Brand Autopsy

Hi John, a great point but one that is often overlooked by businesses and one that we're trying to fix with the .tel; expose all of the ways you (the customer) can interact with me (the business) in a way that is readily accessible and therefore you can make the choice of how you engage, making you feel better about us as a social brand and us maintain a better customer service to you, keeping you closer to us.

Regards,
Justin
justin.tel

john -- i just wrote a post that picks up on your point -- http://deniseleeyohn.com/bites/2008/11/17/fitness-clubs-need-to-shape-up/ .

it's a reaction to an article reporting that fitness club brands, in response to rising attrition rates, are planning to offer steep introductory discounts and spend more on advertising and marketing.

i argue that these companies should instead focus their energies on improving the in-club brand experience. not only does this make the most sense given your point about the higher costs acquiring new customers -- but also, because of the increasing availability of reviews for everything as well as the power of social media in general, fitness clubs — like all businesses — can no longer hide behind splashy advertising.

plus, why wouldn’t clubs want to feed and leverage the power of positive word of mouth, particularly in a category that benefits from friends belonging together?!

And if you love 'em up, those passionate customers are not likely to go wandering!

-Mark

As people look to get more value out of every buck, content and experience are going to be more important than ever. The best strategy to attract new users/customers has always been to make existing ones want to sing your praises.

We don't talk about WOM much anymore, but it is still the most effective marketing and recruiting tool available today.

Here are some additional thoughts on marketing during tough economic times: http://brainzooming.blogspot.com/2008/11/7-marketing-tune-ups-for-tough-times.html

Mike Brown
http://brainzooming.blogspot.com

Marketing in time of crisis is exciting because only the best will survive, and all the bad apples won't be able to hide.

The cheapest form of communication - word of mouth- has always been favored as it is so powerfull, only in time of crisis companies might not have the choices because of their limited budget.

I would favore as a marketer the internet as it is cheaper than other media and results are more trackable. It is going to be the big winner of this crisis.

Joachim
Blogger www.scanningmarketing.blogspot.com

I say find your community evangelists and have them work for you! They'll gladly do it if they believe and value what you do...

Justin, I like your comments and as we all know communication is a two way street. Getting the customer to interact or contribute with a company is a requirement we should all strive for in meeting their needs. How realistic this actually is depends on the nature of the business, I would assume. I feel some companies should include staff members in meetings to better determine what is felt and spoken among themselves and the consumers.