Wendy’s 1984 “Where the beef?” marketing campaign redefined the fast food landscape and introduced the brand to new group of consumers. The catchy phrase quickly became part of pop culture. Merchandising included t-shirts, coffee mugs, and even underwear. If you haven’t seen one of the commercials, click the video. It’s one of those things that are always good for a smile.

No one talked about viral marketing or influence or expanded reach in those days. The focus was on market share, re-branding, and corporate growth. Somewhere between then and now, we lost our way. Measuring the success of a campaign shifted from sales growth to generated buzz. There’s no argument that people speaking positively about products and brands helps motivate others to buy. But when the primary objective is creating buzz worthy content instead of a top-quality customer experience, the proverbial cart is before the horse.

Word of mouth marketing isn’t new. It began with the first barter. Manipulating circumstances to create buzz isn’t new either. Snake oil salesman perfected the formula as they traveled from town to town in the old West. They knew that it had to be well planned because they only had one opportunity at every location. A few “evangelists” were quietly recruited when salesmen arrived in town. After a few positive experiences with the miracle cure, the promotions were rolled out. By the time people realized that there wasn’t a miracle in a bottle, their money was long gone. I’ve often wondered what happened to the townspeople that helped the salesman. Did they get railroaded out of town? Shunned?

A friend who worked the vaudeville circuit as a young man used to tell wonderful stories of travelling the country. Some of my fondest childhood memories include listening to his tales. He once told me that even the worst shows could run three nights in a town. The first night attracted the adventurers. (If he were still around, I’d tell him that we call them “early adopters” these days.) The second night attracted people who heard about the show from the adventurers. Since people rarely share information that makes them look foolish, the adventurers would tell others the show was good. The third night was usually sold out because the people who attended the first two shows returned with rotten vegetables. Tickets were sold to the show, but there wasn’t a performance because the entourage moved to the next town.

I don’t know if there is any truth to the story, but it certainly matches the behavior of people today. The early adopters are the first to use a new marketing tool or platform. They list all of the reasons others should join in. Failure to buy a ticket to the hottest new show often leads to reprimands. Daring to question the effectiveness of the new media leads to shunning and flaming. When the newness starts wearing off, the early adopters and their followers move on to the next new thing. Before they go, the tool or platform so strongly endorsed is trashed.

Eventually the snake oil salesmen and bad vaudeville shows ran out of towns. Today’s edition will run out of platforms and people willing to listen to their marketing hype. And, sometime in the future, history will repeat itself. A new version of bottled lightning will appear.

In the meantime, there is a lot of drama in the marketing world. Instead of participating in it, use this opportunity to separate your company from the competition. People are desperate for the things that make wonderful customer experiences. Quality products, service with a sincere smile, and people who genuinely care seem to have disappeared. Focusing on the fundamentals that make great businesses will deliver much more to your customers, employees, and shareholders. It’s time to skip the fluff and find the beef.

Creating great content doesn’t guarantee that anyone will read it. The marketing puzzle requires more pieces to attract visitors to your site. Long marketing tails come when content, community, search engine optimization (SEO), and demand work together. Sometimes, a long tail is a surprise. When that happens, expand your reach by capitalizing on it.

In 2006, I wrote an article for our Multichannel Magic newsletter entitled “10 Signs Your Company is in Trouble.” It was inspired by a visit to company whose management didn’t know that it was in serious trouble. A few weeks later, it was included in the Free Articles section on our website.

Once the search engines started indexing it, people started visiting the page. Once they arrived they stayed for a while. My initial reaction was “that’s cool”. Two years later my reaction changed because that page was still one of the top traffic drivers for our site. We needed to update the information.

We wanted to provide additional value without losing our search engine ranking. I wrote an e-book “10 Signs Your Company is Sinking”. The original page continued to drive traffic to the site. The guide added value. There weren’t any surprises until November 6th this year.

Apparently, 1766 people needed to know the warning signs that a company is in trouble on November 6th. Most of them originated at MSN and Bing with these searches:

- signs your company is in trouble

- 10 signs your company is in trouble

- ten signs your company is in trouble

- 10 signs your company might be in trouble

- top signs your company is in trouble

All are variations on our headline and brought a significant bump to our traffic and increase in subscriptions. This is from an article that was written in 2006! In addition to the continued traffic, I have been interviewed for three articles in trade journals. The interest in the topic inspired me to expand it into a full guide, “10 Hidden Signs Your Company is Sinking.” In addition to the signs, it has solutions to the problems.

Takeaways:

• Create content that provides valuable information. (If it isn’t worth reading, your visitors will bounce.)
• Use search engine optimization tactics to maximize your exposure. (I wish that we had placed more keywords in our original URL.)
• Include call to action triggers in your content. (We added a link at the top of the article to our e-book and have other call to actions at the bottom.)
• Monitor your web analytics. (If you don’t know which pages are getting the hits, how can you capitalize on it?)
• When something is working, expand your offerings. (We added the ebook to provide additional value.)

When marketing trends start to go viral, it is tempting to jump in. It is natural to want your message to match the hot theme of the day. This is especially true when it looks like everyone is leaving you behind. But, if your presentation and actions aren’t in alignment with the message, you may do more harm than good.

Supporting the environment is a good thing. Adding a “green” tagline without reducing, recycling, or reusing isn’t. Marketing products to save the planet without participating in the green movement is offensive.

Which is worse – multiple paper cups or a plastic cup?

I’m not a diehard environmentalist, but I incorporate the three R’s in my daily activities when possible. Recently I visited a coffeehouse (yes, THAT one). When I walked into the store, there was a display featuring reusable plastic cups. The sign promoted buying one to help save the environment. I wondered aloud which had the worse affect – multiple paper cups or a plastic one. (Sidebar: if anyone knows, I’m still wondering. Please share.)

As the line progressed, I heard the clerks trying to upsell the cup “to reduce environmental waste.” Since I’m not a fan of their brew, I bought water in a glass bottle. When my companions and I were ready to leave, I looked for the recycling bin for my bottle. I couldn’t find one, so I asked a clerk. She responded, “Oh, we don’t do that!”

My takeaway (along with everyone else in earshot) was that they were committed to using the environmental message to sell products but weren’t interested in the cause. It is a dangerous position to play. At best, you sell a few $10 coffee cups. At worst, you alienate your customer base.

Think carefully before you join a hot marketing trend. Make sure that everything you and your people say and do is consistent with the message. If you don’t, it’s a no-win game. You aren’t participating in the trend, you’re trying to feed off of it. There’s a big difference and your customers are the first to know.

What marketing faux pas’ have you seen lately?

Many purveyors of social media have declared that traditional marketing is dead. In their minds, direct mail was the first casualty in the battle between viral and old school sales tools. Their rally cry “Stop marketing and start engaging” is gaining traction as companies seek new ways to generate revenue without increasing costs.

The idea of going viral in a social media world is appealing. It’s easy to imagine your company racking up page views on YouTube, tweets on twitter, and posts in blogs around the world. It is only a matter of time before mainstream media picks it up and your shopping carts and cash registers are filled.

I can imagine winning the lottery, too.

While stories of viral marketing entertain, most don’t offer tangible results. You know where I’m going, but I’m going to say it anyway. The purpose of business is to serve customers at a profit. Borrowing a phrase from our viral past, “where’s the beef?”

Social media is a great add-on to a solid marketing plan. When it is done well, companies are humanized and approachable. There isn’t a down side if the plan includes maintaining or enhancing the brand while continuing traditional marketing.

Unlike social media, direct mail is tangible.

You can hold it in your hand; you don’t have to store it in your head. Catalogs can be marked, post-noted, and shared. They have a longer life than a video, tweet, or post.

Direct mail can be personal and convenient.

Admittedly, many companies blast out mailing with little thought to the people opening the mailbox. They target a demographic and send thousands of pieces to uninterested parties. They can do this because it is profitable. A 1-3% response rate usually exceeds the breakeven point. (BTW, for catalogs selling “collectibles”, living in a rural area doesn’t make me interested in knick-knack dust collectors. You can stop mailing me your books.)

Sorry, I needed to get that off my mind. Some companies do it differently. They use direct mail to engage their customers. American Girl is one that immediately comes to mind. My 10-year-old daughter watches the mail daily looking for anything American Girl. She can recognize their catalog and magazine from 100 feet. Their website is bookmarked under her computer login and their books are dog-eared from multiple readings. How can any parent say no to a company that inspires a child to read historical fiction?

Direct mail is measurable from concept to completion.

How many catalogs or postcards does it take to breakeven? When will the return from the mailing peak? How long is the tail? (Some catalogs generate orders years after they were mailed.) Almost any question you have about a mailing and its return on investment can be answered with analysis.

Social media is exciting, fun, intriguing, and should be included in your marketing plan. It is not a replacement for direct mail. Beware anyone who tells you differently.

Newton’s second law is the most powerful of the three. His formula, F = ma (where F is applied force, m is mass, and a is acceleration), says that the more force, the more acceleration. The way it works is obvious when you think about objects, but how does it apply to business?

Let’s think about snowballs.

When building a snowman, you need three snowballs. You start by forming a small ball in your hands. Then, you place it on the ground and roll it through fresh snow. Every inch it travels, it picks up snow and increases in size.

If the ground is flat and the snow cooperative, it doesn’t take a lot of force to move the ball at first. As the size increases, the weight creates a resistance to the movement. It takes greater force to move the snowball the same distance.

The same is true with growing your business. When you are first starting out or have a hot item, you have the newness factor. Generating PR is relatively easy and consumers are curious, so your business starts to grow. Unfortunately, the “new kid on the block” syndrome is short lived. It becomes harder and harder to expand your influence.

Then the flat surface morphs into a hill. It takes all of your energy to push the snowball forward. What happened to customers finding you and reporters responding to your press releases? They’ve moved on to the next new thing leaving you fighting gravity and friction for survival.

Marketing uphill happens.

When the newness of your business or the last hot item wears off, a mountain of resistance appears. This is when the reality of Newton’s second law kicks in. You have to have a boatload of money (and sometimes even that doesn’t work) or a new idea to move your snowball to the next level.

Some companies accept this as a fact of life and spend the next few decades trying to drive customers to buy. They have a marketing formula that they apply year in and out. It creates a step effect in their sales charts because sales repeatedly move up a bit and level off. The pattern is steady and predictable until the economy drops or their market changes, or any other external force is applied. (See Newton’s First Law.)

Then there are the companies that realize that uphill marketing is required to move their business to the next level. They have an action plan for the direction and force required to make it to top. And, when they get there, they know that they have work to fend off the competition. You want your company to be in this group.

When you plan for uphill marketing, sometimes you get lucky. When you reach the top there is a downhill slope on the other side. This is when your message goes viral or you land a spot on Oprah or some combination of the two. This is a good thing as long as you have a plan in place for the volume. Otherwise, you end up alienating customers and prospects.

Reducing the resistance decreases the force required to move the snowball.

The anti-resistance task force makes the snowball move easier. It consists of tools and tactics that build relationships. If you use them well, your marketing efforts consistently yield great results. Some tips to get you started:

1. Be known for the quality of your service. Always lead with your best shot. If your customers trust you, it is easier to encourage others to join them.
2. Use social media tools like twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin to introduce your company to prospects and connect with customers. Consistency is the key to success in this new media.
3. Email marketing is a great tool for communicating with your customers. If you are using it for promotions only, you are missing the opportunity to solidify your relationships.
4. Give freely. Fill your website, tweets, and blog with information that helps others. Focus on tips that benefit your customers. It improves your traffic, search engine optimization, and branding. And, it is good karma.
5. Build on your relationships. Ask your customers to introduce your company to their friends. If you are providing good service, then they won’t hesitate.

Growing a company is hard, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be fun. When everything is done right, the snowball appears to be in perpetual motion. This frees you to make more snowballs. After all, it takes more than one for a snowman. You don’t have to tell anyone how you reduced resistance and planned for growth. Let them think that you are able to defy the laws of physics.