May 04, 2016
Remember this?
Even if you didn’t catch the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards live, you’ve probably seen this ‘infamous’ moment on YouTube – and the Kanye Interrupts videos it inspired.
Taylor Swift barely had a chance to accept her award for Best Female Video when Kanye West rushed the stage, grabbed the microphone out of the startled teen’s hands and aired his objections.
“I’m sorry, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!” the rapper said, referring to the undeniably danceable “Single Ladies.” And there stands Swift, “moonman” in hand for her high school love song “You Belong With Me”—in stunned silence to a mix of boos and cheers.
The fallout?
Sales for all three performers—Swift, Beyoncé AND Kanye—skyrocketed in the months that followed.
“Finding new ways, more clever ways to interrupt people doesn’t work.”
– Seth Godin
Is this a case where “interruptive” marketing paid off? Could Seth Godin be wrong? Perhaps this brand of marketing works in the entertainment industry or in politics (e.g. Donald Trump), but what about for the rest of us?
The answer is…No.
No one wants to be interrupted.
Or ‘talked at.’
Or ‘sold to.’
The explosion of digital, the empowered customer, and the acceleration of innovation are having a profound impact on customer experiences and expectations. We seek authentic. We expect relevant. And we want it only when we are good and ready for it—not when you need to hit your sales quota. And if you don’t deliver on this, then we’ll avoid you, or worse, we’ll simply tune you out.
“If you talked to people the way advertising talked to people, they’d punch you in the face.”
– Hugh MacLeod
This continual pushing of brand messaging through traditional marketing methods, such as broadcast advertising, direct mail, display advertising and flashy booths at trade shows, is not only ineffective, it’s downright expensive! It should come as no surprise that marketing faces increased scrutiny and pressure every day to generate more consistent returns.
This new era of marketing accountability demands measurable go-to-market processes, active performance monitoring, and aggressive optimization of marketing investments for real value creation, as seen through the eyes and responses of the customers. Only then, can marketers capture the TopRight position in their industry.
When analysts and strategic consultants model company performance within an industry, there is invariably a two-by-two matrix that is used to portray where each competitor stacks up in terms of performance. Whether the axes are revenue versus profitability or growth versus market share, it always seems to turn out that the place to be is in the TopRight corner of that two-by-two matrix.
The next logical question is: How do you move your company and your brands to the TopRight corner?
The answer: Transformational Marketing.
Transformational Marketing literally transforms how your customer experiences you, understands you, and interacts with you. It is a change in mindset as well as methodology. No longer is the story simply about you and what you offer. Your brand, your products, and your services are not really the hero. The power and impact of your brand, your product, your services and your story comes from making the customer the hero, from being the guide on their buying journey.
Throughout the entire customer lifecycle, the intention, actually the requirement, is to deliver on the brand promise. Only then will prospects become customers, and customers become brand advocates. Why?
Because Transformational Marketing is not simply about what you do.
It is:
- Why you do what you do
- What it is you do, based on that why
- How you deliver it to your customers
- …and how it impacts their lives
It is this impact that gives customers a reason to care, a reason to buy, a reason to engage and a reason to stay. TopRight companies routinely beat their competition and perhaps even change the rules of the game as they become category leaders and category definers.
Transformational Marketing is how you move TopRight:
- TopRight of your industry in terms of your financial performance
- TopRight of setting the benchmark to which others aspire
- TopRight of mind share and advocacy, where your customers don’t just buy your products and services, they tell your story for you because your story matters to them
If you want to learn how to transform your marketing, transform customer engagement with your brand, and transform your results, then our new eBook: Transformational Marketing – Moving to the TopRight is perfect for you. Download it for free by clicking on the button below.
