Setting a brand on fire

What makes viral and buzz marketing catch on is usually it’s association with something timely, extremely unique or otherwise memorable. In some way it touches people personally and specifically. It’s the way a brand solves a customer’s problem. For example it may be that a product was delivered faster than expected, the service rep went way above and beyond or the customer recognized greater value after the sale. C2C is simply providing your customers with a consistent brand image, value and experience that they appreciate and it is unique enough to talk about.

No Special Equipment Needed

There are no new strategies or tactics to talk about here, just basic marketing and business acumen. Good marketing and advertising brings value to the customer by providing information, entertainment or validation. 

Marketing in any form is still all about helping people solve their needs. Often “needs” they didn’t even know they had. Whether they “need” that hot new perfume, a cereal their kids will like, or a new computer system with brand new features, the customer has a need. Marketing should be all about creating a consistent brand message across marketing channels that customers associate with a solution to that need. That kind of marketing creates a more personal sort of recall and gets talked about in the form of social exchanges and recommendations both online and off. That’s C2C.

B2B is still about C

The immense popularity of social media, specifically B2B social media confirms what I’m saying here — people will talk about brands that interest them, inform them or entertain them. Selling to a business is still selling to people — the main difference is in the needs that they have and what makes them personal.

So while your looking at strategies and creative for B2B and B2C marketing, don’t forget about the C2C effect.

What do you think?

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2. Traditional media spreads brand awareness with a broader brush.

3. Traditional media has guaranteed placement. Social marketing messages may or may not catch on.

4. Some messages such as product specs need to be controlled and not left to a third party.

5. Without some traditional branding, it’s very hard to gain significant recognition.

6. Social media marketing should never try to sell. Traditional media gets to ask for the sale.

7. Traditional media can deliver a message to the most receptive part of your market faster.

8. Traditional media offers structure and consistency that social media can reference.

9. Traditional marketing builds awareness, social marketing builds trust.

10. Traditional marketing can be very effective at driving traffic to engage with a brand socially.

Now tell me what you think.

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The first logical question marketers ask themselves is: “who uses our product and how can we target them?” But is that the right question or should it be “who is actually buying our product?”

Women are the gatekeepers of the American home. Statistics show that women make virtually all the decisions regarding both major and minor family purchases, including; personal care products, groceries, vacation destinations, computers, home improvements, new car purchases, even home purchases, themselves and much more. In fact, women make up 85 percent of all brand purchases, amounting to almost two trillion dollars.

Despite the proof, a great deal of marketers still don’t appeal to female sensibilities. Making matters worse, they often tries to be so tough to appeal to men, that they inadvertently turn women off. This is a huge missed opportunity. Successful marketers don’t ignore the power of women’s purchasing authority, and they address the issue head on. This doesn’t mean that every product should be in a pink package. It means marketers need to have a better understanding of whose making the final purchasing decision, and what motivates the buyer, not just the end user. Having a strategic and creative team that understand how to speak to these gatekeepers while not alienating the men that use the products is crucial. Working with an advertising agency owned and managed by women that have the personal experience as gatekeepers themselves is a reasonable first step and can be a huge asset.

Smart agencies know the Internet is an excellent place to reach women these days. Whether inside or outside of the home, women are multi-tasking on laptops, desktops and hand-held devices. If you aren’t reaching out and developing relationships with women through these media, you aren’t making nice to the gatekeepers.

The new hot place to shop is on a keyboard. According to Inc. magazine, “Women will continue to flock to the on-line platform that allows them to save time researching and buying.” Women are not just shopping for themselves they are shopping for their husbands, children, friends and other family members. It only makes sense to tailor more and more ads to appeal to these all-powerful decision-makers.

Make nice to the gatekeepers and you’ll reap the rewards.

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