PR Week recently ran an interesting piece about how TD Bank and its agency partner has created a dog ATM. Yes! In this case, the ATM stands for “automated treat machine” and is part of the bank’s ongoing initiative to welcome dogs (and by extension, their owners) by offering water bowls and biscuits.
While this innovative ATM is likely to strike a chord with dog-lovers’ hearts, it isn’t exactly an unheard-of approach, since Starbucks has been offering their secret-menu Puppuccino for some time. Not to be left out of the paw-tee, certain locations of Chick-Fil-A began offering their version of pup treats too.
What Catering To Canines Can Teach Even B2B Marketers
At a time when competition is fierce and customer expectations are at an all-time high, businesses are searching for ways to differentiate themselves and connect on a deeper level. All three of the aforementioned companies are brilliant examples of ways to achieve this by making marketing more personal.
Following are four takeaways that even B2B marketers can glean from this outreach to furry companions:
1. Find A Way To Establish Emotional Connections
People love their pets, and these small gestures leverage that affection to create an emotional response. In B2B marketing, ways to create emotional connections aren’t as obvious but are just as important. These include highly personalized communications, fostering relationships between clients and their internal contacts inside your organization, and always being willing to go the extra mile to ensure the customer’s success.
2. Prioritize the Customer Experience
Pet indulgences make a simple visit to the neighborhood bank or getting coffee through the drive-through more enjoyable. In the B2B space, enhancing CX might mean providing excellent after-sales support and ensuring a seamless onboarding process. Remember that every touchpoint is a chance to delight your customers and exceed their expectations. If you can find unexpected ways to do this, even better.
3. Foster a Sense of Community
Giving out dog treats helps to establish a bond between the company and pet owners. Similarly, B2B marketers can build a community around their brand by creating forums, establishing user groups, and hosting customer-appreciation events.
4. Create Shareable Moments
Starbucks customers have been known to snap photos or take video of their pets enjoying a pup cup, then upload them to social media. This is basically free advertising. Similarly, B2Bs can look for “shareable” opportunities of their own, such as taking photos with clients at industry events to use socially, promoting customer endorsement quotes, and publishing case studies.
Dog treats might seem like a small gesture, but it’s so much more on the customer-engagement scale. As B2B marketers, consider ways that you might let your own outreach programs “go to the dogs” to help instill loyalty and turn customers into long-term brand supporters.
Sidenote: A second shout-out goes to head-of-the-pack TD Bank for utilizing our client Sixième Son to create a sonic brand identity to highlight that it’s more than just another financial services company. Read about it here.