I saw a commercial last night on TV. A guy was pasting up billboards of women dressed in swanky clothes. As he turned away to get the next poster, the women in the ones he’d already posted winked and waved and moved around. The posters had a single word across the top (I believe it said “Transform”). I was thinking: I know this is about women’s clothes, but who paid for it and what do they want me to buy? Neither the visuals nor the audio gave me a clue. Till the last few seconds when the word KOHLS came on the screen. [Raise your hand if you knew that Kohls is a department store with 749 stores in 43 states catering to suburban women]. I said to my wife that if you didn’t know what Kohls is, the commercial would be a waste of money. My wife replied with two words: “Women know.”

Far be it from me to doubt the veracity of that statement. The problem was I was thinking of the commercial as a way to get new customers when actually it was a way to communicate with their existing ones – Preaching to The Choir. It all came together this morning as I put on a tee shirt to run (OK walk) on the treadmill. The shirt said, in big letters “I LOVE YOU MAN” and had a Budweiser logo. Remember that ad campaign? I doubt that it, or the talking frogs (or was it lizards?) got anyone to order a Bud for the first time. But it probably gave those already in the Bud flock something to feel good about and a reason not to stray.

Leaving aside the question of why women feel good about clothes and men about grunting amphibians, let’s look at the concept of Preaching to The Choir. Seth Goodin would probably argue that if your product is so bland that you have to resort to an animated swamp to differentiate it then commercials are a horribly wasteful way to do this. I don’t disagree. However, the need remains to connect with your customers after the sale. Another way to say it is, give your customers some reason to have a relationship with you that goes beyond the product.

Relationship beyond the Sale
This is why companies give out hats with their logo on them, why companies invite their best customers to an annual golf outing or such. If you think the relationship ends with the sale, you’re being very short sighted. For two reasons. First, it’s usually cheaper and easier to make your next sale to an existing customer than to a new one. Second, some percentage of those customers will become promoters for you if you give them a reason to.

Harley’s got it’s HOGS – Apple computer has evangelists – Jimmy Buffet has his Parrot Heads. Who do you have? I know, you’re going to tell me that you make ball bearings, which don’t exactly lend themselves to a lifestyle choice; or that you install wood floors and your customers only buy from you once; or that all this hoopla is too expensive. Well OK if you say so – let your competition get all the goodwill and referral business.

Personalize it
With a little imagination, and personalization, preaching to the choir can reap huge rewards. None of these ideas will appeal to all your customers. You can’t do a mass media thing. But that’s the beauty of a small company – you can get to know your customers and develop ideas that may only apply to some of them.

• Some people do like hats – or golf for that matter, but a lot of people like to be asked their opinion.
• Can you invite some folks to a forum or a dinner where they help you design your next product, or improve your customer interaction?
• Can you host a blog where people write in with stories of how they’ve used your stuff?
• Stew Leonard’s grocery store has a bulletin board where they post pictures people send in holding up a Stew Leonard’s grocery bag in places that range from in front of their RV or campsite to in front of the Eiffel Tower or the Pyramids. I always wanted to send one of my holding their bag in front of Kroger’s or Stop & Shop, but I doubt they’d put it up.
• Lexus dealers in various cities have been known to chip in together and buy premium parking slots at local sports events. For free (or cheap) Lexus owners get to park there. It’s a visible advertising thing as well to others who walk by. They also have free barbecue and other giveaways.
• When I was in sixth grade, my friend Johnny Salkin was some kind of tester for the Life Saver Candy company. He got new experimental flavors to evaluate and tell them what he thought. Man, did I want to be on that mailing list. I still remember it when I buy their candy.

Takeaways:

• Do something extra for your customers.
• A gift is nice, but better is to set up something they can contribute to or be a part of.
• The key word is not preaching or choir – it’s relationship.