Let's just be Honest…and Lie!

Developing authenticity and trust with your customers requires honesty and truth when it comes to your marketing plans. However, what if the truth is less than desirable or not exactly what you want to say? Faced with that dilemma, companies will often exaggerate or only reveal bits and pieces of the actual truth in their marketing efforts. A good case in point is the Orlando, Florida based company, Red Lobster. In 2005, the family restaurant decided that saying they originated in Maine would add authenticity to their corporate image and incorporated that fallacious fact into their marketing strategy. This came as somewhat of a shock to the people of Maine (and angered many legitimate Maine restaurateurs) since the nearest Red Lobster location was 137 miles away in Wethersfield, Connecticut! (For more information on this fishy marketing ploy, see Seth Godin's blog at www.allmarketersareliars.com )

How then, in a corporate world full of fraud, stretches of the truth and little white lies, do you effectively reach your customers while maintaining your credibility? Simple! Let your customers literally hear you by providing them with access to a variety of podcasts on anything from customer service topics to testimonials from your clients. A podcast will not only gain your customers' trust by personalizing your product, it will also provide an intimacy with them that the written word can rarely duplicate.

In essence, podcasts integrate the power of the radio with the distribution ability of the Internet. While a podcast imitates a show that is typically broadcast over radio waves, its difference - and advantage - is that it is presented online and on-demand for your audience's convenience. Podcasts provide you the ability to bring realism and a personal touch to your marketing strategy and help core values such as honesty and authenticity shine through. They can also be used for operational purposes as well, such as providing customer service after your personnel are long gone for the day or training new and existing employees. By virtue of their “cutting-edge” feel, podcasts are typically well received by employees, who associate their content with creativeness and value on the company's part.

Podcasts also allow you to attach an all-important voice to your testimonials. Too often, written testimonials are ambiguous as to who actually said them. How many times have you read a testimonial that resembled the following?

“Service was great!”

Ralph - Distribution Company Manager

Who is Ralph? What distribution company is he a manager for? Is there a reason Ralph wants to remain anonymous? The fact that podcasting allows your customers to actually hear the person giving the testimonial makes them all the more real and provides a sense of legitimacy. For an even greater impact, you can add video to your podcasts, which is often referred to as a videocast. This way, people can associate a face with the voice speaking about your product or service, creating even more credibility.

In a world fueled by technological advances, people recognize and pay attention to things that are different and new. Podcasting and videocasting are unique ways to reach out to your customers and will only grow in popularity in the coming years. In fact, with the podcast audience expected to grow to 56 million by 2010, by the time other companies jump on the bandwagon, you will already have people already subscribed and dedicated to your casts, which gives you a huge advantage over your competitors. By letting people hear your clients' testimonials, providing them with the means of 24/7 expertise and customer service and personalizing your product or service through the use of podcasts, you will incorporate a sense of honesty and credibility into your marketing and will never have to tell a lie…honest!

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