Experience Matters

She got mail!

This is Justine and, boy - did she get mail! About three hundred pages in a box from AT&T, her cellular provider. Apparently, it was something to do with her new iPhone.

Justine created a video that’s been viewed over 680,000 times on YouTube. USAToday Online published an article about it titled “How many trees did your iPhone bill kill?“. Ow.

So, with this little brand incident in mind, it’s time for me to answer the question from my last post.

So what does green have to do with digital and brands? I’m the first to admit that I have the hippy gene. I prefer telemark skiing to alpine, buy as much local produce as I can, and love trees as much as the next, well, treehugger.

But I’m also a digital marketer and I believe that the online dialog about green reveals some deeper truths about the evolving relationship between brands and the personal values of customers. Here are some of my opinions – please leave a comment to tell me what you think.

Your customers’ values affect perception of your brand. Obviously, customers prefer brands that represent their values. But what happens when customer values become more sophisticated and (yikes!) altruistic?

Consider the following example. In the 1960’s, purchasing a Volkswagen was about “value”. In the 1980’s, purchasing a Saab was about “being different”. Now, purchasing a Prius is about “saving the earth.” It’s not easy fulfilling on a complicated brand promise as this blog post from Irv Miller at Toyota shows.

Digital makes your brand’s impact transparent. The Internet is a still damned good research tool and if your customers care deeply about something, it doesn’t take long for them to find out how well your brand meets their personal standards. Whether it’s how a brand treats its employees, the environment or its customers, your dirty laundry (true or not) is easily exposed online. Try searching Google for “Victoria’s Dirty Secret”

Digital challenges your brand’s authenticity. Your brand may claim to represent the values of your customers, but action will always speak louder than words. Digital allows your customers and critics to openly debate your brand’s intentions and to track your progress against your commitments. Look at the scrutiny that BP’s green brandmark got.

Digital allows your customers to force the conversation. If your brand fails to fulfill on its promises, your customers can use digital to let you (and everyone else) know. Worse yet, digital enables concerned customers to successfully organize against your brand to force the issue. See how The Limited responded to the Victoria’s Dirty Secret.

Digital allows your brand to demonstrate and discuss its efforts. Aligning the values of your brand to those of your well-informed and outspoken customers is tough work. But digital can provide the opportunity to discuss your best efforts openly and honestly. See how Dell promotes their carbon neutral plans while admitting to “community debate” with customers. So what do smart digital marketers need to do?

• Listen to customers. It isn’t only about what they want. It’s about what they value.
• Be authentic. Tell customers what you value. Act accordingly, obviously and honestly.
• If you’re forced into conversation, don’t hide. Engage, listen, and respond.
• Use digital to your advantage. It’s fast, accessible and promotes genuine dialog.

That’s all for tonight – time for yoga class. (Seriously - it’s for my skiing!)

Next time: A behind-the-scenes look at something that isn’t green.