Aug 26, 2009
Random Acts of Kindness
I’ve been reading the odd post recently on this topic and it has got me thinking about how valid a random act of kindness actually is in terms of a marketing and brand awareness-raising tool.
It seems obvious that being on the receiving end of a random act of kindness is surprising, unexpected and well, nice. Generally, these acts leave you feeling good (and no doubt the giver feels good too) and in a frame of mind where you are more likely to be receptive to products or services from the same origin in the future. Equally, you will be more likely to tell others about these random acts and increase the profile and brand equity of the company who did the random act. Talkability (as my colleague Sherryn names it) is surely a highly attractive proposition to any company.
So why do we not see more of them? Why don’t companies hold a little budget back from advertising (or Marketing or Comms or It or HR) and apply it to a random act of kindness?
I think companies and their marketers underestimate the power and value of these random acts. They think of them purely as a cost and worse, a new type of cost. Probably one that hasn’t been budgeted for and thus is never on the table for discussion.
I’m not sure what you think but i reckon the value of the likely positive press and profile, increased customer loyalty and subsequent increase in brand equity would make it potentially as valuable as anything else that is in your marketing budget for this year.
Like any new type of marketing it needs to be well considered though. For starters it has to be genuine and spontaneous not managed. I’d imagine it would be dangerous to over-leverage it too. Let the talkability happen naturally.
It certainly seems to be an idea that should be considered seriously.
Great post – a few thoughts.
Premeditated random acts of kindness?
Well considered but spontaneous and not managed?
The thing is, if this kind of activity was truly random and spontaneous it would be an innate part of the brand already.
Back-engineering it into a brand, like shoe-horning an anvil into a stiletto, surely undermines the whole concept. Savvy customers can smell strategic rat a mile away.
Unless… there was a real commitment to make fundamental changes for the right reasons.
Brands trying to do something “real” is great but strategically planning random acts of kindness to gain credibility is a contradition and sort of makes me want to vomit.
Here’s a crazy idea. A brand that one day announced real change, admitted they had made real mistakes and had now made real commitments to doing things differently? Now that I would like to see. That smells better.
In the long run it would probably cost less and be far more beneficial that paying those damn shoe-horn consultants too!
Aaron – I agree that a great brand would have random acts of kindness already happening in a spontaneous manner. However, not many brands are great. So i believe that the next best thing to do is, internally plan for something random to happen and do everything you can to ensure it comes across as real externally. At least this way something will happen. Also there are heaps of different types of random acts too – i didn’t make it clear that i’m not referring to the Hilton example Bruce quoted but more along the lines of giving someone a pack of jaffas for no apparent reason while they are walking down the street. Thanks for replying.
The tension here seems to be between random and kindness.
If the act is truly random it is vulnerable to missing the mark. How do you form your random act if you do not know where the inherent value of kindness lies for the customer?
Not all of us view kindness as gallant picking up the bill, for some it lies more in the nuances of a casual wine taste when you can not decide on a wine at your local bar or the waived library fine when you are usually so conscientious.
In some way the act must be orchestrated by the business if it is to fully leverage brand equity from the initiative.
If the act is more targeted at customer value points, perhaps we would be more likely to endure the smell of the strategic rat and just be gracious in the receiving?
Over the weekend I experienced an opportunity for a retailer to give me a random act of kindness. However they failed to orchestrate their act of discounting at the till and it fell flat.
When I got to the till with my everyday household items at an everyday retailer, they turned out to be heavily discounted…..key in the opportunity for the teller to communicate this to me as a ’surprise’ reduction, driven by kindness. Instead nothing was said and I was left to figure out the discrepancy. Iinstead of experiencing gratitude, I felt rather irritated and frustrated. I could now afford more, yet did not want to queue all over again.
Rather than build brand equity, it has been eroded. I perceived the random act as driven by inefficiencies and disorganization rather than kindness. In these budget driven times I need to trust the price is what it says. Next time I will be checking the receipt for price inconsistencies – up or down.
If you are going to be kind, ensure it is well orchestrated to be perceived as such.