Like a good neighbor, brush your teeth.
Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes 40 Seconds
In 1880, a man named Hermann Ebbinghaus began publishing his research on humans’ ability to remember specific details.
Ebbinghouse came up with a theory that was pretty novel at the time. It became known as the Ebbinghouse Forgetting Curve.
The theory states that the longer you go without being reminded of something, the less detail you will remember.
You’re probably wondering, “Does philosophy from 1800 really affect my business that much?”
Well yes, it actually does.
Let’s try a little experiment.
If I say the words: “Like a good neighbor”
What do you automatically think of?
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.
.
I’ll skip a few lines to give you time to think.
.
.
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“State Farm is there”.
It’s automatic. State Farm has been drilling that slogan into Americans since 1981. For over 50 years they have been running focused advertising to tattoo their slogan onto our brains.
The goal is to become known before you are needed.
Let’s try another example:
I want to you take a few seconds to think of as many toothpaste brands as you can.
Ready go.
Alright, time is up.
How many brands could you think of?
Crest?
Colgate?
Sensodyne?
I would be willing to bet that you could only produce 4 or 5 brands in your brain, Even though there are hundreds of thousands of different toothpaste brands.
The same thing is happening with your customers. They are only able to hold so much information about the brands they like to use.
So what does this mean for my small business?
The power of any brand is not in creativity, but consistency. -Al Reis
When starting or running your small business, you must have a plan to build your brand awareness over time.
Your budget is not going to allow for running commercials during the super bowl, but we can get creative on ways to create your brand’s reputation.
Provide quality service and ask your customers for public reviews. Follow up with them and tell them how helpful this is for creating your brand.
Invite your customers to follow your social media accounts. When you get a new review, share a screenshot of it and publicly thank the client.
Ask customers if you can put up a yard sign advertising your services for one week after it is completed. “This lawn was maintained by Phoenix Lawn Care”, or “These crystal clear windows were cleaned by Shiny Window Services”.
Start a referral program for your customers. Ask for recommendations in return for free or discounted services.
When you can afford it, pay to have your company vehicle wrapped with your company’s logo. A company in my area called Yoodlize bought a decommissioned school bus and they park it around town like a mobile billboard.
This last one may not be in your price range, but you get the point. Building your brand’s awareness is key to your business success.
When I was 8-10 years old my dad started a campaign for his business to get branded pens, sticky notes, and other trinkets into every home in our city.
At a population of around 60,000, this was no small task. He paid me and my siblings $.10 a bag to go door to door at 5 am dropping off his swag to every house.
I swear we kept seeing his branded bag around town for years afterwards.
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