Planning to Officially Break up with a Client this New Year?

The New Year always bring about change, renewed resolutions and the feeling of starting over.  So

when one of my clients said his company intended to break up with a challenging customer, I incredulously balked at the mere suggestion that he would no longer market to them. What was he thinking? It is one thing to break off the relationship, but quite another to stop marketing to past clients. But it did cause me to wonder. At what point is it appropriate to break up with a client and stop talking to them…forever?

No more sales letters. No more slick newsletters, email blasts or fancy event invitations. The client would no longer be privy to your creative genius or amazing sales offers. Nada. It’s over, and there’s nothing left to say.

Of course, who doesn’t re-evaluate client relations at the beginning of every year? Truth be told, I’ve had a few clients throughout the years who were such a pain to deal with that I have personally felt justified in terminating the relationships and giving them the silent treatment – sometimes not even waiting until the beginning of the year. So I understood my client’s position.

And when your company decides to sever the connection with the client from hell, usually it’s because things are dysfunctional or toxic – or worst yet, you’re losing money or your creative mojo. These are circumstances when stopping all communication is permitted. In those cases, it’s better to rip off the Band-Aid, end things abruptly, and not ever look back.

As marketers, it is important that we speak to all our stakeholders on a consistent basis. This includes prospects, past clients, end-users, vendors, suppliers, even industry influencers.  True, individual marketing campaigns require creating tailored marketing messages aimed at different audiences. But the extra effort is worth it.

But is it good business etiquette or even a smart use of time to continue to flaunt your value proposition in a customer’s face once it’s over? Well, as any woman will tell you, seeing her ex when she looks fabulous on the arm of another man, is almost euphoric. However, ultimately this little game of “see what you’re missing” does nothing for her unless she wants him back.

You’ll need to decide if you ever want to work with this particular customer again.

Conversely, at some point during our tenure, we’ve all had a client dump us. Whether we think it is warranted or not, the client simply says “no thanks” to our offer. Usually, when that happens, my first inclination is to say, goodbye, good riddance, and I’m no longer interested in a dialogue with you either. Hmph!

However, when I do that, I pass up an opportunity to analyze why things went wrong or understand where I can make improvements. More importantly, when we stop marketing to or communicating with a customer or stakeholder, we impede their path back to us. Why? Because people often have buyer’s remorse, which means it’s never over until it’s over.

Most of us have experienced buyer’s remorse, especially when it’s a costly purchase or when we have a major switch in brands. We have feelings of guilt, regret or second thoughts – all stemming from the psychology of conflicting thoughts or cognitive dissonance. If you’re like me, not only do you sometimes regret your choice, but wish you could just press the reset button and put things back the way they were.

Many clients who have “let you go” many times wish they could take you back.

In the case of ‘greener grass’ regret, you want to ensure you provide a worn brown path of return to you. Your continued communication allows past clients to save face, forgive misunderstandings, correct mistakes – and of course, it gives them time to miss you.  This path is easier for customers to find when you remain top of mind and continue to demonstrate value even when the relationship is over.

In other words, maintaining communications is important to both you and your past client.

Naturally, you don’t want to bombard a customer fresh from a break up (especially if the client feels wounded or betrayed) with a barrage of self-promoting messages. It’s probably wise to wait at least 90-days before you reach out with your first non-sales message. But without question, you should stay in touch.

Here’s how:

Start by asking for feedback – conduct a brief survey to learn more about why the relationship went south. Again, this is assuming you want to re-engage. Be sure to clearly articulate that you realize that they are no longer a client and that your communication was not sent in error, but is one of genuine curiosity.

Next, begin a specialized “woo” campaign with a series of slow, soft touches. Maybe send a copy of your newsletter, email a relevant content marketing article or link to a white paper. The point is to demonstrate your value and woo the client back with non-sales collateral.

Finally, never assume that past clients are not interested in your message or that they won’t refer business – even if it appears things didn’t work out between you. Let them tell you they no longer want to hear from you.

In today’s global business environment, we are all ultimately connected. Yesterday’s stakeholders (including vendors, suppliers and influencers) are tomorrow’s clients or at a minimum they can be evangelists for new business. A stakeholder who perhaps loved your service or product, but might have been overruled in an earlier decision-making process, could seek you out at a later time. Your name could come up in an entirely unrelated conversation because of your holiday eCard. Or a simple social media post could be shared and seen by a potential client outside your sphere of influence.

And it goes without saying that current customers should be recommending you. If they are not, you are either not providing a strong referral channel to make it easy for them to talk about you or the client is not crazy in love with you or your service.

So in 2017, if your business is planning to break up with a client or stakeholder, remember, marketing to past customers, is smart and requires a little finesse.  Keep in mind that it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.

4 Reasons Why Events Really Work (and can make your customers fall in love with your brand)!

Back in medieval times before Event Planning was an official job description, I landed a great job coordinating events and conferences. I wasn’t called an event manager or anything fancy like that. I was simply a marketing assistant tasked with coordinating a myriad of details for corporate events across the country. I thought, not bad for a pretty young thing with no experience!

I remember calling my mother, giddy with excitement, to share the news.

But like any loving parent concerned for her child’s financial future and perhaps lack of good judgment, she said, “Oh, honey, you might want to look for something else. I mean, how much money can there be in throwing parties.”

Well, we now know that the events and meeting planning industry contributes over $395 billion dollars to GDP totals and requires advanced management skills equal to an engineering project manager.

Sorry mom, but special events today are nothing like the swanky little soirees that you and dad use to throw for your friends.

Don’t get me wrong, my parent’s den parties were pretty epic. Lots of dancing, drinking, and tasty hors d'oeuvres which my mom spent all afternoon making. But if you share my mother’s belief that events are just about throwing parties with fancy finger foods, you’re ignoring one of the most powerful marketing tools on the shelf.

Events are one of the best marketing channels to reach your target audience.

In this impersonal digital age where customers are demanding more authentic connections, here are four reasons why event marketing works and should be at the top of your ‘to-do’ list:

1.  A well-produced event allows your brand to get intimate with customers and create moments. There is nothing more impactful than standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a client, as they experience your product or service or talk with you one-on-one. This is a chance to engage with clients and share details and insight that you couldn’t possibly do online. The bonus is you usually reach more than one client at a time.
2. Special events provide a stage for telling your story and a place to demonstrate what the brand stands for and let people know the people behind the brand. There is no better platform for telling the “why” of your business and to create unbreakable bonds than breaking bread together. Remember, facts tell, but stories sell – and this alone can grow your business.
3. If branding is the sum total of the customers’ experience, and it is, then events are an essential key to branding. Immerse your customers in unique and transformative experiences, and they will remember your brand forever.  People are no longer coming out for long presentations with wine & cheese. By invoking all five of a customer’s senses, you’re guaranteed to receive, ‘thank you from the bottom of my heart’ responses – these moments cannot be duplicated in a print ad or digital medium. Engaged customers will post, share and talk about their experience with others.
4. Events are the perfect binding energy for people to coalesce around – creating an ideal environment for collaboration with others. The gathering of a cool brand, customers, and a worthy cause will spark conversations and create synergy. I often partner my event with a charity to create a buzz that also attracts media attention – a win-win for everyone involved.
   
   

Even if you produce just one or two stellar events a year, this can intensify the effectiveness of your marketing – increase your SEO and boost your social media presence. Special events should be part of every savvy marketer’s integrated marketing strategy, complete with targeted goals and sophisticated messaging.

The people of Spain have a beautiful, almost untranslatable word called, sombremesa. This word embodies the concept of lingering table talk after a meal, digesting and savoring both the food and the friendship. My parents were the experts at excusing the kids and creating an atmosphere for adults to connect after dinner. And in dating, as in business, this intimate time is where the ‘make or break’ of the relationship is determined.

 If you want to cut through the noise in a crowded marketplace, gather people together for an event and entice them to stay for a little la sombremesa.

Salute!

Branding Wisdom From My Mother's Kitchen

Exactly what is branding? No, I mean really; beyond the Wikipedia definition, what do we mean when we throw around the word, “branding” sitting in a strategy meeting trying to look cool and sound sophisticated? For far too long, branding was seen as just the use of logos, icons, symbols and the corporate name. But if you’re a smart marketer or business leader, you know that creating and establishing brand identity is far more reaching than a color-coordinated ad campaign. Powerful branding has exponentially morphed into the sum total of the audience’s experience. Branding now reflects the views and perceptions imprinted in the consumer’s mind until that psychological interaction shapes their behavior. It all boils down to an emotional experience – the way you handle your customers, how well you deliver products, promises and services. Susan Allen, owner of Out The Box, states, “…Branding means starting with your values and beliefs, projecting these into everything you do, and going forward from there…”

My mother was an incredible cook. Her down-home southern styled meals were served with warmth and genuine hospitality. And all you had to do was ask someone if they were going to Katie’s house for dinner after church and their mouth would water! Mom didn’t skimp on ingredients, spices or portions when the economy was bad. And she never cut the guest list or ask for donations when food costs went up; nor were people asked to leave early or do the dishes. Her caring personality, smile and awesome recipes were her brand. It was the experience of good times, laughs, a warm kitchen filled with love and a stomach full of the most delicious food you’d ever eat that people remembered. And that's what created her brand.

Krispy Kreme use to be a powerful brand until we bit into too many dry donuts left too long in the AM/PM kiosk – damn, did they forget what the “HOT” light sign did to our taste buds? I use to hide the empty KK box in the outside garbage can so my boyfriend at the time wouldn’t know I had eaten the entire dozen in an 8-hour period! My weekly trips to their stores have dwindled to once or twice a year now. United Airlines was the crème de la crème of airlines (my mother wore white gloves back in the ‘60’s when we flew) until they left too many passengers stranded for hours at too many gates, or left us at the mercy of rude and over-worked (and sometimes not so attractive I might add) flight attendants – with nothing more than a half-can of Coke and less than an ounce of peanuts. But boy aren’t their new commercials great? But now if I have to fly United, I won’t go.

So what does brand America look and feel like? Like many Americans I wept and cheered on election night at the audacity of hope, the possibility for greatness and the millions of cracks made in racial barriers. But I have to ask, did the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States, improve America’s brand? Because beyond the brand – you know, the American flag, record voter turn-out, spacious skies and purple mountains majesty – have we made lasting changes to our views and perceptions about race in our country – did we wake up on November 5th feeling differently about each other?

If I had a dollar for every blog, news article and quote that touts instruction on how to market your brand in a down economy, I could probably pay off most, if not all, the $ trillion national debt. Every business guru and pundit has sage advice on how to get focused, how to concentrate your efforts on your core customers. And most of what has been said has really been right on the money. But providing an incredible customer experience should have been happening all the time. Akin to what I call, the 911 share & care syndrome, excellent treatment of our customers is a behavior phenomenon that should be the norm. Why must we wait until a down-turned economy to start paying attention to our best customers, offering the best service with the most competitive pricing, or to reduce ineffective ads and promotions and begin thinking creatively for branding solutions? Effective branding shouldn’t be reactive to a bad economy or any other external forces, but should be an on-going persuasive experience that produces tangible results from our target audience. As author Jonathan Baskin points out in his book, Branding Only Works On Cattle, behavior trumps branding every time!

So in essence, branding isn’t the cool pictures, a killer logo or really funny creative ads. Branding is the sum total of the experiences of your audience. And it isn’t true branding until those attributes, and the created value, gets communicated through your actions and in turn influences the mind and thoughts of your audience. As my mother would say, it ain’t what you say baby, it’s what you do! Mom, you were absolutely right!