Making the "Emotional Connection"

by Danny Summers

Robert Hendrickson has pushed The Group for years now on some of the very best ways to tell your story and build that unique, emotional connection with the customer. This is the extreme opposite of selling by price and certainly much more effective than selling by the old standard of "feature and benefit" marketing.

We all know where selling by price gets you as a retailer. You're only as good as your last lowest price, or maybe the next lowest price – and what's worse is you can be replaced at the drop of a hat (or maybe some online seller dropping an email in your in-box). But the emotional connection is not about price. It's about much more. It's where price is not the biggest part of the decision, and maybe not at all.

Over the last several weeks I have seen several new ads by FedEx building upon the emotional connection. Nowhere here are they shouting WE'RE THE CHEAPEST or we have the LOWEST PRICE! One of the ads is titled "The Tortoise & the Hare" (photo grab above) and tells the visual story of a family going on a trip and their daughter leaves one of her beloved friends behind. You see (and feel) the depth of her despair of her loss as the message progresses. You also see the hotel staff, who finds her friend and makes sure there is a FedEx box on their doorstep as they arrive back home.

This ad runs a total of 60 seconds and ONLY has four spoken words (at the very end)...

Comfort... what we deliver.

There's another ad that shows FedEx delivering a package and as the man opens the door to receive it he is instantly transported back in time to see some of his ancestors as he experiences a wedding. The package obviously contained some cherished family photos that transported his mind to years gone by. The tagline on this one...

Memories... what we deliver.

AdWeek says:

"FedEx Beautifully Captures the Surprise and Delight of a Simple Delivery.

Will there ever be a time when we outgrow the budding curiosity, hope, or excitement we feel when a package arrives at our door? Hopefully not, and FedEx has a new campaign that is so touching, it’ll remind even the most tech-forward of us that there’s a certain magic that can only be captured by good old-fashioned mail."

Right now, you maybe thinking, "So, what does this have to do with you selling plants and garden products?" I believe this reinforces what Robert has been telling us for years now. These are examples of telling a story, and touching the emotional side of our audience, and it builds something much stronger than conventional marketing methods. I believe the last sentence in Adweek's comments also points to an opportunity today... good old-fashioned mail. We may not be excited about receiving a single email in our electronic mailbox today, but it could be a quite different feeling to receive the right message in the old-fashioned mailbox! (Which reminds me of the special birthday mailer seen at Cactus & Tropicals in Salt Lake City and featured here in GROUPtalk a few weeks ago.)

So, as you begin to formulate your promotional plans for 2019, don't begin by looking back at what you have done before. Begin with a blank page and draw upon the emotional experience that is within the Plant, the Flower, the Garden, and the physical and emotional experiences that lie in each of these as well as the experience that can come from your center, your staff, and what you offer every day. These products may be what is rung at the register, but what we offer in the way of experiences is much more. How can it connect the audience to their past (childhood, family, etc.) or bring them relaxation, calmness and stress relief in this uber-stressful world. This reminds me I should invite you to revisit Tom Kegley's presentation a year ago – "Let Your Brand Rock!" where he shared some powerfully creative messages he developed for America's Best Flowers.

Ready to see the FedEx Ads?
CLICK HERE to see them and read the AdWeek review. Or, simply click on the photo above.

And, you can find Tom Kegley's Message HERE in The Group Blog in our WebSystem.
What do you think?

Do you have ideas to share with The Group on building the emotional connection? Share it in the coming weeks in GroupEs! If you need help doing so, let me know.

Thank you for being a part of community of sharing!

Danny