One of the challenges in the roll out of the "new marketing" is that it's difficult to measure.
Traditional brand marketers have a tried and true method for measuring ROI. This makes it safe and easy to demonstrate their value to the organization.
But, what's the measurement of how I feel after I have an uplifting conversation with a customer service rep?
Or when a waiter tells me a story that gets me involved in the meal I'm about to have?
So, when you reach out to your "raving fans" and you get them to feel more connected to your brand....what does that do for you?
Fred Reichheld argues that the answer lies in your organization's Net Promoter Score (a concept into which I am going to dig in a future post), but I have some anecdotal evidence for now....aka a story.
Had the privilege of speaking with Rebecca Davis, a VP at Discovery on Friday. When our chat was done, I asked about her weekend plans.
"I'm going to see the new Sex in the City movie with a bunch of my friends, even though it was panned by the New York Times. You want a story about community, here's one."
As Hugh MacLeod might say, Sex in the City is a "social object" and a community had formed around it. Rebecca is invested in this community and they are willing to spend their money on a community "experience" even though the object itself may not be so "remarkable."
Interesting, very interesting.
What fascinated me even more is that over the weekend, I heard 3 other people (including my 2 sisters) say the exact same thing that Rebecca did.
The movie didn't need to be great, it was an event for a common cohort to share in together.
There's a valuable lesson here...the product itself (the movie in this case) need not be remarkable (though I don't think it can be terrible). But what the product does in terms of creating community (and in turn serving as a receptacle for that community's disposable income) can be, in itself, a remarkable experience.
One that comes close to home for me is the Super Bowl.
Most games, as you know, are not remarkable, but the chance to get together with friends, have a party, and be in a community around the game is enough to get us to depart with our income (and our attention via commercials).
So, maybe your product or service isn't the absolute best in the world, but maybe, just maybe, you can create a community around it that says, "I don't care, your product/service gives me a chance/excuse/reason to hang out with like-minded people."
Obviously, if your product IS remarkable, you are going to expand your community, but either way...there's monetization in there.