We have all been guilty of this or been exposed to this where we want to scream in our head SHUT UP to ourselves or someone else. Didn’t they see or I see where the eyes were wide open and we should have just shut up? Sometimes we do but sometimes our signals are never going to resonate. Talking too much is one of my very bad habits as when I am away from my “comfortable surroundings” I either hide or span the globe for the constant variety in a sports fan. I can talk then as that is my default. Sports is easy … until the person I am interacting with HATES sports. Imagine, I know but really not everyone loves sports. Not everyone loves politics, not everyone loves news, not every loves what you love OR want to talk about. Uh … that is right my friends, not everyone wants to hear what you have to say.
Talking Too Much
Talks too much – we avoid them until we realize that is us. Sometimes we get subtle hints, sometimes we see the body language when the trying to escape but other times we are on a mission and we are oblivious to the signs but we keep on trucking as it is better than than that awkward silence. We hate the awkward silence which is a lot why Twitter, Facebook and Google+ thrive, as we do not have to face the awkward silence. You see, it is about transparency. I will always stand strong on we tell people what we want them to know. Sure, there are times we are vulnerable, angry, jumping on the bandwagon, where we create and image but if that image is just talking and talking with nothing to substantiate it, we are just talking too much. We want to be recognized and wanted for what we say or better, listened to and trusted. But, not everyone is trusted, not everyone is listening and not everyone is going to care, no matter what.
Brand Talk
Brands talk. They talk every moment of every day. The brand is the message that they talk too much to us about through commercials, ads on any video we pull up, any billboard we see … they want us to develop a positive lifestyle brand image and buy them. If we see them multiple places and featured, it must be good, right? No, not always as in the summer months we are inundated with promos for new shows in the fall; well mostly the ones that are probably not as good as others so put it everywhere and people will tune in. This backfires many times and viewers do not tune in. We have seen the promos so many times, nothing is left for us to see in the actual show. In product marketing, the results tend to be different. We are enticed to try them out as if everyone is talking about it in a positive way (with some negatives as no one or anything is 100% perfect) and we have to take a peek.
It All Comes Down to Performance
We know this. We can talk the good talk but can we walk the walk? Small to mid-sized business owners feel it every single day. Big brands not so much. They are too far removed to feel the impact that a small business would. The employees feel it but corporate does not. I remember my days of working in a men’s clothing store when our “regulars” were not always walking through the doors. I spent 15 years at the store part time so, I was, as we would joke, a part of the furniture. I had so many “watch me grow up” but in the last few years as the trends changed and the staff changed so frequently, the performance changed. The merchandise did not but the “where everyone knows your name” diminished. Performance matters. Lysol Disinfecting Wipes losing me as a customer to Target Up and Up Wipes is not a big deal to either company however when we look at a small business losing a customer, it not only hurts the wallet, it hurts the entire business. Talking too much hurts a business. Talking too little hurts a business. The performance helps the business and many times does the actual talking.
Everything is in moderation but is it really? We can talk too much or too little but are we talking when we should be and about what we should be? Are we over saturating the market with what we want them to know or what they need to or should know? Every business struggles with this as there is always a line that is crossed – positive or negative. Are we able to stop talking to see which one?
It is funny, as much as I love to talk, I am not so much a fan of talking in depth about me. I will scratch the surface but then the itch goes away as a big part of me is complicated that it confuses me sometimes. Is this doing my brand harm? Maybe or maybe it is helping the brand. Regardless of owning a company or working for someone, you are still a brand. That personal brand can make or break a company. I saw it today where DJ Waldow unsubscribed from a reputable company’s emails due to one employee. Talking matters, but is the right talk or just too much talk?
Ignoring the Conversation
As much as brands talk is it more flapping the gums and ignoring the conversation at hand? We can steer a conversation to where we want it to go. It is easier when we are able to rally the troops and get everyone on board but when there is some that come out and point out the negative and get some traction, what does the brand do? Carry on with THEIR conversation or create a new one that is more reactive? Social media has taken this to a new level. Ignore the conversation and it can have repercussions … or not. We all ignore conversations that we are not comfortable talking about. For a brand it can be very damaging or it could show how much they care about customers by reacting and addressing. In the end, we want the inside story and the reaction that they give with an apology that is honest and addresses the issues matters. And this is not always for the negative. This for the positive as well. Talking too much when no one is listening or you have them listening and are not performing turns them away. Talking too much with out something substantial, turns them away. Giving more answers than leaving them with questions is performing.
I think a lot about this especially after I am face to face with people. Did I talk too much about this and not enough about that? Should I have, how could I have … I am not different, just maybe more unique in that I would rather get into your shoes (whether that be the PODUS or the one man show small business owner) to learn and see where a big brand can feel the impact of losing a customer. Maybe just me and wanting advertising and marketing to be where we are in awe of what we see and not rolling our eyes over “this again?”
Your turn, what do you think? Do brands talk too much or not enough?
