I could have taken umbrage, but I didn’t. What she was really getting at is that her mind functions very differently to mine. Her spelling is often patchy, but she has a wonderful sense of colour and shape. She’s hopeless with foreign languages, but has a keen ear for English accents.
Her comment came after I’d mentioned that for me, days had colours. Monday is green, Tuesday is blue, Wednesday is orange, and so on.
Before you get worried, I don’t taste numbers or smell words or feel images. I just do the day/colour thing. That’s all.
I know what you’re thinking (maybe)
I thought about that episode again just recently when I watched Temple Grandin’s talk called The world needs all kinds of minds at TED 2010.
Grandin herself thinks in pictures, and says it took her a long time before she realised that others perceived the world in a very different way.
She identifies three groups, and gives examples of what professions they’re best suited to:
Visual thinkers, who make good graphic designers, photographers and creators.
Pattern thinkers, who often go on to become programmers and mathematicians.
Verbal thinkers, who want to know everything about everything, and make good journalists or actors.
Minds, audiences, messages
So how does all of this relate to your sales and marketing messages? The mailshots you send, the websites you put up, the brochures you write?
Well, it means that you need to really think about your audience.
And often, we don’t. We assume they’re visual, when actually they’re verbal. Or that they see patterns, when in fact, they see the whole picture. Or that they’re details people, like we are – but really, they’re not.
So what can you do to get around it? Well why not:
Use pictures and words. Combine strong graphics that send out a clear, positive message, backed up by enough detail to satisfy the curious.
Summarise and give detail. If you use headings and bullets, skimmers can skim. And details-focused people can read the bits in between.
Offer them a choice.Looking for technical details? Step this way, sir. Want a marketing overview? Second on the left, madam. If you structure your copy so people can branch off, you’ll keep all the minds happy.
And always remember, that what you think is obvious may not be that obvious. As sure as night follows day.
And as sure as Saturday is red (but then, you knew that, didn’t you?).
Remember the last time you saw a photo of yourself? I’m betting you didn’t like it. Maybe it was a bad angle, or the light wasn’t too good. Maybe you were caught unawares. Or maybe you just don’t like being photographed (I know where you’re coming from).
But another part, a big part of seeing a photo of ourselves, is that we don’t recognise ourselves. Why not? Because everything’s in reverse, the wrong way round.
Except it’s not.
That parting on the left-hand side is actually on the right in real life. The freckle on your nose is actually where it looks like it is. And your good side is actually your bad side.
The thing that throws us is that we’re seeing ourselves as others see us.
And that’s always a bit of a shock to the system.
Dog bites man
When you’re putting your message out, you need to have a little out-of-body experience now and then. In fact, the more often you do it, the better.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I worked for a big software company. For a product launch, our ad agency – a bunch of hip dudes and dudesses with more attitude than a classful of teenagers – came up with a great series of adverts.
Everybody loved them.
But the one that caught my eye featured a man tussling with a woman, topped off with what (to me, at least) looked like a slightly sexist headline.
It was daring, different and what would nowadays be called ‘edgy’ (back then, edgy meant irritable).
I thought it wouldn’t work, and said so. All eyes in the room turned on me, like a pack of ravening hyenas.
I stood my ground, repeated my opinion, and left it at that.
Two weeks later, I was sitting behind a two-way mirror with my colleagues watching a focus group run through the ads. When they came to the sexist one, I held my breath. But I think I was the only one – everybody else was convinced the ad would go down a storm.
It didn’t. It bombed from the very start.
And oddly enough, it was the men who thought it was most unacceptable. Perhaps it was because they were in mixed company. Perhaps it was because they knew there were under observation.
Or perhaps it was because it really was an awful advert.
Whatever the reason, its fate was sealed there and then, and it headed for cutting-room floor.
And the campaign? It was a huge success, boosting software sales and winning awards.
Step away from the campaign, sir
So what if you can’t afford a focus group? Well why not:
Phone a friend. Ask an acquaintance, family member or networking contact. Try not to prejudice them by over-explaining the concept (you won’t have that luxury with real prospects).
Walk away from it. Leave it for a day, weekend or a week. I guarantee it’ll look different after you’ve taken a break.
Get round the other side of your desk. No, really, I mean it. If you have space, get round there now. Be somebody else – taller, shorter, female, male, older, younger. Pretend you’re not yourself and look at it as objectively as you can. You’ll be surprised what emerges.
Ask your clients. After all, they’re the ones who are destined to see it. Pick a few key clients that you know and trust, and run the idea by them. They’ll be chuffed you asked, and you’ll get some great insights.
And if you’re still not sure? Do a Dr Pepper (what’s the worst that could happen?).
Run it anyway, but be prepared to make changes. Measure from Day 1, and make course adjustments. Stay nimble and agile. Set yourself a cut-off date, and if it’s not working, and you’ve tried everything, jettison it and move on.
Third degree (honorary)
If you call me with a great idea for a campaign you’d like to run, don’t be surprised if I ask questions. Lots of them.
It’s not that I don’t think you’ve got a great idea – it’s just that it’s the first time I’ve heard it, and I’m standing back, then getting up close, kicking the tyres and running my hand over it.
It allows me to see it objectively, evaluate it, and gain some perspective. And it allows you do to the same.
Wow, said a potential client recently, you’re so clever. You ask things I’d never even think of.
Clever, me? Maybe. But actually I’m asking questions from a position of complete ignorance.
Which is just another name for objectivity.
But don’t tell anyone.
Find out more:
Two wrongs might make a right. Yes, you can make mistakes – in fact, you should, otherwise you’re not trying. Check out Sunny Bates on Linchpins, Passion and Fear and you’ll see what I mean.
Feedback frenzy. Diamond Shreddies vs. Square Shreddies – can you tell the difference? They can (well they think they can, and that’s all that matters).
Poor targeting and a missed opportunity (bad). But perfect pitch (good).
Three things caught my eye this week. But first, a digression…
Years ago, I was in a restaurant with my boss and a group of colleagues. My boss was pretty fearsome, and took no prisoners when it came to service.
Her opening line to the waitress was chillingly direct.
“I usually tip 20%,” she said. “In fact, the tip is already 20%. But here’s the catch – from now on, I’m going to deduct points for bad service. OK? Now I’d like to order.”
The poor girl stared with rapt attention, and the service never wavered for the whole of the time we were there. It was impeccable.
My boss’s secret was simple. She knew what she wanted. She asked for it. She got it.
On another occasion, at another restaurant, she requested a sauce that wasn’t on the menu. The waitress, who this time hadn’t had the 20% routine (my boss varied her tactics) said she was sorry, but that it wouldn’t be possible.
“Why not?” barked my boss.
“Because we’d have to make the sauce up,” said the girl, faltering slightly in the glare of the blue-eyed headlights.
“Oh right,” said my boss with exaggerated emphasis. “I see. I mean, it’s not as if this is a restaurant or anything, with ingredients all over the place. You’d have to make up the sauce.”
The dripping irony had its effect. And before long, that special sauce was dripping too.
1. Close (but no cigar)
I was reminded of the second restaurant episode recently. If anywhere knows about sauces, it’s a restaurant.
And if anybody knows about technology, and how to use it, it’s a technology company. But it doesn’t always work out that way.
Just last week, I got a letter from Google with a little surprise in it (well more than one, but we’ll get to that bit).
Here’s what it contained:
The word ‘discover’ should have set alarm bells ringing. But it didn’t.
Inside was a credit-card-sized voucher with a unique code. I logged into my AdWords account and entered the code, relishing the thought of 75 smackers off my next bill.
Not so fast.
Because here’s what it said when I entered the code:
Too old? Well, yes, it’s years and years old. I’ve been using Google AdWords for longer than I can remember. I’m very, very happy with it.
Or at least I was.
Until they dangled £75 in front of me and took it away again. Is it really that difficult to de-duplicate a mailing campaign when you’re targeting prospects, so you exclude existing clients?
Sauce. Technology. Different consistency, same taste (bitter-sweet).
2. Don’t bank on it (the feature, that is)
Just as I’ve been using AdWords since the dawn of time, so too have I been a customer of the Royal Bank of Scotland since the good old days when banks were privately owned and collateralised debt obligations and credit-default swaps were a twinkle in the eye of a Wall St banker.
In fact, I was one of their online-banking beta customers, way back in the mid-90s. And recently, they sent me a leaflet extolling the virtues of their online service:
Can you spot the problem?
Yes, they got the headline the wrong way round. Make the most of digital banking isn’t the best thing about digital banking. It’s the time you save.
So that should be in a big, bold, brash font that shouts Benefit!followed by the more sober feature. And somebody close that gap, please.
It’s Marketing 101. Feature (banking) and benefit (time).
Which would you pick? (Thought so.)
3. U and non-U
And lastly, a company that gets it exactly right.
HTC, who make those super-sexy smartphones, realise that a phone is just a phone. What makes it special is you, as this advert shows.
Their closing line sums it up exactly: You don’t need to get a phone. You need a phone that gets you. It’s simple, direct and hits the mark.
Every January, I play a little game. I check how long it is before I see the evergreen headline New Year, New You! somewhere.
In past years, winners have been my gym, The Times, and my ex-ex-mobile phone operator (brand loyalty isn’t my strong suit).
This year, the winner was Tesco. For there, above the magazine rack in my local store, were those four fateful words. And it was only 29 December. That took the biscuit (low-fat, Light Choices, of course).
Why does it work year after year?
Because change is good. Any change.
And what goes for our faces, figures and jobs also goes for our businesses, brands and corporate image.
The constant constant
No brand can afford to stand still. But not all brands change for the same reason. Some want to, some need to, and some do it just because they can.
So why would you want to change your brand?
It’s stale. What seemed like a great logo, tagline or look simply doesn’t cut it any more. You’re tired of seeing it, tired of hearing it, tired of putting it out there. And guess what? Your customers probably feel the same way.
It’s invisible. ‘Brand blindness’ inevitably sets in among your target audience. Been there, done that. Nothing to see, move on. Change your look and they’ll sit up and take notice again.
It’s falling behind. Makeovers are a me-too thing. If everybody else is doing them, and you’re not, it doesn’t matter how strong your brand is. It’s a game, so learn to do it well and often.
Sometimes, there’s simply no option. A takeover, for example, means that somebody loses out. When HSBC took over Midland Bank, a brand that had been on UK high streets for over a century disappeared without a trace.
The same happened recently when the Spanish giant Santander swallowed up Abbey, Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester. But when it comes to brands, bigger isn’t always better, as Barclays’ ill-fated ‘big bank’ advertising campaign proved.
Consumers like choice, and smaller banks, with a cosy, corner-shop feel, are preferable to huge multinationals. In an interesting development, the charmingly named Williams and Glyn’s bank looks set to re-emerge from the rubble if the Royal Bank of Scotland is broken up.
Froth with wings
Times change, and brands do too. Could there be a more iconic brand of the boom era than Starbucks? From humble beginnings in 1970s Seattle, it spread around the world and became synonymous with coffee.
Dot.com entrepreneurs hung out with grungy college students, lounging in battered leather seats with chill-out music wafting among the tables.
But that was then. This is now.
Big is now Bad: big banks, big investment houses, big bonuses.
Small is the new big. So Starbucks is going small again, launching unbranded coffee shops in an effort to lure people back.
So if you wander into 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea in Seattle, and think what a welcome alternative to Starbucks, you’re in for a surprise.
Because it’s Starbucks.
The stuff of legend
Sometimes, you really have no choice, and a makeover is not just an option – it’s the only option.
2010 sees the relaunch of a venerable old magazine, with a 90-year track record. The new title is to be Canada’s History.
It’s not going to set the world on fire, but at least it has the virtue of being immediately recognisable and obvious. Unlike its old title, which caused chaos with spam filters in the digital age.
For up until now, it’s revelled in a delightfully unfortunate name.
“I don’t want to insult their intelligence,” said a client to me recently. “Do you really think we need to tell them what to do again?”
Yes you do, I thought.
“Yes you do,” I said.
Why?
Because buying is stressful (cast your mind back to Christmas). You want reassurance. You want to be told that you’ve made the right choice. You need reasons to go ahead and not just turn on your heel and flee the store. Or close that web page.
You want to know what to do next. So why are your customers, readers or prospects any different?
They’re not.
So make it easy, make it clear and say it again. And again.
Just this week, I realised once more the power of signs when I was working out at my gym.
First, I saw this one:
And then this one:
Button number 1 is a polite, well-behaved button. Sensible, low-key and probably not very effective. Button number 2 screams Emergency!
Which is exactly what it should do.
More is less
Good signs are clear, obvious and easily noticed. It could be a button on your site, a big bright heading in a letter, a bold underline instruction on what to do next in a brochure.
But be careful.
Where it comes to signs, there’s a fine line – and if you cross it, you get diminishing returns. If you have too many signs, they overwhelm people, so they blank them all out.
Let’s go back to the gym. Not the one above, but another I used to go to. It did signs – lots of them.
Please put your towel in the bin provided. Please replace weights carefully. Please dry off before entering the changing area. Please shower before entering the pool. No running or jumping in pool. Male and female changing rooms swapped today only. Goggles must be worn. Training tops are obligatory. Sign up a friend and get 20% off.
See how easy it is to miss an important sign?
Before you know it, you’re a man, in the men’s changing room, but it’s full of naked women (read it again – slowly this time).
When it comes to signs, less really is more. And a few simple rules will make your signs stand out:
Be focused: work out your key messages and stick to them. Don’t give people too many choices or they won’t make any choice.
Repeat yourself. You should include your call to action regularly in your copy – at the bottom of every web page, in your headers and footers, in call-out boxes and headlines. Make it crystal-clear what you want people to do, and say it as often as possible.
Make it easy. How often have you been on a site and got caught in a loop or trapped in a dead end? It happened to me just the other day. I was ordering a USB drive, but wanted to double-check the spec before I completed the order. But I couldn’t go back to check, like I do when I’m ordering a book on Amazon. All I could do was click Pay now. So I didn’t. I simply found a more user-friendly site and bought there instead.
Give them more. People are often looking for reasons to use you. Why wouldn’t they be? If you’re the company, the brain-frying, mind-boggling, toe-curling, buttock-clenching search is over. Give them lots of reasons why they should look no further – and make them as prominent as possible.
Pretend you’re them. Or put another way, take the ‘tourist test’ (walk around your own town/city, slavishly follow the signs, ask for directions and follow them to the letter). When you’re inside the mind of the reader, customer or prospect, things look very different indeed. So go with the flow, and anticipate their questions, problems and needs.
Waving, not drowning
I did press one of the emergency buttons – the smaller one. I didn’t mean to, but my hand caught it as I prised myself out of the leg-extension machine.
I froze, and waited for the flashing lights, alarm bells and solicitous staff running to my assistance, first-aid box in hand.
It didn’t happen. In fact, nothing happened. Which goes to prove another truth when it comes to signs.
