“Hootsuite get with the times! UI is supposed to look good these days!”
“Hootsuite f**k your f**king UI, it’s a piece of s**t and it f**ks my personal sense of
wellbeing. I’m out!”
Yeesh. It’s not your traditional advertising slogan. But, Hootsuite’s masterful recent
campaign saw them meet some of the world’s harshest critics, in the dreaded
Twittersphere, head on.
In their latest video, employees at social media dashboard software Hootsuite read out all of
the very worst, most damning criticisms of their platform that their followers could cram
into 140 characters. All of this was followed by the message maybe it’s time for a change ,
and finally, and most importantly, a preview of their sleek, user-friendly new interface.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXizarnDodE
Inspiration for this campaign came from two places: from the immensely popular and
immediately viral Celebrities Read Mean Tweets series from US talkshow host Jimmy Fallon
(ensuring its success online); and from pizza giant Dominos’ brave handling of its own
barrage of criticisms, in which it embraced the very worst insults and publicly redesigned its
pizza ‘from the crust up’.
Hootsuite’s and Dominos’ campaigns, aside from showing impeccable social media nouse,
are a ballsy masterclass in how to listen to what your customers want.
Within months, Dominos experienced one of the largest quarterly same-store sales jumps
ever recorded by a major fast-food chain.
Listen up
All modern companies have to be reactive to what their customers want. Back in the day
loyalty was derived from simply being close by, or from hearing a choice plug on the radio
(radio advertising, we’ll get to you later).
Now, of course, you have an infinite network of reviews, recommendations, and complaints
circling around – not only amongst networks of friends and family, but across the wider
web. And the ability for customers to tag your company on twitter, for example, pulls your
brand and its foibles directly into the mix.
Action/Reaction
What the campaigns from Hootsuite and Domino’s show us is that (as long as you believe in
what you’re selling) there’s no such thing as bad engagement. That is, as long as you use
that feedback to improve your product.
Whether negative or positive, an impression of how real customers and the wider public
receive and perceive your brand is vital information. That way you can tailor it specifically to
them, instead of what is usually, however well-meant, guesswork.
Know your customers
And there’s the rub – while there are benefits, the trouble with the some forms of
automotive advertising is that there’s simply no way of knowing how your customers
respond to it. Shoot out a radio advert or a page in a local newspaper, and you’ll reach an
audience sure enough – but how will you know what sticks, and what response you got?
All in all, sending out advertisements that gather little to no feedback is a fairly thankless
task – a sentiment that we’ve heard time and again from general managers and heads of
business up and down the country. And they’re in agreement: it’s time for a change.
Time to engage
Digital marketing, from our dealership-focused digital magazines to a comprehensive social
media presence, offer just that.
Our own campaigns not only provide a glossy, high-quality digital magazine that can feature
engaging features alongside all of your latest offers. They are actually just one part of a
marketing system that includes the ability to track your customer’s journey, to see for
definite what features they’re most interested in, and to closely nurture new leads.
A simple ‘click here to register your interest’ in the magazine is all it takes – up pops an
email to your sales team, and a new opportunity to build a relationship is in your hands.
And that’s not to mention the data. We’ll present you with reports, offering detailed stats
on which pages your customers are visiting, what offers they’re lingering on, and for how
long, along with quality leads ready for immediate follow up.
Furthermore, within the campaigns, there are always requests for feedback, and often
surveys to extend that customer feedback, but also gain even more valuable, deeper
customer insights such as next service date and other cars driven.
And because the platform is so engaging, people feel comfortable and happy to provide
thankfully positive feedback, and also to get in touch with any immediate challenges.
An impression of what your customers want is indispensable, from an expletive-filled tirade
to ten minutes of engagement with your dealership’s own digital magazine.
Automotive, like every customer-focused industry, should listen to its customers, and digital
marketing gives you the perfect platform to do this.
By creating a platform online, where customers feel comfortable engaging in a conversation
with people they want to talk to, we believe that it doesn’t ever have to get to the point
where customers feel the need to use expletives online to vent their frustration. Problems
will always happen, but it’s about building a community where feedback is valued and
platforms are provided to enable a dialogue to happen naturally.
Automotive marketing, like every people-focused industry should listen to its customers, and digital marketing gives them an ear to the ground.
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To chat with GoldSand Digital about your current marketing strategy, give us a call now on 020 7287 9233, or click here to get in touch via email.