Have You Cracked the Code?

I get very excited when I see businesses (especially corporates) who’ve cracked the code. You know – they’ve actually understood that their customers aren’t numbers on a spreadsheet or AB demographics, but real live human beings. Who knew, right? Most recently, Optus sent me a series of marcoms pieces which indicate that they may have (finally) cracked the code. What did they do right? 1. They’ve liberally used the word ‘You’. It’s kind of obvious, but the temptation is to always talk about ourselves when we communicate with clients or prospects. Who we are. What we do. How we can help. Yada yada yada. What a revolution for Optus to actually headline their flyer ‘How are you doing?’ rather than the much-more-obvious ‘How are we doing?’ 2. They’ve kept it short. It’s all about me, and it’s 5 lines long. What’s not to like? I can absorb it quickly, get the general gist, and file the relevant info away as needed. 3. It’s cute. I have a confession. I really, really hated the whole wild animal theme that Optus had going for (what seemed like) years. What was with the hippos, the giraffes, the meerkats? What did they have to do with me as a customer? Frankly, zero. But somehow the cute little guy (is he meant to be a comma or something?) doesn’t grate nearly as much as the zoo creature line up which used to dominate all their advertising. Plus the font they use lulls you into a false sense of security and makes them look all touchy-feely. 4. Even the fine print is user-friendly. ‘Unfortunately, if you decide to move your services elsewhere, we won’t be able to continue your bundle discount.’ It’s kind of apologetic, while telling it like it is. 5. They’re treating me like a human being, not an automaton. Instead of the usual, ‘To opt out, please xxx’ they’ve opted for the far more pleasing ‘No longer keen on our marketing messages? No problem.’ They’ve used words like ‘peeve’, ‘chinwag’, ‘problems’ and ‘pointers’. All recognisable words straight that I don’t even need an Oxford English Dictionary on hand to decode. Aww. I’m feeling all warm and fuzzy. Hang on. Maybe that was their plan all along?