Ignoring this Strategy Could Destroy Your Brand with Stuart Foster

The Mindful Marketer

Whether you work for a museum or MarTech company, one thing remains constant: too many marketers still believe that a poor digital or physical experience won't hurt their brand.

Just think about how many retailers you recently visited, and how deeply disappointed you felt by the experience. If you’re like me, you probably walked out empty-handed, grabbed your phone, and chose to order online. The online experience was less painful and annoying.

Don’t let this happen to your brand.

Instead, watch my latest livestream with my guest, Stuart Foster. He is a seasoned CMO, President and brand trendsetter who helped me build the Marketing Growth Leaders private CMO community a few years ago. He has helped major brands such as Hilton, TopGolf, and Hagerty build the case for experiential branding.

▶️ Experiential Branding in a Post-COVID World https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6887475114074542080/

Some key takeaways include:

✔️Do what it takes now to ensure your brand experience is unique. Some companies don't focus on differentiation or uniqueness, which is about WINNING the market narrative. Instead, they simply focus on NOT LOSING. Many people who just think about their product, features and benefits without creating an integrated physical and digital experience face obsolescence.

Seasoned CMO, Stuart Foster says, “Differentiation is key! If you can't find or create differentiation or highlight your uniqueness, you're going to become a commodity. And if you're a commodity, it will be a race to the bottom.”

✔️ Strengthen the connection points between the physical and digital experience of your brand. It doesn’t matter whether you sell potato chips or microchips.

One of the biggest questions we MUST answer for potential customers is, "What would it be like to work with you?" Yet too many marketers still believe that poor or incomplete digital or physical experience won’t hurt their brand. We’re here today to be sure this doesn’t happen to you.

Listen to the replay on Stitcher.

✔️ Tap into the emotional power of your brand’s experience. Adweek recently reported that 81% of people are more likely to buy from you if you post online written customer experiences, and they're 66% more likely to buy if you allow your customers to post pictures. This applies to B2B tech companies too. They must also consider this as a strategy. This is why branded customer communities have the potential to drive higher NPS, retention, and margins (think P&G’s Pampers, Salesforce Trailblazers, and more).

✔️Follow the experiential brand leaders such as Hilton, TopGolf, Salesforce, Wal-Mart, and Microsoft. Keep a watchful eye over how Microsoft creates more experiential brand experiences post-Activision integration. All of these companies have also announced significant investments in the metaverse, a virtual brand experience playground.

Stuart and I both agree that the future looks bright for how the metaverse fuels unique brand experiences. He believes that, “the metaverse is experiential, and it taps into the human need for belonging and self-esteem. Should companies figure out how to fulfill social motivation, they're going to make a lot of money doing it.”

* Notice how B2B companies are starting to think like media moguls. The CMO of IBM, Carla Pinero Sublett, was recently quoted in a Salesforce interview as saying: "I would like my team to win an Oscar." (This can be a daunting task in a company with 40 different marketing organizations!) Be like Carla, and look way outside of your industry for inspiration and bold brand moments.

Watch the replay on LinkedIn.

How would you rate the quality of your current brand experience? Drop me a note; I’d love to hear.

Listen to the replay on Stitcher.

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Lisa Nirell of EnergizeGrowth™ LLC helps courageous marketers and CEOs build stronger companies and better lives. Download your CMO growth planning and leadership development bonuses at themindfulmarketer.com. You will also join the "know ahead" list for our upcoming Life Streams.

Do something NEW in 2022—for your career and your personal growth. If you are feeling isolated, consider applying to the Marketing Growth Leaders. It's a collection of some of the country's top marketing leaders that have taken us ten years to cultivate. Learn more here.

Stuart Foster works as a fractional CMO with Chief Outsiders. He brings deep brand, marketing and commercial expertise in growing brands & businesses, including L'Oréal, Moët Hennessy, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Topgolf & Hagerty. Trusted with difficult business challenges, including revitalizing mature brands, creating new brands, and leading high-performing, cross-functional teams through innovation and change. Connect with Stuart here > https://www.linkedin.com/in/hstuartfoster/

Copyright 2021, Lisa Nirell. All rights reserved.