If you have to be convinced about the value of being genuine, just listen to the analysis about early presidential candidates. One whiff of phoniness and political analysts roasts the offending candidate and early supporters respond by scattering like dry leaves in the wind.
The same thing will happen if you’re not genuine in your marketing or brand messages. If you represent yourself as something you are not, your loyal clients may take off.
Consider JC Penney. In 2011, this solidly middle class retailer revamped its image to bring in higher-income or hipper clients by representing itself as fashion-forward. Because the public couldn’t make the transition it’s impression of JC Penney from “dependable” to “cool” the retailer lost revenue in 2012 ($985 million) and 2013 ($1.39 billion), according to the Dallas Business Journal.
Digital Marketing Must Stay True to Who You Are
Your most profitable customers come to you for a reason. They like your values, prefer your product or enjoy your service. If you change any of those elements drastically, you give your best customers a reason to question their loyalty to you.
The same thing happens if you try to ride a trend that doesn’t fit with your brand image or product. GoDaddy – the bad boy of Super Bowl ads – may have been trying to cash in on the popularity of kitten and puppy videos when it created a commercial for the 2015 Super Bowl featuring a cute puppy instead its usual scantily-clad nymph. The commercial started with a feel-good theme, as the lost puppy found its way home, but closed with an edge when the prodigal puppy discovered it had been sold online.
The GoDaddy ad debuted to a storm of protests from the SPCA and puppy-loving citizens, and wisely decided to scrap it rather than risk insulting an even broader audience.
Keep Your Best Customers in Mind
Your marketing and brand communications must be addressed to your best customers. You should tap into a common dream, create a solution to a problem or think about how to enrich their lives. JC Penney wasn’t thinking about their best customers when tried to create a hipper brand – and GoDaddy miscalculated their message completely, and didn’t connect with anyone’s dreams or heart strings.
If you want to build on past success, think about how to broaden your reach rather than completely changing your marketing approach. If you’d like help to get better results from your marketing, contact me at 480.201.2926 and we can create greater success together.