Direct Selling: The Theory of Relativity

Keep your brand promise pertinent

May 2007 By Lois Boyle-Brayfield

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No, you didn’t accidentally open a science journal, and no, this isn’t an article about Einstein’s theory of relativity. Instead, it’s an explanation of why so many direct mail efforts simply do not work. They lack relativity, the ability to relate to their audience, or for that matter, offer any relevance at all. This theory isn’t about the continuum of space and time but about cause and effect. Simply, when marketing to a target audience, if you deliver a relevant message in a relevant format in a relevant presentation, your chances of achieving a desired response will grow exponentially.

This all sounds simple, right? Then why have so many of today’s multi-channel brands become arrogant in their marketing techniques, solely concentrating on what makes them special instead of on what their brand truly means to customers? For years we’ve heard the example that “Black & Decker doesn’t sell drills … they sell holes!” Holes are what customers want, right? What good is a drill if it cannot drill a hole? And therein lies the problem that many marketers face.



Keep Your Brand Promise

Understanding what your customers care about begins with your brand promise. This promise delivers relevant and unique benefits to a specific audience—not relevant to you but relevant to a specific audience. Volvo expresses its brand promise as: “Only Volvo delivers assurance of the safest ride to parents who are concerned about their family’s well-being.”

There are two critical parts of a brand promise that every company must understand before delivering relevant content. The first is a higher-order benefit. In Volvo’s case, the company understands this concept by promising safety, not just a sturdy, well-built car.

The second critical part of a brand promise is the need to define your specific audience. Truthfully, many marketers get hung up in their quest to be all-inclusive and politically correct. Great brands must reflect the customer in their message and deliver personal relevance, even if it alienates others.

Get to Know Your Customers

When was the last time your marketing team actually spoke to a loyal customer? Do they understand what is important to your customers? Do they understand how your customers talk—literally, what words they use to describe the service you provide? Unfortunately most marketers never really understand what is important or compels customers to do business with their company.

It’s arrogant to think you can sell anything without an intimate knowledge of who your customers are. This goes beyond just a demographic profile or a data dump of how customers responded to a marketing effort. Successful multichannel marketers get inside their customers’ heads and hearts, then deliver relevant offers, copy and images that speak to a relevant, higher-order benefit.



Deliver a Relevant Message

Only once you understand your brand promise, its higher-order benefit and the audience that truly cares, can you create relevant marketing efforts. The good news is that once you’ve achieved this, it’s easy to attract others who also care but who are not yet customers. Ultimately, you also will experience brand loyalty because customers “get you” and because you “get them.” So, what questions should your creative team ask when delivering these relevant moments?

• Relevant Format. What formats will best engage customers? Is it a catalog, solo package, e-mail or the in-store experience? How do they want to be communicated with? Do they want a good deal of information or do they just want the simple facts?

• Relevant Copy. Are you using terms customers use and in a tone they are comfortable with? Do they appreciate humor or are they looking for content that will help them achieve a specific goal? Does your copy attempt to deliver the higher-order benefit that your product or service provides?

• Relevant Graphics. What photographs, illustrations, charts or graphics will resonate with why customers do business with you?

A Case in Point

A great example of a multichannel merchant that understands how to keep its brand promise relevant is Duluth Trading Company. The creative team truly understands its customers and how to speak with them, by delivering a consistent, relevant message in its catalog, Web site and e-mails. Duluth understands its target audience: the blue-collar worker looking for durable products that solve relevant problems in everyday life. The copy uses the same language its customers use. In fact, much of the copy, including the headlines, are customer-generated. Headlines include, “Best darn T-shirt I’ve ever worn!” or “Your presentation jacket is one helluva coat!” This is unorthodox copy for sure. Will it alienate some? Yes. But is it relevant to its customers? Absolutely. Even the body copy speaks to “real problems.” When referring to the “Longtail T” it actually uses the term “plumber’s butt” when describing a solution to a problem customers might have. Illustrations demonstrate how the T-shirt avoids the problem of “sharing a little too much information.” Duluth “gets” its customers.

Successful direct marketing creative begins with the theory of relativity. This theory says that every time you deliver a message to a customer, it’s a moment of truth and, in that moment, you have either embraced the heart of a customer or you have alienated him. A customer immediately knows if you have a connection, and when you do, your chances for a positive response increase dramatically.

Lois Boyle is president and chief creative officer of J. Schmid & Associates, Mission, Kan. You can reach her by e-mail at loisb@jschmid.com.