The 5C’s of marketing are relatively self-explanatory: Curiosity, Connection, Confidence, Conversation and Community. While the process is non-linear, certainly the foundation of the process is the twin pillars of Curiosity and Confidence. And it would be easy to stop there and simply say an interested, trusting customer is one who will stay in the fold.
Which would likely be true if it weren’t for unforeseeable events that range from the egregious (product failure) to the frustrating (expectation management) to the sublime (boredom).
In many a retail workshop, I have repeated the line “don’t settle for the sale, reach for the relationship.” Why? Product loyalty is easily shifted. But brand loyalty, loyalty to a person or a group of like-minded people, is a much more lasting bond.
To borrow the cliché, “there are only two kinds of people” … Brand Loyalists and Brand Terrorists. The challenge is that those two groups blend together sharing opinions about products that fundamentally alter the relationship between manufacturer/retailer and consumer.
Left unmanaged, your brand simply is left to fend for itself. Which is why the art of managing Connections is absolutely critical to the marketing process.
First lets understand the context for the word Connection. The first level connection is between the manufacturer and the retailer. The second level is between the retailer and the customer. The third level is between the customer and the manufacturer. The fourth level is between the customer and other customers who have made the same brand choice. And the fifth connection level is between the customer and people who have purchased the same category of product/service from a competitive source.
Each connection requires its own contact strategy. In the short format of an e-blast (I fear that I have lost 50% of my readership at this point), I am constricted by common sense not to address each level solution. What is important to note is that these connections between each of the brand’s aligned audiences must be carefully managed. We simply must nurture these connections to shape the natural free-flowing conversation between each audience.
Here’s the Litmus test for your marketing plan. Have you put a personal face on your brand at each point of connection? Or put another way, how frequently do you carry on a conversation (not a monologue) at each connection point?
For the record, that gives us three measures for marketing success to consider moving forward:
1. What percentage of people who purchase a product similar to yours are curious to learn more about what you have to offer?
2. How confident are your current users that your product/service is the best answer to their needs?
3. Are you currently joined with customers and consumers at each of the five levels of connection? Moreover, are you seeking out new and more interesting ways to connect with these people to cement the relationships?
This is the third in a series of five thought pieces about building Brand Enthusion™ through the application of the 5C’s: Curiosity, Connection, Confidence, Conversation and Community. We know that every brand has the potential to spark powerful word-of-mouth referral. Empowering your most loyal customers to become vocal salespeople for your brand is at the heart of all we do at Doe-Anderson: the House of Brand Enthusion.
