Communicating what your brand stands for, and how interacting with your brand will benefit others, is powerful. But even more powerful is helping people create the story for themselves. Whether a small business with hundreds or thousands of customers, or a large business with millions or tens of millions of customers, a marketer’s job to help shape the story people tell themselves, and others, about your brand.

Treehouse

Treehouse is a provider of online, self-paced, technical education. However, founder and CEO Ryan Carson spends most of his time not promoting their library of courses, but rather how Treehouse helps people overcome the burdens of traditional education or no education at all. He paints a picture of self-empowerment, independence, and confidence to achieve your goals through affordable and convenient online education. Here are a couple of example’s from Ryan’s Instagram:

With Ryan’s message of how a traditional education isn’t right for everyone, and doesn’t necessarily set you up for the job, and life, you want, he allows you to start telling yourself a story of what Treehouse can offer you. You start seeing yourself learning in your spare time, keeping yourself out of debt, acquiring marketable skills in less time so you can start leading the life you want. It’s not about the story Treehouse tells you, but rather the story Treehouse helps you tell yourself.

Field Notes

Hey, let’s start a notebook company!

In a time of computers, tablets, smartphones, and electronic gadgets and gizmos aplenty, who thinks of starting a notebook company? Well, Aaron Draplin and Jim Coudal did when they came up with Field Notes.

The success of Field Notes isn’t a story about notebooks. Notebooks are a commodity at best and, in the electronic age, seen as obsolete at worst. But Field Notes, from the moment you interact with the brand or open one of its notebooks, is arming you with everything you need to tell yourself a story.

Limited editions, useful quips inside the back covers, use of high-quality materials, aspirational videos of new designs, how new ones are nice but broken-in is even better. Just look at how they inspire others to create cases and accessories for the brand.

Fans of Field Notes are telling themselves a story. A story about how they’ll feel carrying around a Field Notes notebook, breaking one in, filling one up, showing off the cool cover, and being part of a “club.” It’s truly a brand built on the stories people tell themselves.

Getting out of the way…

What Treehouse and Field Notes have in common is they tap into something primal, then get out of the way. They offer the product, service, and inspiration. But they also tap into people’s aspirations and show them a path to having what they want through an interaction with the brand. By showing that path and letting people craft their own story, there is nothing to “sell.”

People sell themselves by using the brand to create the story that makes them feel how they want to feel. Giving people the power to do that, and share those stories with others, is a much more powerful and effective form of marketing than anything a brand could generate on its own.

Short version: Use #FOMO (fear of missing out). Call them names (“you VOTER!”). Question their level of commitment. Promise to check up on them.

Hey, blog-reading friends. Your polling place is where all the cool kids are going to be on today. What’s your plan?

We’ll check back with you to see how you did.

FIND YOUR POLLING PLACE HERE

We see it time and again. Critical policy messages that miss the mark.  The reason is simple: they were vetted with the wrong people.

If you are based in the Washington, DC area, whether you’re a corporation, association, think tank, or politician, here’s some free advice: Test Your Message Outside the Beltway.

We do policy message testing for a living.

➤ Please reach out- we’d love to help.

That’s what we’ve been telling our clients for nearly two decades. And even though they know that—of course they know that—clients are always surprised at what outside-the-Beltway testing turns up.

Here’s why it matters:

➤Average Americans Only Consume a “Trickle” of News

Most people outside the Washington metro area are not immersed in the details of your issues—sometimes they’ve never even heard of the issues. We’ve validated this again and again through our Swing Voter Project, which taken us to swing states every month for the last 18 month. Average Americans by and large get their news is small doses from LOCAL SOURCES. Yes, some watch cable news  but are almost as likely to get their news from Facebook.

➤Average Americans are Fixated on Themselves

This is not to imply that they don’t care about other people or the world as a whole. It simply means that while trying to pay their bills and care for their family, they don’t have the LUXURY of immersing themselves in DC news.

Some of them are working multiple jobs.
Some of them are a health crisis away from bankruptcy.
Some of them are working 18 hour days to keep the family farm afloat.
Some of them are caring for a chronically ill family member.

Their challenges are real and immediate.  

➤Validate That Your Policy Messages Are Connecting

And the best way to do that is to test your messages with them. Get in their heads. See their reactions. Hear their thoughts. Then refine based on what you’ve learned.

Again, our clients know all this. But they still—regularly—say things like, “I did not expect that one to tank!”; “I am really surprised none of the respondents have heard of that.”; “I didn’t realize our language was so full of jargon until this dial test.”

And we especially like: “Good thing we tested this!”

We do policy message testing for a living.

➤ Please reach out- we’d love to help.

——–

To demonstrate how different Washington, D.C. is from other parts of the country, here are some facts and comparisons:

—Bigger salaries: highest per capita income in the country ($75,569; the national average is $49,571)[1] with an annual growth rate of 4.5% (vs. 3.6% national average)[2]

—Educated: 55% of the population 25 years or older has at least a bachelor’s degree (29.3% nationally);[3] 31% have an advanced degree (11.2% nationally)[4]

—Expensive housing: median value of a house is $460,700 ($163,900 nationally)

—Lower rate of home ownership: 40.4% own their own homes (63.7% nationally)

—High crime: 6,408.6 crimes per 100,000 people (3,295.0 nationally)[5]

[1] http://www.courant.com/business/hc-per-capita-income-connecticut-20170328-story.html
[2] https://wtop.com/business-finance/2017/03/dc-per-capita-income-25-percent-higher-national-average/
[3] https://www.iowaeconomicdevelopment.com/50states
[4] https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_15_5YR_S1501
[5] https://www.iowaeconomicdevelopment.com/50states

This group of swing voters think the country is in trouble but don’t lay the blame on President Trump. Read this month’s findings to see what they had to say.

Here’s a couple of interesting things this group told us:

President Trump still has their vote — at least 7 of the 9 of them. Only 2 in the group say they would vote for Biden over Trump if the election was held “tomorrow.”

They feel life between now and election day will be chaotic, divided and emotional.

They feel that the demand to “Defund the police” is going too far and could have a negative impact on Biden’s chances.

And they largely want schools to re-open in the fall

View the highlights for yourself: 

Couple of direct takes from this group:

On the pandemic and re-opening the country…

“I believe [scientific experts] should be part of the guidance, but… if we listen to nothing but scientific guidance, we’d be shutting down every business in the country.”

On social unrest and the ramping up of protests in some cities… 

“They (protestors) are still burning buildings. They’re rioting. They’re doing things that aren’t going to bring us together. They’re doing more things that are going to bring us apart.”

➜ Check out all the key findings in our July summary report

Should We Wait To Do Research “Until this is Over?”

We have been fielding these questions since March. We can now say definitively that yes, now is not only a good time, but a great time.

Back when this all started we did not know (nobody knew) how the coronavirus economy and lockdown would impact qualitative research. Will people fixate on the short-term? Will their mindset impede insights?

Back then, we were advising our clients to push the PAUSE button until things changed, stabilized or we got a better read. 

But here’s what we have found, and why we have so much confidence in the quality of online qual research being done right now:

5 Reasons Why Now is a Great Time to
Do Online Market Research

➤People are bored with the same-old quarantine-based conversations. They are very eager to participate in research right now, if for no other reason than to communicate with a different human being than their quarantine buddies. (It is not an over statement to say that many respondents are down right thrilled to have a chat!)

➤People are living thru a most unusual (arduous? painful? frightening?) time. Their emotions are raw, and their walls are down. This vulnerability means they are opening up much quicker than usual during online focus groups.

➤People have had a lot of downtime to dissect their angst. This new level of self-awareness is leading to super candid conversations in our online IDI’s.

➤People have had to forfeit so many of their simple pleasures: dining out, retail therapy, family events. This deprivation has given them a fresh take on what your products and services really mean to them. 

➤The silver lining to this slow-moving tsunami we are living through: people have never been more connected with the world around them. That leads to great insights.

Have a research project you’ve been thinking about doing? Now might be the right time!

Reach out and we can talk it through.

Concern is on the rise, especially as COVID-19 cases spike throughout the U.S. “Is it safe to go to (fill in name of business)? Are they following proper cleaning protocols?” (What ARE the proper cleaning protocols? A lack of federal mandates around reopening businesses has further complicated the issue.)

This means that, as a business owner, the onus is on you. 

➜Need help putting these messages into action?  

We can help.

Our study revealed that hearing from a company directly can greatly greatly impact a customer’s comfort level. In short- they need to hear from YOU.

But keep in mind you are talking to 2 distinctly different groups:

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Those who can’t wait to come back (ready-to-go)
                     2. Those who need some reassurances before they will spend at your establishment (assurance seekers)

                   

From our research with returning customers, we have created a messaging cheatsheet.

Here’s some guidance to help you home-in on the right Welcome Back message for your audience.

Assurance seekers want to see directive signs: what should you do after trying on a pair of shoes? Put them back on the rack? Give them to an associate to be properly cleaned first? They want to see that you are taking customer’s safety seriously and guiding them.

On the other hand, people deemed “ready-to-go” do not need as detailed messages. They want to hear that unlike many businesses, you are open again and further that you’ve got their back, all they have to do is enjoy.

At an unprecedented time like this, more communication is always better. Share your plans, procedures, and expectations upfront to address concerns. Surround your customers with “Welcome Back” messages that ease their mind. 

Every business is unique. We can help you fine-tune these messages for your audience. Reach out➜

*Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash – Image from Bali, Indonesia

Kindness is contagious. We know that. Studies even prove it. A study published last July in the journal Emotion found that (I hope you’re sitting down) kindness is contagious at work, too, and it’s actually good for business.

The study is called “Everyday Prosociality in the Workplace: The Reinforcing Benefits of Giving, Getting, and Glimpsing.”

The upshot, when translated into common language: When people do nice things for other people at work, they’re happier; and the receivers start doing nice things for other people. “People who were “receivers” in the experiment paid it forward by doling out volumes more acts of kindness compared to the control group – 278% more!”

The work environment is more pleasant, people have a sense of ownership and belonging—and feeling appreciated can help make workers more successful. 

While the article doesn’t overtly cover other areas of interaction, like social media, we would like to think that kindness here (instead of the usual, anonymous vitriol) would also apply.

Read the full article by Richard Davidson, Neuroscientist.

*Mural Art by Lettering Designer Gina Lu

Have you noticed consistent trends in each month’s SVP report? You’ll want to read this month’s findings—there’s been a shift. 

Trump’s support among these swing voters has fallen

• • • The country is in chaos, and he’s not bringing order, he’s bringing more conflict.
    • They’re still not crazy about Biden. But they’re more willing to give him a chance.
    • How are they feeling in general? No surprise here—anxious, depressed, frustrated, fearful.

• • • They’re horrified about George Floyd’s death, and they’re supportive of the initial protests; but they think the protests have made their point. And protest violence is causing more division. They want it to stop.
    • They oppose defunding the police, and if Biden supports those efforts, he’ll lose many of their votes.
    • They want a national conversation about race, but they don’t want politicians to lead it.

“Our entire year has been taken away from us,” they said, with the prohibitions on weddings, funerals, and other public gatherings. Meanwhile, thousands are allowed to crowd together for protests. They want consistent pandemic gathering rules.

➜ Like we said, you’re going to want to read the whole thing