A Little Less Conversation,

A Little More Action

FUTURELAB

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The central theme for Marktplein DM is Marktplein 2.0: A little less

action, a little more conversation. A theme that comes from the

current developments in DM and online. The consumer is ever

more in charge. Only he seldomly talks with the companies he buys

from. And ever more with others about the brands he buys. Positive

and negative.

During Marktplein 2.0: A little less action, a little more conversation you

will hear stories from companies who recognise this new situation

and act upon it.

FUTURELAB

From the conference brochure

Word-of-mouth is 7x more effective than newspaper

advertising, 5x stronger than a personal sales pitch and 2x

as effective as radio advertising

Marketing Science Institute, 2006

1967 1983 2001 20071955

FUTURELAB

After 52 years of facts and research stating that WOM is key

… do marketers still need to learn how to deal with it

FUTURELAB

WE FOCUS ON THE

SYMPTOMS, RATHER THAN

THE DISEASE

WE DON’T GIVE PEOPLE

SOMETHING ENOUGH TO

TALK “ABOUT”

WE PREFER A ONE NIGHT

STAND OVER A COMMITTED

RELATIONSHIP

FUTURELAB

WE FOCUS ON THE

SYMPTOMS, RATHER THAN

THE DISEASE

WE DON’T GIVE PEOPLE

SOMETHING ENOUGH TO

TALK “ABOUT”

WE PREFER A ONE NIGHT

STAND OVER A COMMITTED

RELATIONSHIP

FUTURELAB

What drives conversations?

FUTURELAB

EXPERIENCE – EMOTION – WOM

Source: SRD Group, Customer Satisfaction Averages, New Zealand, 2006

“44% of consumers say the majority of their Customer Experiences are “bland”

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Customer Satisfaction Averages, New Zealand, 2006

And most wouldn’t recommend a brand

BTW: The same often applies to the people working for the brand themselves

Telecom Europe = - 48%

Profusion, 2005

80% of CEO’s believe their brand provides a superior customer experience

8 % of their customers agree

(Bain & Company)

FUTURELAB

Do you talk about brands that leave you indifferent?

FUTURELAB

Does your brand systematically delight customers?

FUTURELAB

TO AFFECT THE CONVERSATION

DON’T FOCUS ON WOM AS A SYMPTOM

YET START DELIGHTING CUSTOMERS

WE FOCUS ON THE

SYMPTOMS, RATHER THAN

THE DISEASE

WE DON’T GIVE PEOPLE

SOMETHING ENOUGH TO

TALK “ABOUT”

WE PREFER A ONE NIGHT

STAND OVER A COMMITTED

RELATIONSHIP

FUTURELAB

In a million channel world,

brands whose consumers

tell the best stories, win

FUTURELAB

Tell me storiesthat make my conversations

more interesting

Don’t Just Tell Me Anything

FEATURES - BENEFITS

VALUES - PROPOSITIONS

WHERE ARE THE

STORIES ???

FUTURELAB

Brands must become storytellers

FUTURELAB

So it is possible for customers to talk about them.

THE GREATEST MARKETING STORY EVER

Origins

Pope Innocent III

Fourth Lateran Council (1215)

Birthstones

BUT WHY THE DIAMONDS?

1938: Harry Oppenheimer meets Gerold M. Lauk of N.W.Ayer

FUTURELAB

1938 19531948 1990s

Cullinan IX

Cullinan III & IV

Europe

FUTURELAB

FUTURELAB

Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0FDGnAIWpk

1967 The Beers Goes Japan (occasional)

1972 Diamonds = 27%

1981 Diamonds = 60%

2007 Second largest diamond market (after US)

Stories replace 1,500 years tradition

Hemingway

Van Gogh

Chabrol

Sartre

...

What is the story of your brand?

FUTURELAB

TO AFFECT THE CONVERSATION

TELL STORIES WHICH CUSTOMERS CAN

AND WANT TO TALK ABOUT

WE FOCUS ON THE

SYMPTOMS, RATHER THAN

THE DISEASE

WE DON’T GIVE PEOPLE

SOMETHING ENOUGH TO

TALK “ABOUT”

WE PREFER A ONE NIGHT

STAND OVER A COMMITTED

RELATIONSHIP

FUTURELAB

Renault vs. SonyStyle

Are You a One Night Brand?

How often do you really talk to your customers?

We show that we value our customers by serving them

well, putting their needs and interests at the center of

everything we do. (AOL mission statement)

Do you keep your promises?http://www.youtube.co

m/watch?v=xaaAYVU

WP0I

TO AFFECT THE CONVERSATION

YOU WANT ME TO CARE

If you want me to care …

Call me

Write me

Buy me flowers

But don’t dare take me for granted

FUTURELAB

FOCUS ON THE

DISEASE, BY MAKING

THE TOTAL EXPERIENCE

UNIQUE

TELL STORIES SO PEOPLE

ACTUALLY HAVE SOMETHING

TO TALK ABOUT

IF YOU WANT CUSTOMERS

TO COMMIT TO YOU,

SHOW SOME COMMITMENT

FIRST

FUTURELAB

But I’m just a marketerThat is not my department …

FUTURELAB

YES IT IS …

Your brand communicates every time

it touches a customer.

As a marketer you need to manage

this communication.

This makes you responsible for each

“moment of truth”

FUTURELAB

1. Identify every touchpoint of

your brand

2. Prioritise it’s (emotional)

importance to the customer

3. Determine what your brand

promise means at this

touchpoint

4. Enlist support of your

colleagues, retailers, …

5. Measure and manage

Consider Each Moment of Truth as a Brand Expression

Source: DAVIS S., LONGORIA T., “Harmonising Your Touchpoints”, Brand Packaging, Jan/Feb 2003

FUTURELAB

TO MANAGE WORD-OF-MOUTH

YOU NEED TO MANAGE THE EMOTION

TO MANAGE THE EMOTION, YOU NEED TO TAKE

CONTROL OF THE EXPERIENCE

THIS MEANS GETTING INVOLVED IN EVERYTHING

YOUR BUSINESS DOES

FUTURELAB

A Little Less Conversation,

A Little More Action

FUTURELAB

Feel free to re-use or mash-up this

presentation under Creative Commons

2.0 licence (non-commercial, attribution)