Mia’s last two columns offered up some great marketing insight.
In the first, “Networking lessons learned in St. Lucia”, Mia shared some inspiration she found after coming across Captain Tom, owner of Exodus Adventure. The charter boat company gives personal tours of the island, goes on deep-sea fishing excursions, and organizes moonlit cruises to your favourite restaurants.
“The Exodus offering was unique: I could customize my trip for the day, and if I changed my mind or wanted to stay longer it was no problem – the crew was accommodating,” Mia writes. “With two kids, that flexibility was priceless. We were able to see everything we wanted from our private viewing deck before jumping off the boat between the majestic Pitons – something I’m sure my kids will never forget.”
But as Mia writes, that’s not where the lesson lies.
“What struck me was the way Tom and his team were able to leverage their unwavering focus on customer service to not only engage, but quickly expand their trusted network. This was something I watched with admiration from the beach. I thought about entrepreneurs I know who are great at running their businesses, but still ask for advice about how to network. As part of their PR campaigns, business leaders often speak at high-profile events and attend trade shows to market their products and services,” Mia writes. “But for many, after they leave the stage, they struggle with how to work the room and turn the PR opportunity into a sales lead.”
Mia observed the Exodus team taking the time to survey the scene, getting a good sense of who would be interested in their service before approaching people. They also leveraged trusted relationships they had developed with recurring customers to expand their network.
“At any given time, often when you least expect it, you have the opportunity to engage new contacts and inspire new opportunities through your current network. Leveraging your customers as brand ambassadors is more powerful than anything you can do on your own,” Mia writes. “As business owners, we are all passionate about what we do. But so are our customers. We just need to be better at leveraging them as we grow our customer base.”
The second column, “Sticker company nails sticky marketing,” featured StickerYou, a company that has created a fun and easy web platform where you can create your own customized stickers. The brand has also partnered with big brands that use the widget to offer customized swag for their fans.
“StickerYou has used technology to transform stickers from a simple and fun product into a way to build deeper connections with customers,” writes Mia.
“Brands are looking to create more sticky websites, better digital marketing, and greater consumer engagement,” president Andrew Witkin says. “So we asked ourselves: how can the process for attaining a sticker in the digital world be something that is actually very valuable in terms of what the marketer would want?”
“By building your own stickers, you are engaging with the brand. Instead of just being handed a sticker at an event, people are actually involved in the creation process. Then they can celebrate the brands they like by putting their personalized stickers on their gear,” Witkin adds.
Launched in early 2010, StickerYou has already built partnerships with some pretty big companies, including Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Ford and Lego. It has also teamed up with Coca-Cola, which created a Coke sticker maker as a reward offer for its customers.
“Sure, he’s providing a great tool for brands and their marketing strategies, but he is also building strong partnerships that get the StickerYou name out to much bigger audiences than it could ever reach on its own,” Mia writes. “Witkin has answered a question that all business leaders should be asking themselves: What is your company doing to ensure your brand sticks?”
Check out Mia’s column every Thursday in the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business.
