| LEARNING TO SEE #4.5: How NOT to Market Your Work It's critical to keep the "human" in our marketing.
Last week, I wrote about how Steak Umm took the Internet by storm, because a guy incorporated his own personal ethic, authenticity, and inclusion into a national frozen food marketing campaign.
Yes, he wants you to buy their product, and he says so.
But he's going to make your life better even if you don't.
Let me share the exact opposite of that experience today.
Awhile back, I found a jar of honey at TJ Maxx. (Yep, quite a while back!) My husband uses honey in everything, so I bought it.
He loved it, so I searched for it online to buy more. It was expensive, and so was shipping. So I bought in bulk so as to a) stock up, and b) to meet their minimum order to save on shipping.
Now we're almost out. So I went back to the website to order more. But they were out of stock.
I searched the entire website, trying to find a way to contact them. Most websites have a way to "sign up" for when items are restocked, but not this one. I couldn't even find a way to email, call, or fill out a form to get that information. Just a form to sign up for their email newsletter.
I finally found a way to contact them, but it wasn't easy. I asked how I could find out when they restocked the honey.
A week later (yep, you read that right, too!) I got a response, (Yes, it's the pandemic. But they were still selling online and still filling orders, so why not responding to a shopper who wants to buy something?)
Here's their email: Thank you so much for your email and your interest in our products! I encourage you to follow us on Social Media (Facebook & Instagram) as well as make sure you are signed up for our newsletter because we do have some new products in the pipeline that I think you might be very in. Thanks again for your continued support of our small business!
See anything wrong with this picture? (Hint: LOTS!) For us grammar nerds, there is no need to capitalize "social media". Also the incomplete sentence at the end of that first paragraph.There is no mention of "honey", the one product I inquired about.I was asked to "follow" them on social media, AND subscribe to their newsletter, becauseThey have new products coming soon that I might be interested in (Might.)Which may or may not be "honey".
So after I showed my "loyalty" by buying a shit-load of their product, at full-market price (did I mention it was expensive?) and trying to order more, and having to spend enough time looking for how to find out when I could buy more (bad website design), and waiting a week for their response with no apology or explanation (email needs no shelter-in-place violation).
I'm being asked to add their newsletter to my email inbox (which I did not sign up for on the website), did not address my request ("Can I sign up for notifications when it's restocked?"), asked me to follow them on two social media websites (which felt like I had to "prove" my loyalty to their brand) and I still don't know if or when they will have that dang honey again. And they added me to their newsletter, even though I did not sign up for it!
When I told my husband, he said, "It's good honey, but really, I don't care that much. I can get some at Trader Joe's."
So this "luxury honey" company just lost a customer. Unless I can find it again at TJ Maxx!
Consider this "marketing strategy" compared to Steak Umm.
Steak Umm guy was transparent. ("Yes, I want you to buy our products.")
But Steak Umm guy also cared about people over product. We didn't have to "do" anything to get the information he shared on Twitter.
("Even if you don't buy our product, I want you to be safe, and I want you to have good information about this situation to keep you safe.")
Steak Umm guy didn't ask us to buy a Steak Umm before we could get this useful and compassionate information. (He asked for us to be kind and patient with people who were "doing it wrong".)
In fact, while researching this for last week's column, I discovered Steak Umm also did a marketing campaign along the same lines I did with my series on millennials. They urged people to not judge and ridicule millennials, and to better understand the difficulties those younger generations are dealing with. Hurrah!
Steak Umm treated us like people with needs, who offered to help with those needs above and beyond their product line.
Honey people just want me to buy more stuff. They don't care about my needs, they only care about their sales. I only want honey. They want me to buy anything else instead.
The honey company person who emailed me never even used my name.
How can we apply this to our marketing?
When we load an image to our website or other social media, and all we have is an image and a price tag, we are following the honey company protocols.
When a customer asks about our work, and we respond with, "SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER!" we are showing them our priorities matter more than theirs.
We are asking them to trust us before we even give them a reason to.
How can we do better? Be human. When we post an image, we can share a story behind it. "I did this series because of my love for horses. They represent courage in my imagined Paleolithic world."
Give what's free to online visitors (that's also free for you): "I wanted to catch the feeling of space, and wonder, the feeling of joy we get from nature, and a sense of wild freedom in this landscape, especially during these hard times." Or, "I hope this still life gives you the same sense of calm and serenity as I did when I painted it, whether you buy it or not. Enjoy!"
We can offer layaway to people who can afford our work, just not right now.
We can show appreciation for customers who do buy our work. "I love this piece, and I love that it is going to a loving home! Thank you!" "Let me know if you have questions, or if there's another, similar work that might work better for you."
Reward loyal customers over new customers. (This is like the magazines and newspapers that offer a huge discount to new customers, rather than loyal readers that have subscribed for years. Yes, it works to get new sales. But trust me, your loyal customers have earned a reward, too.) I had recently raised my prices on certain pieces, but honored the original price to a recent customer who has some major pieces of mine in their collection. They were ecstatic!
When people land on your website, their first connection with you should NOT be a request to sign up for your email newsletter. (Even Clint Watson's series, which focuses on how important our email newsletter is, says he hates that!) You're showing them you care more about 'the numbers' than their needs. Trust me. It's annoying!
Finally, be human. Yes, sales are important. Sales are wonderful. Sales help us either pay the bills or at least help us pay our materials. But sales are a transaction, between one human (us!) and another human (our collectors.) Mutual admiration and respect are critical.*
When we learn to see from a different perspective, when we see people instead of just numbers, when we understand people have to trust us before they spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on our work, then marketing is just another way to help people who will love our work, to find us.
Show them we don't see them a faceless bucket o'money. I hate the people who dismiss "Lookie Lou's"** as time-wasters and annoyances. First, not everyone wants to, nor can, buy our work. And all collectors start out as "Lookie Lou's"-until they decide to purchase our work.
They arrive, they look, and if they like what they see, and like how you handle their inquiries, if you resist not judging how/when they actually buy something, then they become our passionate audience.
There is not enough money in the world that can "buy" a passionate audience. It can't be bought. It has to be earned, with respect, integrity, and a viable product.
Tell them, "I see you." I. See. YOU. And let them see you, too.
Have you formed powerful connections with potential customers, especially during this insane time? Share in the comments! I'd love to hear what worked for you, and so will others.
p.s. *Maybe I will follow them in Instagram. I just checked their account, and found this: "ATTENTION ALL DADS. Your children will not be bringing home homemade Mothers' Day gifts from school this year. You have less than 15 days. You have been warned." Ahhhh, that's better! (Oops, all the other posts are just "buy me". Maybe not.)
**I looked up the spelling before I posted this, and it's spelled every which-way you can imagine!
As always, if this article inspired you today, please pass it on to someone else who might like it, too. And if someone sent this to you today, and you liked it, you can see more advice on art marketing at Fine Art Views, more of my articles on FAV, and subscribe to my email newsletter at my website at LuannUdell.com. | 