecting that when and how can be a very elusive art, and in the world of marketing, it’s just as artful a problem. The question of what precisely to reveal about your company and product—and when—is a tough skill to learn. All we can agree upon is that we have to engage and get our message out there somehow.
Engage them
Most marketing companies in Orange County will be able to tell you that the purpose of marketing is informational to a certain degree, but far more than that, it’s meant to be engaging. And just like a suspenseful story keeps us guessing to the very end, good marketing efforts should attract your audience, and pull them through a series of touch points—the centerpiece of all these being that all-important connection with your product.
So how does this look on the ground? The key is to have those touch points sympathize with each other. There is nothing more boring than repeatedly getting a long catalogue of everything your company does in the mail. You’re telling them too much! Leave some room for your potential customer to be intrigued by your brand, and what you offer. A postcard with one dramatic question: “What are you missing?” can speak volumes more than a five-page letter. A multi-touch campaign is all about laying the groundwork, building intrigue to engage your potential customer, and only then telling a little about yourself.
Keep them Engaged
So you’ve hooked your customer or client—they bought your product. Is that the end of the bedtime story? It shouldn’t be.
The key is to have more to tell them. In 1,001 Arabian Nights, Scheherazade keeps drawing out the story to her captor the king, who has promised to do her in once the story ends. By suggesting that she had just a little more to offer the next night, she was able to keep the king engaged and save her skin. Scheherazade was a good marketer.
Brand loyalty means that the loyal customer feels that the brand or the product has more to tell them. Loyalty is predicated on the desire to learn more, to get more from the brand. In order to build this loyalty in our customers, we’ve got to give the impression that there’s always more to tell. Each brand does it differently. Apple does it by constantly innovating with new products and features. Traditionalists like Red Wing Shoe Company gives you that “more” impression by offering a constant, unchanging product that makes you feel like you’ll be able to count on them 100 years from now to offer solid shoes. No matter what you’re selling, finding that way to add “a little more” to that story means your customers will want you to keep telling it to them.
What’s your “little more?” Not every marketing company in Orange County is able to guide you through the necessary planning to arrive at the point where you’re able to clearly express that “little more” you’ll be able to offer in the future. But taking the time to find that out, with help if needed, can mean the difference between 1,001 nights of business, and just one.