Mike de Block

A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business!

“Word of mouth (WOM) is the currency of how people spend their money” is a catchy one-liner that summarizes all the recent studies and keynotes from so-called marketing guru’s. In short, kind and human brands will trive in our connected economy as consumers can increasingly identify themselves with these brands. Once, this occurs, consumers are increasingly spreading recommendations within their social circle. But how does this relate to the title….

It relates as good companies should be more like Jezus and Walt Disney. Why? as they are good storytellers, who created lots of followers. Identification is crucial, which can only be developed over a period of time. Brands have to invest in their customers and create shared characteristics or desires in order to start a conversation. Storytelling thus has become the way to influence people and change perceptions. A good example is orange juice producer Tropicana. As part of their Brighter Mornings campaign, the Canadian division of  Tropicana, brought a 36-foot wide helium balloon ‘sun’ to Inuvik, an Arctic Town (Canada) 200km north of the Arctic Circle whose 3,500 residents face 31 days of darkness in winter.

Another example is from Proctor & Gamble-owned secret deodorant, who wanted to ‘Blow People Away’. So when someone wrote on Secret’s Facebook wall that she couldn’t buy Secret in Spain, P&G weren’t able to just send her products from the US because of customs regulations. However, an agency executive took some to Italy on an unrelated trip and then mailed them to her from there. Thirdly, think of standing in que for a Easyjet or Ryaniar flight, were lots of people are going mad when they are refused to enter the plane, because of their oversized luggage that they haven’t paid for(seen on TV). Imagine when the scale says ” your ego maybe this big, but your hand luggage will be this” people will enter the scale device with a smile. It creates a sense of goodwill as it is a unexpected sign of humanity.  Evoke emotion is thus the key, and most effective in an offline environment. A study from Nielsen (2009) already have proven that offline recommendations are superior to online recommendations. Whilst, the hype of the “online recommendation bubble” seem to burst as a study from German master student Sandra Stefan shows that 79% of the consumers believe that some consumers are being paid to produce positive recommendations or are even false. This leads to a nod of 36% of the participant when they are asked whether they find the abundance of recommendations confusing.

So you are saying…

Storytelling in a offline environment is the most powerful manner to change perceptions and create followers??….YES!!! This is one of those consumer trends that doesn’t demand a wholesale strategic shift, or long and expensive discussion, but simply the right attitude. It therefore surprises me somehow that the Sample Lab store as one of the most extremest forms of generosity concepts, isn’t being present on a global scale. As it actually allows consumers to shop for free, while paying with their knowledge via feedback. It’s market-research and WOM marketing in an offline environment offered as an customer experience. Does it tell a story of brand…No, but it does tell the story that these brands perceive consumers as individuals and that their opinion matter. And this perception might be the first step to prove that brands can be human as well….