AMiable Solution #73: May the (Labor) Force Be With You

What’s the secret to nurturing a happy, productive workforce?  It seems that companies who pay more sometimes receive less in return: fewer turnovers and fewer customer service issues. 

Every year Forbes identifies the top 100 American companies to work for.  This year, in addition to identifying the usual 100, Forbes also identified all of the employers who have appeared on all of the company’s “Best Companies” lists--16 of them since 1998.  Of the 13 employers identified on this list, four are called out for offering generous or higher-than-average pay: Cisco, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Goldman Sachs, and Nordstrom.

CostCo, too, appears to buy into the “pay employees more than you need to” mentality.  According to a September 3, 2013, article, “On Labor Day, 3 Companies Worth Celebrating,” by Jeremy Bowman, the warehouse giant pays its employees more than $20/hour.  Rival Wal-Mart pays $13/hour.

The lesson here?  Sometimes money does buy happiness, and loyalty, and success. 

The good news?  Not every company, particularly new or small companies, can afford to be generous in their wage offerings.  Fortunately, money isn’t the only thing that motivates workers or that lands an organization on Forbes’ list.  Check back next week--and every week in September--to see what other traits keep companies successful and employees satisfied.

AMiable Solution #72: Marketing to Baby Boomers

True or false: Baby Boomers love to dwell on the past.

If you answered “yes” and you market to your audience that way, you don’t know Jack.  Or Mike.  Or Susan.

Unlike Millennials, who respond to nostalgia marketing, Baby Boomers--those born between 1946 and 1964--don’t want reminded about the past.  They don’t want you to make them think about the days when they were younger.  They prefer to feel younger.  To think about the future.  To feel ageless.  To embrace new technologies and new products that help them achieve their goals. 

                                                                                                           

And they buy.  According to Jay Ehret’s June 25, 2011, “The Marketing Spot” blog, Baby Boomers make up 47% of all spending.  Forty-seven percent!  If you aren’t targeting this group, the numbers suggest you should.

What’s the best way to market to Baby Boomers?  Though they’re often thought of as old-fashioned, when it comes to marketing mediums, they’re new age.  Ehret reports that Baby Boomers spend more time on the Internet than any other age category.  And we’re not just talking about surfing the web.  Baby Boomers have a strong interest in social media, particularly when it comes to niche communities that involve their passions. 

But don’t overlook traditional direct mail marketing: research suggests that Boomers use direct mail as a starting point for gathering information. 

Finally, don’t make the mistake of assuming all Baby Boomers are alike.  As you’d do with any large population, segment and target them for their particular interests and spending preferences.  There’s more to them than every Tom, Dick, or Harry.

AMiable Solution #71: Marketing to Generation Xers

Are you targeting Generation Xers, those sandwiched between the Baby Boomers generation and the Millennials generation?  Direct mail may be your best option for reaching them.

                         

According to a brochure issued by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), “Gen X, Gen Y, and the Mail,” Generation Xers have a great appreciation for mail but for different reasons than older generations.

Unlike Baby Boomers, who grew up using mail for personal letters and other correspondence, Generation Xers use mail largely in terms of commercial opportunities. A study conducted for the USPS showed that 86% of Generation Xers bring in the mail the day it’s delivered, 75% think the mail they get brings value, and 74% read advertising mail.

How can you make sure you’re making the most of your direct mail opportunity to Generation Xers?  Jay Ehret, founder of The Marketing Spot, a marketing education and resource center for entrepreneurs and small business owners, suggests making a very clear and honest offer, preferably with a money-back guarantee.  Generation Xers don’t like to be told what to do, so he suggests giving them facts and letting them make the decisions for themselves.

Ehret also says Generation Xers are more diverse than previous generations in terms of race, class, religion, ethnicity, and sexual orientation and suggests celebrating that diversity in your marketing.

Finally, since Generation Xers tend to be less traditional than other generations, your efforts can be more personal.  Ask for feedback and share information with them regularly.  Use an informal communication style instead of slick marketing pitches.  And utilize recommendations from their peers.

AMiable Solution #70: Marketing to Millennials

Marketing to Millennials, those born between 1980 and 2000, can be tricky. After all, they know more about technology and gadgets than any other generation.

How can you capture your millennial audience’s attention without inventing new bells and whistles? Do more than appeal to their emotions. Take them back in time.

If you think Millennials aren’t old enough yet to get nostalgic, consider how many companies have already loaded up the nostalgia bandwagon with nods to the 90s. Internet Explorer created a 90s-inspired commercial celebrating its origins, Nickelodeon started re-airing 90s sitcoms, Volkswagen and Honda incorporated iconic 90s characters in their ads, and Pepsi reverted back to 90s product formulas and packaging.

Can’t remember what was popular a month ago?  Walk with us down memory lane.

In the 90s, the Internet came alive, lively neon colors rocked just about everything, everyone’s favorite boy wizard—Harry Potter—made his first appearance in print, reality television got its start on MTV, a hair style dubbed “The Rachel” became popular thanks to the TV show “Friends,” another group of friends chronicled the highs and lows of high school life in a certain Beverly Hills zip code, and pretty boys and grunge boys alike set teen hearts aflutter.

Giving your marketing some 90s nostalgia can—and should—be fun. Helping any consumer, particularly Millennials, remember “the good old days” makes your organization and your product or service more accessible. No batteries required.

AMiable Solution #69: Making a Good Impression

Humility is a great quality. It makes people and organizations likeable and approachable. No one likes a braggart, especially a company or organization. I’ve rolled my eyes more than once at a commercial or ad for a company’s blatant boasting.

Creating brand awareness and sharing your organization’s special accomplishments should be part of your communication strategy, but how can you do it without looking like a jerk?

Let others help tell your story.

Instead of speaking to your market directly through your channels, let a third party tell your market through theirs. Hearing about your organization through a non-biased, separate company gives your organization more credibility and the opportunity to celebrate its successes without looking or sounding arrogant.

How can you generate good publicity? You have several options:

• Write a press release and distribute it to organizations, publications, and news outlets in your market. Be sure to include facts, not a sales pitch. Reporters know the difference between news and marketing hype.

• Contact the producers of local radio and television news stations and offer the expertise of one of your top employees.

• Host or co-host an event, whether it be a charitable fundraiser or a community-wide conference about local issues.

• Distribute general-interest information, like top-10 lists or tips about a particular subject, based on your organization’s expertise.


Building your organization’s name recognition and reputation doesn’t have to “take a village,” but it does help.

AMiable Solution #68: Unforgettable

When you’re trying to make your organization’s name memorable, there’s one surefire thing you can do to ensure your prospects, members, donors, or customers won’t forget you: mislead them.

        

Upsetting your market and turning your customers and prospects against your organization is scarily easy. The most obvious way to mislead your customers is through false advertising, over-hyping or over-claiming your product’s or service’s benefits or capabilities.  It seems that no one is immune to the temptation.  Just last year, the Federal Trade Commission required the makers of Oreck vacuum cleaners and air purifiers and Reebok shoes to refund money to consumers after challenging claims made by those companies about their products.

But false advertising is not the only way to get your organization a bad reputation.  Failing to follow-through on an offer or providing poor customer service when you promise customer satisfaction can lead to doom for your organization.

Think we’re being overly dramatic?  How many times have you looked elsewhere after having just one bad experience with a company or organization? 

Oracle, a company dedicated to “simplifying IT” by creating hardware and software that links the cloud and a company’s data center, released a report last year that quantified the importance of a good customer experience.  In the report, “Why Customer Satisfaction is no longer good enough,” Oracle said that 70% of its surveyed shoppers stopped buying goods or services from a company after experiencing poor customer service, and 81% were willing to pay more for a better customer experience.

So how do you ensure a good customer service experience and encourage lasting relationships?  Give your customers and prospects the respect and recognition you hope they’ll give to you.  They’ll not only remember you positively for your efforts, but they’re likely to spread the word, too.

AMiable Solution #67: The Same Game

What makes your company or organization memorable?  What makes people want to establish or build a relationship with you?

You don’t have to have a Super Bowl ad-sized budget, a celebrity spokesperson, or a national endorsement to gain recognition in your market.  Sure, those things would be great, but they’re just not feasible for most companies or organizations.

The answer is actually not only easier, but it’s also much cheaper.  To help build relationships and establish your organization’s presence in your market place, you need consistency in the way you present your organization.  In everything.

That means you need your writing, design, and formatting to express the same message and image marketing-wide and organization-wide.  In the information you share about your organization.  In the logos you use and the way you refer to your organization.  In the placement and content of your contact information on your marketing materials.  In the location of your order form and the order of information requested.  In the way you format press releases, articles, announcements, and catalogs.

The beauty of consistency?  No surprises.  When a layout looks and feels familiar, your customer, client, member, or prospect instantly recognizes the communication as yours and knows how to navigate through it to quickly find the information needed.  When that happens, you increase your odds of getting the response you want now and down the road.

One of the best ways to ensure that everyone in your organization presents the same image in the same way is through a style guide.  If you haven’t looked at it lately, blow the dust off of it, review it, and encourage others to do the same. 

Don’t have a style guide?  Create one.  Start with a standard style guide (The Chicago Manual of Style, AP Stylebook, or The Gregg Reference Manual) and then make your own adjustments, addressing writing (“web site” or “website,” whether or not to include a common after the second item in a series, em dash or en dash), design (use the black-and-white logo on this but the colored version on that; use the tag line here but not there), and format issues (indent/don’t indent the first line in each paragraph).

But getting your target audience to recognize your brand is just the first step.  See next week’s blog to find out what else you can do to encourage lasting relationships.