The classic Christmas movie, Miracle on 34th Street bears one of the most powerful marketing lessons of all-time.
The Santa Claus in the film is working at Macy's department store. When he doesn't have what the customer wants, he sends them to shop at competitors. If Macy's doesn't carry the item, or if a competitor is selling it for less, the Santa Claus tells people where they can get the best value.
This reality upsets the toy department manager, until Mr. Macy is forced to embrace the radical new policy when he gets hundreds of telegrams from people expressing their gratitude and appreciation of an establishment that would place customers in front of their profit. The store quickly becomes the talk of the town, and the sales flourish. Not only is this is a valuable lesson in customer service, but it is also a lesson about Influencer Marketing.The Santa Claus in this film highlights the power of word-of-mouth Marketing. A popular study by McKinsey discovered that "marketing-induced consumer-to-consumer word of mouth generates more than twice the sales of paid advertising." Those acquired through this type of advertising, had a 37 percent higher retention rate. Influencer Marketing provides the wonderful opportunity for brands to leverage the impact of word-of-mouth through personalities that their customers already admire and follow.
The Macy's Santa Claus is showing the benefit of B2B relationships. In the B2C market, Sprout Social reports that 74% of consumers look for social brand and product recommendations as an imperative aspect of their customer journey. Corporations prosper largely from trusted voices who make their way through the vast B2B products and services market. If we give Company A business then company A might thank us by giving us some business back. If we Tweet about how great Company A is doing, maybe they will do the same thing back. Instead of working against Company A,it appears more beneficial to work with them. Creating these kinds of connections can improve business, but also customer relationships, who feel that you truly care about their concerns and needs and not just your own profit. As an establishment you thrive to be an expert in your field, which means people will trust your suggestions. You have a lot of impact, and you should use this to create connections in your community. Reach out to like-minded establishments, let them know you'd be happy to work together.
This is the heart of what Influencer Marketing is all about. Showing regards for others, who will in turn show regard for you. Expressing the faith that you have in a product or service, in the hopes that people around you will be influenced by your good experience and give it a try. The theme of this is worked throughout Miracle on 34th Street, as it's the word-of-mouth regarding the Macy's Santa, which makes him so popular in the first place. People experienced a good thing and they wanted to share it with others. The power of influence is strong, and when properly exercised can have massive results.
There are many advantages to making B2B connections. For one, you get a new target group which means additional revenue. This allows you to pursue new sales opportunities, but most importantly it puts you in connection with industry leaders. You can engage with industry leaders through social media, blogs, forums, Linkedin, events, interviews, or by asking them to submit guest articles to your publications. Setting up these relationships is an asset towards seeing what other people in your industry are doing, and the service they provide. It is suggested that you provide rewards for influencers who talk about your brand: invitations, paid articles, social media spotlights. It is also important to team up with other industries, that compliment you, but are not just like you. Perhaps you can trade off service recommendations for the other? Perhaps they provide products that go hand in hand with what you are offering? Regardless, this provides you with an interesting perspective for your content, added data sources, and fresh referrals that haven't been picked-over. Additionally, it gives you a platform for communication that your competitors likely are not using yet.
Naturally, the Macy's Santa is a influencer towards embracing new Marketing strategies. One like Influencer Marketing, which is statistically proven to be more affective than paid advertising.
