In an increasingly crowded marketspace, you must do more to stand out and earn the mindshare of your customers.
This is a lesson the Jugnoo team learned from our recent adventures at SXSW Interactive, and based on what we saw we thought we’d share with you some ways that businesses of all sizes can get a competitive marketing advantage—online and off.
Know your customers
SXSW may be growing by leaps and bounds every year, but one of the ubiquitous aspects of the conference is swag—it’s everywhere.
People hand it out on the streets, at events, at conference sessions, in lounges. In fact, it practically rains swag in Austin during SXSW.
With so many companies giving away so many promotional items, it’s rare that it will make an impact, especially if it’s more of the same.
You can give people free things, but what are you doing and saying to get your customers excited? What aspect of your products or services piques their interest?
Make an impact by knowing your customers, and understanding their situation. Anticipate their needs and give them something that will help them.
Chevy came out a real winner at SXSW—their free “Catch A Chevy” ride service ensured that people were using their products while fulfilling a practical need: getting people where they needed to go when other modes of transportation were hard to come by.
Promote with a purpose
There are numerous sponsored lounges and parties at SXSW.
While it’s a great idea to have in-person interaction with your customers, just herding people through the doors of an event with your company’s name on it does little to get them interested in your products or services. (Here’s a great post from our new friend Rob Blatt on the subject.)
Instead of focusing on a catchall promotional mentality for current and prospective customers, focus on creating a smaller community of people with similar interests, and helping them make connections. Soundcloud did a great job of this at SXSW, inviting their community heroes from around the US to come talk about why they love their product. Included in the program was a great little mixer game that got everyone moving around the room and talking to each another. They all had one thing in common: how much they love Soundcloud.
It was a great way to recognize and reward members of the community, and the amount of passion in the room certainly made an impact on prospective customers.
Do more with less
While many companies spent tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars to promote themselves at SXSW, you don’t need to break the bank to make an impact. You just need the right people.
Three members from the Jugnoo marketing team (myself included) built key relationships with people and generated interest in our product through our love of the company.
We had a great time just getting out and meeting people, and telling them why we love Jugnoo. Not only did this drive a new wave of interest in our beta product, JugnooMe, but it also helped us makes new friends from all over North America.
Your people are you greatest resource—whether you’re a company of one or 100, always remember that your employees are the key to your company’s success.
Last but not least…
The most important lesson we learned at SXSW? Building and rewarding your customer base takes time, but your customers will always be your greatest allies.
It makes sense to get them invested in your company and help define who you are. Master the art of relationship-building and empower your customers to take your company to the next level for you.
About Julie Tyios
FYI Stuart Horrex Vinh Van Lam
FYI Stuart Horrex Vinh Van Lam
Danny, per the last paragraph, I saw this Monday and thought it brilliant. http://www.socialwildcats.com Of course, like anything else, it could go all kinds of wrong.
Happy weekend to you!
It’s starting to be difficult to decide whether the best posts are published here, at Danny’s place or on For Bloggers By Bloggers. Luckily they have different topics or goals.
Anyway the first thing that came to my mind reading the article is all those websites offering free pdfs or reports or whatever in exchange for the email address, first bothering error, and then having a pdf file which is 99% of the times nothing more than a way to promote affiliate links with little or no value inside. One great exception is the Inbound Marketing book of The Sales Lion, but more or less this applies to all free pdfs or reports around.
The same applies to those extremely bothering landing pages one km long full of crap and sales links. And let’s not forget the ironclad guarantee.
Now, everyone does it because either it works or gurus are teaching that but when you find something of real value, maybe without having to give the email which you will do nevertheless by yourself, it’s really standing out of the crowd.
I don’t know if it relates to the article but I think it does. Be different or be the purple cow is the way to go, imho.
@Andrea Hypno Oh, these landing pages are the bane of my life, along with these damn pop-up subscription boxes that load even before you start reading content. Can we start a crusade to ban them??
@DannyBrown Count me in.
@Andrea Hypno I agree with Danny re: landing pages. Crusade!!
I think we all need to look at what users want instead of what we think they want and, whether it’s something new or just taking an existing concept and making it better, the key is in the value you provide to your customers. This is what will truly make you stand out.
Julie Tyios julietyios , This is a great article. One thing I take away from this: despite the noise and the “ubiquitousness” of an event like this, the impact generated by your front line advocates is the key. What SoundCloud did was absolutely amazing. A brand influence to an impacted few will generate reams of word of mouth influence that’s sustainable even past the event. It’s genuine and it’s what attracts others. True earned media!
@hessiej Absolutely, Hessie! Front-line advocates truly are key. We saw a mix of promotional models and real company representatives heralding brands, as well as brand fans. The ones who had the most impact were the ones who were truly passionate about their companies and what they represented. It’s the best kind of earned media around.
Cyndi: Thanks for the heads-up on that Arizona Wildcats site, Cyndi – great to see a sports team take to social so well, and really encourage their fans to get involved too! Have a great weekend yourself
Julie, I think this can be said about any trade show or conference one attends. Too many times, we just show up and expect great things to happen…and then come home empty handed. I especially like “know your customers.” With SxSW, in particular, people go for the parties and don’t realize perhaps their customers (or prospects) don’t attend. It’s a really good thing to consider before registering for the event.
@ginidietrich Agreed, Gini! I spoke to a few SXSW veterans this year and they said that it’s grown by leaps and bounds, even over last year. With such a large event spread over so many venues and so many days, there’s a lot of noise and it’s really hard to stand out. I attended some of the larger parties and noticed a huge disparity between those and the more intimate settings. That’s why I really liked what Soundcloud did, with the personal invitations, empowerment of their community heroes, and the great little mixer game to get people interested. I stumbled upon this party by accident, but it was probably the most engaging event I attended. If you want to be memorable, you absolutely have to cater to your customers and give them something of value, as opposed to just piling them into a venue. You’re right – this goes for any conference or event. Always consider your customers!
@JulieTyios @ginidietrich I went to Chicago for the parties – was grossly misinformed on that front…
@DannyBrown @ginidietrich Seriously! How about that St. Patrick’s Day, huh?
@gapingvoid thanks sir, know when new books shipping out?
@jeffespo April 26th
@gapingvoid Thanks looking forward to it.