Sage Blog

We recently exhibited at the Business Start Up Show at Excel, in London.  It was a great show.  It always is.  We had an unusually large stand this year – one with a drinks and food bar at its centre.

This bar has always been a bone of contention with me; yes, it brings customers to the stand, but are they really interested in ‘us’?  And why can’t they clean up after themselves?  It’s not like there’s not a bin provided!

I was pondering this as I collected the umpteenth empty cup from a computer pod, and whilst heading across the stand to the bin, grumbling about untidiness, I was stopped by a lady who was sat nearby who was ‘people watching’.

She said “It’s a great stand you’ve got here, you know?”

To which I replied “thank you”, and took a seat next to her, asking her name and what she liked about the stand.

Her answer was so unusual it prompted me to write this blog post.

What Laura said was “Your stand is so open and welcoming.  It’s almost a ‘destination’ stand… and you know” looking at the rubbish in my hand, “a Mother’s love is unconditional.”

Looking slightly confused I asked her what she meant.

“Well… your stand and your team are doing such a good job of being open, friendly and helpful, that despite the fact some people leave litter, people are flocking to your demos and you’re creating a hugely positive impression of caring for your audience.

So – a mother’s love is unconditional – you’re giving your ‘love’ unconditionally to your customers, and you’re being rewarded for it.  Despite a bit of mess, you’ll be better thought of by everyone using your stand – whether they’re buying today or not.”

Now isn’t that an interesting way to look at marketing?  And, with a bit of lateral thought, I’d like to bet that applies to Social Media too.

So, here are five of my observations and learnings that you might want to consider when doing anything ’social’, and that includes networking, events, and online:

1.      When you’re talking to your customers, you must always ‘give’.  You will get some people who take advantage, but the vast majority will respect you for it.

2.      You will always have detractors.  You will always have evangelists.  Your job is to make sure that the evangelists outnumber the detractors at any one time.

3.      Always do what you say you will do, even if it costs you time or money.  The fact that you do ‘it’ despite it costing you, builds trust and integrity in your customer’s mind.

4.      Give the customer an ‘experience’.  Make sure they will take away a positive view of you.  Even if they don’t buy there and then, they will become your advocates.

5.      If you find you cannot fulfil your end of the bargain, apologise, and tell them the real reason why you cannot do what you said you would do.

What would you add to this list?

Jason Sullock, Small Business Team

Jason and his team are busy organising Sage World, a free business event.  Register for your Sage World ticket today.

Offering social proof – showing that other people have taken a similar decision – is a proven method of driving marketing response rates.

Jason Sullock

Negative social proof

But one of the most common mistakes, made even by experienced marketers, is provide negative social proof.  And this, with the best of intentions, can actually decrease the likelihood of getting you a good result.

Surely no-one would do such a thing?

You’d think so wouldn’t you?  But it happens all the time… the sign in your Doctor’s Surgery that tells you ‘36 patients did not show up for their appointments last month’… the notice at the National Park that tells you ‘Your countryside is being spoilt every day by the picking of wild flowers’… the politician who tells you ‘22 million young people did not vote in this year’s election’.

What these examples tell you as the reader or the listener is that ‘this is the norm’.

In fact, in one test, a negative social proof statement actually increased the rate of theft of petrified wood in an Arizona National Park by a whopping 5%; whereas the picture of a lone thief and a simple statement asking the tourists ‘not to steal’ reduced the rate by 1.25%.

Another test, again in Arizona, improved the level of recycling by 25.4%, simply by displaying the slogan ‘Arizona recycles’ and an outline of the state filled with the smiling faces of different people.

Clear evidence of how important the use of positive social reinforcement can be.

Using positive social reinforcement in the workplace

And this can be taken into your workplace too.  Rather than expressing disappointment at how many members of staff have not implemented a new process (and highlighting that people have not listened to you), it might be more advantageous to publish a list of all those who have already done so.

So the next time you’re trying to change a situation… think positive.

Jason Sullock, Customer Marketing Manager in Sage’s Small Business Division and author of 555 Quick n Dirty Marketing Tips