“The new marketing is more than a way of doing; it is a way of thinking. It begins with an understanding of the distinctive characteristics of services – their invisibility and intangibility – and the unique nature of service prospects and users-their fear, their limited time, their sometimes illogical ways of making decisions, and their most important drives and needs…” Harry Beckwith — Selling The Invisible
One of my favorite marketing books of all time, Selling The Invisible, was written by a man named Harry Beckwith. Though this book was written in 1999 and a whole lot has changed since then, I would say that this book should be considered a Marketing Classic or at least a must read, right up there with “Blue Ocean Strategy (Chan Kim) and Purple Cow (Seth Godin).
In my opinion, one of the more insightful sections of the books is called “Marketing is Not A Department”. Throughout my career, I have always been part of a Marketing Team that was charged with growing sales or bringing the brand back from the brink of extinction or irrelevance. As I do now, I have always found this dynamic pretty peculiar, and Selling The Invisible helped me have a “EUREKA” moment. Being a stand-alone brand is not all about slick advertising copy and multi-milliondollar campaigns. If it were, numerous companies would not have to consistently have painful layoffs and “restructuring”.
In fact, being a stand-alone brand isn’t even about the Marketing per se’. It is about creating a culture where everyone and every touchpoint is marketing the business. How many times have you pulled up to a restaurant and seen the cook in the back smoking with other employees? He/she walks back into the kitchen, and in seconds they are back on the line grilling your burger. How about the customer service agent that gives you attitude or confusion, but definitely no service or solutions?
That is marketing also, except it is bad marketing. It is no wonder that many Human Resources and Talent Acquisition folks discuss employer branding. How do prospective employees see your company is a big area of concern right now.
If job seekers are looking at how your brand represents itself, what do you think customers are thinking? How do you invest in the community? How do you treat the high school senior that needs work to help pay for college in the fall? Do you have a clean business? Are your managers fair? Do you encourage your team to compromise their integrity? All of these things make a difference. If you are spending thousands on marketing, you should you check these other areas of your business first. If you aren’t, you might just be throwing money away.
What we are seeing is a dramatic shift in how our brands show up in the world, which now includes every touchpoint and every interaction, no matter how small and insignificant. When you believe that Marketing is not a department, you know and your teams know that growing a stand-alone brand depends on creating a positive perception and expectation in the minds of the customer when they experience your brand.
One of the best examples I can think to demonstrate this point was during my time as Marketing Director for Outback Steakhouse. We used the standard Secret Shoppers scores as well as internal metrics for guest satisfaction and Operations (cleanliness, staffing, etc.). One of our proprietors wanted to execute a more aggressive marketing plan. Despite the fact that ALL of his guest service measures were in the toilet, the proprietor of the restaurant strongly encouraged his marketing rep to turn on marketing support. His rationale was that the staff would be energized by more folks coming into the building, which would make them perform better.
Well….as you might have guessed, we (Marketing) lost the battle. Not only did we invest in an operationally sinking ship, but he continued to experience sales declines because of poor service and execution. Comments ranging from host being too busy on texting and talking on their phones to talk to the guests to trash being on the ground in the parking lot were all too common. Timeless comments indeed….Marketing indeed is NOT a department.
Winning Those Defining Moments
Jan Carlzon wrote in his book Moments of Truth, that anytime a customer comes in contact with your brand, its people or services forms an impression of the quality service they provide, it should be considered a Moment of Truth. Because perception is often reality and the customer’s truth is defined by a single interaction, I call these interactions “Defining Moments. They are the small touches that build an expectation and belief in the customer’s mind whether you are an excellent or an absolute zero.
How to win a defining moment? Schedule one day per month to review guest communication and expectations. Explain to the team that the interaction with the guest starts long before they order or pay for their food. There are dozens of defining moments (too many to list here), but here is a partial list of what should be covered in monthly training:
- Is the website up to date? Are operating hours current?
- What does the parking lot look like? Is it well lit? Is it clean?
- Where do you stand on overall cleanliness? Who is responsible for maintaining cleanliness?
- Is everyone wearing the same uniforms?
- Review of guest service protocols and communication.
- Incidents that need to be reviewed.
- Review of guest recovery and manager engagement processes.
- Positive interactions that need to be recognized