People Want COOL
If there is one word to describe some of the most successful businesses, it would be COOL. No matter the type of industry, the style has found a way to take the front seat as a driver of businesses. If your products, software, websites, brands, or companies are cool, you take the front seat and make the world go round.
But I’m a corporate business…..how does cool fit into my structure? Here’s the thing; cool does not equate to messy and unstructured. Cool isn’t only for the entertainment-focused businesses and other informal businesses. Every business can be COOL because being cool is all about finding a style that is likable, relatable, and shareable.
So how do you find your COOL? According to Peter Gloor, MIT research scientist, the first thing you have to be aware of is that “cool” has different meanings to different audiences. You have to change the way you think about your business. Every business has a product or service that they want to sell. This fact does not change with any business. The difference between what sells and what doesn’t is the COOL factor. Your community of customers should not be buyers; they should be fans of what you do and what you sell.
No rule book, just Smart Moves
We ran a quick survey in our office to find out what was the most common brand of shoe everyone owned. You guessed correctly if you thought of Nikes. Would you say Nike is a cool brand? Absolutely! Now, cool does not only mean being fashionable and trendy. COOL also means being creative with your branding and marketing approach. Back in the 1970s, Nike may not have been the only shoe manufacturing company to produce running and jogging shoes. So they made a smart move to Sell Differently. They started the trend of using athletes to market their shoes. In 1974, they signed a deal with elite runner Steve Prefontaine. His swaggering attitude and huge success helped brand Nike in the athletic world. Knowing how much people want to be like celebrities, Nike has continued to make smart partnerships over the years. They gained the interest of the entertainment industry making commercials with Spike Lee, athlete Serena Williams and collaborating with one of America’s biggest and most popular rappers, Kanye West. And that’s how Nike has gained its spot as the coolest, most popular shoe brand with huge revenue sales to brag about.
Your product works but is it cool?
We have come across many efficient business solutions in today’s technologically advanced world. And without cool branding and marketing techniques, they lose out on potential customers. Do you remember how important it was to be associated with the cool kids back in high school? You wanted to wear what they wore and talk in the same manner in which they did. It’s the same way with every kind of business. To be respected and visible in the marketplace, your product must not only solve a problem, it must have a cool feature that everyone wants to “copy”. And this can be anything from having an exciting and interactive social media page to telling your story in a unique way. The goal here is not to forcefully be cool but to “Create a product or service that changes peoples’ lives in a positive way, makes an emotional impact, and is easy for people to tell their friends about. The rest will take care of itself.”
To be talked about is COOL
How many times have you heard people refer to toothpaste as Pepsodent? Or mouthwash as Listerine? You see, to be talked about is COOL because your brand has a distinct feature that has successfully achieved the top of mind awareness. The more buzz about a product or service, obviously the more awareness exists. Above all, people are very visual and like nice things. So, being COOL requires the right packaging that will peak interest, get engagement, and cause people to market for you.
We help businesses to sell their products and services using COOL marketing techniques. Check out what we have helped brands achieve.
