Who is Following You?

Good day to everyone! This is Chris Teague welcoming you to another marketing post from my work with the WIN Firm. I would like to apologize for not having this post up yesterday: there were a few glitches on blogger that prevented us from posting. Are you ready for a simple marketing lesson many of us tend to overlook?

Look over your shoulder...check your rear-view mirror...turn around....are you being followed? It is kind of creepy to think you are being followed at times, but as a company, you want to be followed. In fact, we as people desire to follow. Yes, you may lead, but you really follow. Sorry to burst your bubble, but we are just made to follow and that is perfectly okay. So, do you know who is following you? Really? I bet there are people you are missing. Keep reading; I will explain.

Customer retention is so important to a company's growth. Any executive, store owner or manager will tell you that keeping customers is less expensive than finding new ones. While this may be true, many organizations are unaware of who their customers are. What do I mean? I am talking about the customers that have not purchased anything from you, but like you and will buy from you. What? You mean I have a large customer base following me? How do I reach them? You just need to engage this customer base a little and provide them a purchasing avenue, but you must know who they are first. Want to figure out who is following you and increase your beloved customer base? Come on down to see how we at the WIN Firm help clients "track" those following you.

Step 1: You must be open to knowing that your industry is constantly changing, people are changing and your customers no longer look exactly alike. Well, they don't on the outside. Once you are open to UNDERSTANDING your customer today, you will be prepared for the next step.

Step 2: Let's explore alumni giving a little bit. WIN works with colleges and non-profits that depend on the public's support of their efforts to remain sustainable, financially speaking. There is one question that we always hear from our clients: "Who out there will give?" Great question! To discover the answer, we have found that anybody will give and will, but he/she simply hasn't found a reason to just yet. So, figure out this reason and engage your givers. Wait! I thought we were talking about tracking our followers. We are! Keep reading.

Step 3: Now that you know people need a reason to do something, you can effectively discover your followers. How? Analyze your current customers and their buying, or in this case, giving behaviors. There are those that buy/give a lot, and there are those that do not buy/give a lot. Common knowledge, right? Right! So, use this knowledge to figure out who is following you. That's right! You can know who is following based on the characteristics and mannerisms of your "known" customers. Stay with me.

Step 4: Okay, you know that some people simply have plenty of money to spend/give, may really like you and even have found satisfaction in your product. There are others that want to share the same thing as these people, but you haven't discovered them yet. We at WIN are innovative, so take this next step/tactic/strategy openly. Check it out!

Step 5: People are everywhere. How do you find those following you? Engage them. Bring them out of the jungle and unmask their camouflage. We understand that people give due to various reasons, especially depending on where they are in life. We created a concept that reached and brought the following groups together: current students, those freshly out of school, those at the beginning of a career, those starting a family and those "established." These are all customers following a college, but the college does not really know who they are. Why not find them?

Step 6: We approached a school and offered them the concept of being "Social." No, I am not talking about social media just yet. I am referring to the power of socializing and networking. We created various socials within the college's community that connected these groups and allowed them to chat, meet one another and network. What brought them together? Their common connection: COLLEGE. Using the theme of "Helping," we were able to create a reason for these unknown customers to be engaged. The college discovered its "unknown" customer and giving increased!

Blessings,
Chris Teague
V.P. Marketing
WIN Firm

Paying a Quick Respect

After playing around on Twitter this evening and searching for the WIN Firm on Google, I came across our blog and am pleased it is appearing in search.  One thing I noticed after reading my earlier post today is that I needed to pay some respect to a couple of authors who reminded me why I love marketing. 

Being responsible for implementing new strategy for growth at the WIN Firm, I am always thinking of how to compete and grow in today's market place.  However, after reading and recently, re-reading Punk Marketing, I realized that there are people out there who care just as much about you as I do, and these people are fed up with the disconnection that exists among marketers and you. I also wanted to publicly let a couple of authors know that I appreciate them for bringing Punk into marketing, because the key to Punk Rock was that it came from the underground and was led by one of the most creative and artistic generations of music listeners who were tired of complacency. 

Who are these authors I respect and thank for calling out the complacent, detached marketers of today? Mr. Richard Laermer and Mark Simmons have earned my colleagues and my praises for their work today. 

I wrote this post because I did not want the two men who helped get me back on track to think I thought ill of them based on an earlier statement I made on today's first post.  If you guys read this post, please know that I think you could add much more about Punk Rock and the entire counterculture that truly changed the face of music through some of the most creative marketing ever to exist in the music industry.  What's great about the Punk movement is that this marketing did not come from any multi-million dollar brand budget.  Instead, this marketing came from a connection found amongst people fed up with complacency.  Punk Marketing reminded me of this passion I have to go against the grain.  

Thank YOU, Richard and Mark! 

Blessings,

Chris Teague

V.P. Marketing

WIN Firm  

Living with a Cause

Good day to everybody keeping up with the WIN Firm's marketing projects. As always, I welcome your feedback to this post and want you to know our doors are open and we believe in sharing our marketing knowledge to all interested parties. Did you like that disclaimer? Seriously, we at the WIN Firm are really pleased with the progress we are making on various projects and are excited to share our discoveries in this ever-changing marketing world with you. Are you ready to hear how our Brazil project is progressing?

I apologize for not posting on Friday, and will not offer up any excuses for my missed post. I just ask for your understanding and forgiveness.

Let's get started on telling you how our strategies are being formed for the Keep Brazil Beautiful campaign. First, after several years of researching the concept of social causes and non-profit marketing, we have found that people really do care about helping others, their community, the environment, etc... Therefore, we have developed a concept to sell shoes. Yes, we are selling shoes that touch your emotional neurons and make you believe in what you are buying. We have a firm understanding of why you support various non-profits, and have developed this campaign based on the non-profit model of caring.

After we first posted this blog and told people that we were opening up our core, people thought we were really making a mistake. I disagree. You and I and everyone in the world knows how to market something. Ever been asked how you were? Were you actually lousy but responded that you were alright? Well, this response is what we call perception management. Therefore, you manage your perception everyday with the way you comb (or don't) your hair, the way keep your house, etc...

How does all of this perception management tie into our project of selling Brazilian shoes? The answer is that when you wear these shoes you are managing a perception that lets others know you care. Yes, IT IS THE SHOES! You will be telling everyone who sees your shoes how much you are aware of the decisions you make, especially when it comes to the things you buy. What better way to communicate you care than to walk in the shoes of caring?

Our advertising and promotional strategies will all convey the message of our shoe being the BRAND that cares. As we have stated before, we are willing to do whatever it takes to build confidence in our brand and show you where your money is actually going. Our web-sites are going to be designed for you to follow the shoes journey to replenishing the Rain Forest in Brazil and Keeping Brazil Beautiful. Don't we need a company that truly is a steward of goodwill?

Until next time, be blessed in all you do!

Blessings,
Chris Teague
V.P. Marketing
WIN Firm