Get Personality
2009
1:1 marketing by definition is about getting personal — letting the recipient feel like a person, someone who you know. Increasingly, companies understand the value of getting personal. What they are less comfortable with is getting personality. Since marketing is about personality, it's little wonder that so few companies are masters at it.
Creating a corporate personality is something many companies overlook, ignore, or perceive as outside their comfort zone . Then, those very same bland companies wonder why they're perceived by customers as a commodity.
"A lot of people are very upset, but I saw this coming," said Larry Britton, a 61-year-old electrician who grew up reading The Rocky but found it less relevant and distinctive in recent years. "You could swap writers around and not see a difference," Mr. Britton said.
There's a lot to learn from newspapers in their ongoing and current demise. If you don't want to follow in their footsteps, don't assume that they are all that different from you. Instead, look to learn from their experience. Invest in a personality. It's something that can differentiate you. A personality is what makes people talk about you. Some will love you. Some may not. But, the marketing point is, they will be talking. That used to be called "Word of Mouth." Now, it's just Buzz.
Comment