Friendship Branding

I have been using Tide laundry detergent for years. My Mom, too. It managed to clean up the mess only a growing boy can make, spills from a menagerie of animals and dirt in my New York City apartment. That’s an example of a package goods brand that has won my loyalty.

In direct marketing building brand starts with putting yourself in your customer’s place – how do you like to be treated? What makes you feel special? What makes you feel safe? Every contact has to convey your brand personality. So the tone/voice in the acquisition package has to be the same as the collection letter or the announcement piece.

You may want to consider a process I call “Friendship Branding.” It’s what happens when you think about your brand in terms of being a real friend to your customers. The traits we value in our dearest friends, the people we trust the most, are traits we can use in developing our brand.

The basis of “Friendship Branding” is to relate to customers as you would relate to good friends. It’s especially important to be a good listener and work through any difficulties. You must be willing to do whatever it takes to keep the relationship strong. Here are just a few examples of friendship branding:

• Years ago, I was flying down to my parents’ 65th wedding anniversary and American Airlines lost my luggage. I couldn’t believe it – the dress, the shoes, the bag…I had nothing to wear to this really special party that was planned for that same evening! I stood at that counter at the Miami Airport expecting to get “the runaround.” I was fuming and just waiting for the woman behind the counter to tell me that I needed to fill out a stack of forms. I was sure she was going to be completely unsympathetic. But that’s not at all what happened. When I explained the situation, the woman behind the counter gave me a check to buy a new dress and she even got a driver to take me to the department store! American Airlines – I am forever loyal to you!
• New Pig is a company that sells products to clean up industrial waste. That’s “P.I.G.” for “Partners in Grime.” They’ve become a leader in the field because of the quality of their products and also because of the great brand personality they developed. Their catalog, called a “Pigalog,” features a pig who comments on the special benefits of products. Fallacies about clean up issues are highlighted in “Hog Wash” graphics. The company phone number is 1-800-HOT–HOGS. Through this strong brand personality New Pig has been successful in term of differentiating their company and building relationships. We appreciate a person who has a great upbeat attitude. Likewise, a company that’s developed a strong likable personality is a pleasure to do business with…especially for people who deal with sludge!
• Southwest Airlines: People just love this no-frills low fares airline. The reason? Because Southwest knows how to treat customers. They realize that customers are won or lost at the front lines and they will “break the rules” to help customers. They are totally customer-focused. And sometimes they throw peanuts at you when you are boarding!

Friendship Branding has to be incorporated into a company’s vision and processes. It has to start at the top of an organization and earn buy-in from employees at all levels. In your own organization, identify who deals directly with customers and how they can be more empowered to use Friendship Branding techniques.

If you want to learn more about Friendship Branding, I’ve written a book, Customers for Keeps: 8 Powerful Strategies to Turn Customers into Friends and Keep them Forever! It’s available at amazon.com and bn.com ,p>I think any company can use the ideas of Friendship Branding and every company should! Once you begin testing “Friendship Branding” you will see a change in your business, in your employees, and in yourself. ,p>Does your company incorporate any great “Friendship Branding” techniques that you’d like to share? Do you have know of any other companies that are great “Friendship Branders?” Email me at the link above – I’d love to hear from you!
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LOIS K. GELLER is president of Mason & Geller Direct Marketing, a full service direct response agency in NYC. Mason & Geller creates direct marketing plans, direct mail campaigns, direct response commercials and other offline and online strategic services for many blue chip businesses as well as smaller companies. Lois is the author of RESPONSE! The Complete Guide to Profitable Direct Marketing as well as Customers for Keeps. Lois is also the developer of the popular corporate training seminar “Direct Marketing Boot Camp” which she has delivered to over 100 top organizations.