Five Buzzing Brand Lessons from Beyoncé’s Homecoming
Fans have been Crazy In Love with Beyoncé even before her debut album in 2003. It’s been a little over a week since Queen Bey dropped her surprise live album and Netflix special entitled Homecoming. Beyoncé isn’t just the best and hardest working entertainer of our time, she’s also the epitome of successful business branding.
Let’s countdown the five key strategies from Homecoming that makes Beyoncé more than a successful artist, but a brand.
1. Customer Experience — Customers are the key driver of business success. Not only must they be willing to buy what you’re selling, the experience and interaction between them ‘the customer’ and the company must be flawless. According to Money Magazine the ticket range for the sold out Coachella 2018 concert series was $429 for General Admission to $1,000 for VIP Packages. To most consumers this is a significant investment, nearly the price of airfare and lodging for a trip abroad. When there’s a hefty price tag two things drive conversions: 1. The consumer has a previous experience with the product/service and is thrilled with the end result, 2. Positive reviews from satisfied customers and favorable images. Think about planning a trip and seeing pictures of a beautiful beach with pink crystal sand and the first review saying “Amazing!” In her history making 2018 Coachella performance, Beyoncé brought together an entire live band as her musical accompaniment. The April air in Indio, California was filled with strong sounds of a brass, drum, wind and strings section complete with majorettes and even college Greek-style steppers. This was a first-of- its- kind concert performance from any artist performing two full nights with a live college- style band; giving Coachella an even more lively and energetic atmosphere.
The lesson — appeal to your customers. Give them a once in a lifetime experience each time.
2. Personalization — We all have big egos. Customers like to be recognized and have a feeling of uniqueness and a relationship with brands they’ve invested with for a period of time. Beyoncé has perfected personalized marketing. During Coachella 2018 while singing “Me, Myself and I” in front of thousands Beyoncé points at an audience member and says “I see you. How did you do that so fast? She has on my outfit ya’ll.” On several live performances you will notice Beyoncé walking the stage pointing into the audience and then touching her hair or her shirt, signaling a compliment to an audience member on their ensemble. In the midst of her perfectionist driven performances, she remembers that her customers (or Beyhive) are key to her success.
The lesson here — go the extra mile with your customers and stroke their egos. In the long run it will help increase a more brand loyal customer base as they will feel more of a personal connection to you.
3. Authenticity — Owning your narrative, brand and category is irreplaceable. Most celebrities do multiple interviews to drive awareness of their latest project or re-introduce themselves to the world. Beyoncé hasn’t participated in an interview in close to a decade. However, she shook the music world in 2013 when she dropped a new self-titled album at midnight with no promotion, no announcement. Six years later, Beyoncé continues to dominate the industry by dropping a new album, ‘Homecoming Live’ along with a Netflix special that captures her preparation for this historic headlining event. In two hours and 17 minutes we learned these 5 fast facts: 1. She was originally supposed to do Coachella in 2017 but was postponed due to her pregnancy; 2. She went on an intense diet to get back in shape post pregnancy (#I’mHungry); 3. It was important to her to pay homage to Historically Black Colleges and Universities at Coachella; 4. Jay-Z and Beyoncé celebrated their anniversary during the preparation of Coachella (yes they do things other non-celebrity couples do!) 5. She sought to find the balance between being a mother of three children under the age of 8, a wife and the hardest working woman in entertainment. The bonus — we saw an epic performance of all her hits. No need for an interview or promotional — everything is there in one place for the world to see.
The lesson: No one tells your story better than you. Always provide transparency as it proves your brand to be authentic to your customers. The public doesn’t need to know everything about your business, but stories of highs and lows always help in establishing great client relationships. More importantly, whatever industry your brand is in, look to own the industry and ensure that your customers view you as the hardest working one among all others. Know your customers enough to know that if you make it they will come. No need for you to re-introduct yourself as you are the leader of your industry.
4. Social Impact: According to Keesa Camille, host of You’ve Been Served Podcast social impact is when organizations align around a purpose that positively impacts communities and society, supporting that purpose with human capital, financing and other resources. Whether it be through her countless contributions to the LGBTQ community, scholarships to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, acknowledging African American Women and other minorities, Beyoncé’s contribution is a proven cornerstone in the underserved communities of this country and the world.
The lesson: As a brand it’s critical to support a cause that impacts a community and society as consumers tend to align with companies that support similar causes that they believe in.
5. Product: Beyoncé provides epic music and entertainment. Fans across the world align with the messaging in her songs which encourages not only female empowerment but also self-empowerment. There is no doubt that Beyoncé is the biggest, highest grossing and best entertainer in the last decade. The beehive are devoted and loyal followers because of the product satisfaction that they receive with each performance, album, movie, and business endeavor. Beyoncé constantly slays and over exceeds our expectations each time.
The lesson: Even when you are on top and a leader in your category never dilute your product. Always over exceed customer expectations each time. Keep your customers satisfied by ensuring your product is to perfection each time. A bonus lesson is to keep customers anxious for your next big thing by giving little snippets similar to Queen Bey wearing her Ivy Park brand during some of the film.
Beyoncé’s Homecoming is one of the most motivational films out right now (IMO). As you watch her rehearsals enduring the sweat, hard work and push it encourages the viewer to work smarter, better and harder. It’s no wonder why we put our love on top for Queen Bey.
At your next company meeting que up Homecoming on Netflix, bring snacks and notepads. Ask your team to not just watch for entertainment purposes but use this film as a catalyst to brainstorm ways on how you can better your product and better your brand.
Image courtesy of Google and NBC News. This story was originally printed in Markting and Entrepreneurship Magazine
