Give them a story to tell

Consider these two marketing strategies that are not your typical avenues:

Strategy no. 1

Consider the pound of Starbucks that you buy at the grocery store. On the front of the packaging, there is a nice little graphic that makes the bag redeemable for a free cup of coffee at Starbucks. This is a wonderful marketing tool. Starbucks is pulling you into the store through another purchase you’ve already made. But even better, they are pulling you across channels. What would this look like for other industries and products? What if a concert ticket was redeemable at iTunes? Or what if items purchased at Amazon had a coupon for the brands retail location?

Strategy no. 2

I recently had an incredible experience at REI where none was deserved. Ultimately, they replaced a pair of boots that I didn’t buy at their store. I can’t stop telling people the story. It probably cost the company $75, maybe less, but it has increased my loyalty and made me into a walking marketing tool for them. Customer service is an often overlooked and under-appreciated marketing tool.

Marketing seems to be moving further and further into the user experience.

With the digital realm becoming more and more pervasive, there seems to be a shift into all aspects of marketing. Custom experiences are being built everywhere. We are a “me" society even more so today and we want to be catered to. How are you capitalizing on this in your marketing?

What would it look like to increase your customers’ experience? If your customers are businesses, how are you humanizing the experience, because after all B2B is really composed of individual experiences? When is the last time you called a client simply to say hello? In your last altercation or discrepancy with a customer, what would it have looked like to “give them a story" to tell their friends?

Marketing is holistic. It’s the details, the stories, the extras that sometimes differentiate you from the pack.

Give them a story to tell.