Does Your Marketing Have a Multiple Personality Disorder?

Many of the companies we consult with have split personalities.  Here are some of the ways multiple personalities can manifest within organizations.

• The salespeople are enthusiastic, helpful and responsive. Their customer service representatives are, shall we say, less so.
• Substantial inconsistencies are seen between a company's Facebook page and the same company's printed materials.
• One advertisement emphasizes that a product is an excellent value, the next offers the same product at 50% off.
• The owner's manual uses one name for a particular feature, while the sales materials call the same feature something else.

Inconsistencies are a problem in marketing in any industry, but they are particularly troublesome in aviation marketing. Aviation professionals are used to being very detail oriented. They tend to be very analytical and verify everything against checklists. At best, confused customers take more time from your sales staff as they answer questions and sort things out for them.  At worst, confused customers doubt your sincerity or credibility. How do you prevent inconsistencies from getting in the way of sales? Appoint a consistency czar. Every company has a person that drives everyone crazy by asking questions and pointing out details.  Take this person to (a very nice)  lunch. Give him a raise if you can. Formalize the position. Put his new (or additional) title on his office door. Buy him a box of red pens.  And above all, listen to him.   Mentally count to ten before you respond next time he points out an annoying detail. Ensure he has a chance to look at every brochure, web page, or product sheet before it's published.  Make sure this one person sees everything, even if (or especially if) sales materials, customer service materials, web pages and social media presences are run by separate people or departments. Run everything buy him, and fix (or at least consider) everything he puts a red mark on. The benefits:

• Your organization will look much more professional.
• Your sales process will function more smoothly.
• Your sales cycle will get shorter.
• Customers will ask fewer questions.
• Customer satisfaction will be higher, because they had clearer expectations.
• You will prevent problems, arguments, or possibly even legal issues.

In case you're wondering, ABCI has a consistency czar.  And yes, he drives me crazy.   But we certainly couldn't be successful without him..