On Being the Center of Connection (not Attention)
Kids seem to mature through a phase of attention seeking, and that should be the case with brands, as well.
Lily, my 3-year old neighbor is a great example of this sort of human nature in action: she just can’t bear it if I’m talking to, or watching, her twin brother, Max, across the yard – so she usually tries to get my attention in any way possible. Thankfully, Lily will mature (like the rest of us did) through those phases, and realize it is more productive (and rewarding) to be empathic and build relationships than it is to worry about being the focus of attention at all times.
There may be a similar maturation process for brands, as well. At first, it’s all about being the greatest, the biggest and most noticeable – just to differentiate, or because ‘that’s the way it’s always been done.’ Eventually, and especially now, many brands should be stepping back to realize that touting their own greatness can backfire. Once brand marketers have matured beyond the attention-getting phase, they will be ready to check in a bit with their customers and be guided toward this truth: that being a center for customer community is a more powerful way to build long-term trust.
The idea is to be a center of connection rather than the center of attention.
One way that brands are starting to make strides in this direction lately is through new levels of customer engagement. Procter & Gamble and Unilever are two low-involvement packaged goods brands that have managed to engage consumers – if their site visits (nearly 6 and 3 million unique visitors, respectively) are any indication. How’d they do that?
They respond to the email they get, they are forming and utilizing consumer advisory panels, and they are keeping their sites fresh with polls, videos, specials and so on (even though very little, if any, product is actually sold online). Interestingly, a new study by VNU Nielsen BuzzMetric’s ‘Homescan’ consumer panel found that:
‘…33% of creators of consumer-generated media (in the form of video or blogs) also provide e-mail feedback to companies or brands via their websites, and 13% participate in brand or company blogs. Their engagement with corporate and brand sites is well above the norm for the general population.’
If our whole life as marketers now revolves around generating/inspiring/encouraging/leveraging word-of-mouth and forging connections, a further point from the folks at BuzzMetrics is worth noting: more than 40% of people who give a brand e-mail feedback are likely to recommend it to others.
It is time for all brands to turn ‘look at me’ into ‘you tell us.’
