Bedtime for marketing principles…

Anton J van Rensburg ~ 29 October 2010 

Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me a truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever. 

The most common problem I see in companies is the inability to describe what they do in simple language; the second biggest problem is bringing that description to life with stories. 

I’m sometimes surprised at the great stories I hear from companies that aren’t being told in their marketing materials.  Sometimes I think it’s because companies are afraid that storytelling will come across as unprofessional or they don’t think that it’s appropriate to tell them in anything other than a face to face meeting.  

Hogwash! Or like the outspoken Chris Moerdyk would say in his regular feature in Advantage, “Jou moer!” 

Then there is Seth Godin who said, “The market for something to believe in is infinite”. 

The world has always been organised into tribes, groups of people who want to – need to – connect with each other, with a leader and with a movement. The products, services and ideas that are gaining currency faster than ever are the ones that are built for and on a tribe philosophy. 

Harley Davidson and Apple are titanic brands for this very reason. They sell a chance to join a group that matters. They tell their stories and people repeat what they’ve heard and experienced. 

The punch line though is that the only way to lead a tribe is to lead it. And that means that marketing is now about leadership, about challenging the status quo and about connecting people who can actually make a difference. If you can’t do that, don’t launch your site, your product, your non-profit or your career. Not everyone is going to be a leader. But everyone isn’t going to be successful, either.

Success is now the domain of people who lead. That doesn’t mean they’re in charge, it doesn’t mean they are the CEO, it merely means that for a group, even a small group, they show the way, they spread ideas, they make the change.

The herrie broke loose @ ‘Die Herrie’ in Oudtshoorn…

… socially via Jozi

Anton J van Rensburg

“Aids is not just God’s punishment for homosexuals. It is God’s punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals”, was the statement that had a few people up in arms this afternoon.

Karen Zaayman employed by a local news paper, Die Herrie, in Oudtshoorn posted the above comment on her Facebook wall and within minutes had managed to bring about a hate speech case against her as well as the newspaper that she is associated with.

 

News spread through a community of online activists based in Johannesburg and within a matter of minutes, mainstream Facebookers joined in the action writing complaints to the newspaper, phoning – as all the relevant details were made public by the group administrator and starting online conversations surrounding the implications of hate speech and how the South African government reacts to this type of crime. The incident was also reported to SA Human Rights Commission.

Says Marnich Winterbach, “I personally find such comment offensive, hateful, discriminatory, xenophobic and encourages prejudice against the gay, lesbian, transgender community in South Africa.”

The owner of Die Herrie, Johan Breunissen promptly responded and in all probability saved himself a pretty penny in suit money by saying, “I would like to state it that I’m not supporting her facebook profile comments, on or of[f] the internet. She will not be working with me anymore!! Her comments [are] totally out of line, with my views and the views of my company.”

Consequently he has started his own Facebook page and has won over the hearts and support of the majority of queers in South Africa.

The fascinating part of what otherwise is a rather morbid depiction of the closed mindedness of some South Africans is the speed that we have gotten used to receiving and distributing information. The effect this has on public relations, brand equity and also the perceived integrity of companies and brands in the current marketing environment is tremendous.

Within a matter of minutes, news spread over 1100km, connecting influencers with people of a similar LSM and similar interests and created a powerful wave of collective sentiment similar to the Woolworths saga we experienced earlier this week with the removal of all religious magazines.

Both brands, though they have taken a knock in reputation, came out strong on the other side. This however doesn’t stop the many brands that are concerned about the effect that negative reviews will have on not only their reputations, but importantly their sales.

It’s perfectly understandable and should seem simple enough. If people say bad things about you on your website/Twitter/Facebook page etc. then others will be put off using your service or buying your products.

But the reality is quite different and I want to show why you shouldn’t just encourage reviews and comments, but that negative feedback won’t necessarily damage your brand.

People trust the truth

Trust typically came from your peers but it can now be conveyed by word of mouth online. The way Breunissen managed this situation proved that people aren’t stupid. If they see that you’ve invited open feedback on your site or social profile, then this in itself conveys an element of confidence in your own brand. You open the feedback because you know you can deal with complaints, or at the very least you genuinely want to know if people have a problem with your brand.

Communicating trustworthiness in your brand is one of the most important tasks for any business and this can be achieved simply by opening yourself up to negativity.

Being genuine online really can’t be emphasised enough. It’s such an important part in the purchasing cycle that your brand seems honest. If I was buying a product and I saw a string of complaints that were being addressed by the business itself, it wouldn’t put me off.

Moreover, it would convince me that if I ever were to have a problem, I can be confident it would be addressed easily online without having to hang on the end of a customer service line.

The bottom line is that the rate at which these things happen has increased exponentially; our expectation of information delivery has increased to the point of ‘on demand’; and even though we all like to believe that certain brands should die a swift death, the only real damage that occurs is when the brand manager slips and falls off the double edged sword.