Creative Marketing: Nurture and Delight your Customers

“When you enchant people, your goal is not to make money from them or to get them to do what you want, but to fill them with great delight.”

-Guy Kawasaki, Former Chief Evangelist, Apple; Co-Founder, Alltop.com

I know what you’re saying:  We’ve talked about how it’s not about you.  We’ve talked about dancing.  When are we going to talk about MARKETING? 

The answer?  I’m NOT going to talk about marketing.   Well, not in the traditional sense of marketing.  The truth is that people buy from people (and companies) they like.  And the truth ALSO is that companies can become like people to them.  Especially if they’re surfing the web and they stumble upon your website and discover that YOU UNDERSTAND THEM. 

I spend more time on websites that delight me.  I am more likely to buy from companies who offer a piece of themselves to me.  I want to hear their stories.  I’m a sucker for a great story.  If a company were to analyze ME, they would find that I like reading blogs.   I enjoy quizzes.  I typically spend more time on pages with bright colored products.  I ALWAYS give my name and email address in exchange for free e-books. 

So, using me as an example, what would a company DO NEXT?  Let’s say I was visiting a party supplies company website.

Because that party supplies company engages in creative marketing tactics, and understand the value of marketing automation they know what pages I’m visiting, how many times I’ve been to their site and what links I’m engaging with. 

If I were that company’s marketing director, I might use some "creative marketing tactics" and email a quiz.  Maybe I would email a fun BRANDED quiz that I might pass along to my friends.  OR, I would send along a link to some OTHER blogs I might enjoy.  I would include in that email a link to some brightly colored (useful) products I also might enjoy for my next dinner party.  And the next time, maybe the company emails me asking me to subscribe to their blog.  And the time after that, maybe they send me a newsletter about planning grown-up outdoor parties. 

Let’s stop and look at all that company just did.  At what point did they tell me about what an amazing party supply company they are?  The answer is:  never. The answer is also this:  they showed me they were amazing with every single interaction by showing me how well they know my needs.

1.They never said “Look at how great our products are!”

2.They DID say, “Hey, we know you like quizzes.  Here’s one you might think is fun!”

3.They DID say, “We know you love dinner parties.  Do you need some supplies for your next one?

4.They DID say, “You love reading blogs, right?  Read this one!”

5.They DID say, “Here’s some useful information about outdoor parties JUST FOR YOU.”

They used their data to learn all about me.  And they made their marketing ALL ABOUT ME.  And I feel loved.  And I want to buy their products.  Sigh. 

Finally, someone is dancing with me. 

So what?  It’s important to talk to your customers about what matters to them.  If they know you understand their needs, they’re more likely to realize that what you’re offering is going to meet those needs.  The bottom line?   Take three steps to creative marketing magic: 

1) Use data to explore what your customers want and need. 

2) After you know what they need, figure out a way to involve your customers in the dance of creative marketing. 

3) Use the data to keep nurturing those relationships and build the marketing magic you’ve always dreamed of.

Learn how to 'get real' about data by downloading Our Creative Marketing White Paper by clicking the image below: