Let's get physical

In a world where, as consumers, we are bombarded by 3000 messages a day (according to something I was told at a conference), it can be difficult to get your message across. There is a lot of competition to grab our attention. This is why lots of businesses - when you start talking about brand - throw their hands up in the air and say 'how can we ever compete?'. To be fair, it's a good question.

And the answer is: Don't talk to your audience, engage them.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines 'engage' as: To hold fast a persons attention. I think that's a pretty good description of what most businesses would like to do with their audience. What got me thinking about engagement was this article, from The Guardian. It talks about the challenges businesses with green products or services face, when trying to engage with consumers. It concludes that a physical experience is far more engaging than simply reading or listening to statements. In the article there are some great examples: A tower of boxes representing the waste being created or boiling a kettle by peddling a bike.

But it's not just green businesses that can benefit from becoming more physical. Every business can benefit from becoming more interactive (in the broadest sense of the word) and less passive. And every business has lots of opportunities to do this... it's just that the majority don't make the most of them (or even recognise them).

In our brand seminar we talk about four brand touch points; four aspects of the business where there is an opportunity to engage with their audience. They can do this through:
- Product or service
This is your core business - the thing customers pay you for. It's (probably) at the heart of your relationship with your customer.
- People
The human face (or voice) of your business - a key element in building relationships (and therefore engagement).
- Working environment
The place where you do business - for an online business this might be your website. This is often a great opportunity to create an 'experience' for your customers.
- Communication
Often the first thing your audience will see - maybe your website or some literature - so the first opportunity to 'engage' with them, rather than talk to them.

Every activity within a business - any business - sits under one of these headings. And each of these aspects presents an opportunity to engage with your audience: to tell them more about who you are, what you do, how you do it... and where you're going.

So if you want to get the attention you deserve from your audience - and keep it - look at your business and each of those scenarios. Do you make the most of them? Do you engage your audience?... Or do you just talk to them?