I am going to share a very personal secret. Not very many people know this intimate detail about me, but today is the day. I am going to be vulnerable and share it. Are you ready? Okay, here it goes. Oh, man…I am not sure if I can do this. I am so nervous. Okay, here it goes. Ready?

I use Ivory soap when I shower.

Hahaha! Are you disappointed? Sorry, I hyped it up so much. I’ve been using the ivory soap for years. I think over 20 years…maybe even more. But I wanted to tell you this because I made a decision this morning to change brands. And I am going to tell you why, and it’s all going to make sense. Especially because this is the finale of our series, “The Relationship Factor.” Here’s a quick review of what we’ve talked about so far:

• How important is fostering good relationships in business? Read More
• How important is fostering good relationships in life? Read More
• What makes a successful business relationship? Read More
• What is a relationship return on investment (ROI)? Read More

Everything we have discussed so far is relationship marketing. The world has transformed how we communicate. Brands now especially do a better job engaging with the public, and through millions and millions of data points, they have figured out how to get their products to the people. They have figured out that in order to do that well, they have to do these three things even better.

• They have to know their customers better than anyone. Not as consumers and data points but as people.
• They must understand how to connect with each of them individually and deeply.
• They have to know how to earn their trust.

And here’s the bottom line of how this can be achieved: Once you find your target market…once you figure out who they are and know them better than anyone else, it’s time to connect with them emotionally, to speak to each one individually and deeply. Once they are moved and experience how a brand made them feel, trust will be earned.

And here’s a perfect example of how this can be achieved. Please watch this 2-minute video:

Dove is redefining beauty. And their message is that beauty is for everyone. They’ve studied their market…meaning they studied the people they want to serve, and they figured out that this specific market and the future generation of this market need desperately to build a positive self-image and reduce the anxiety that comes from the toxic ideas of beauty. So, they created a “Real Beauty” campaign, ensuring the world that real beauty comes in all shapes, sizes, colors, and ages, and this became the central message of their campaign.

Why?

Because they realized something, they realized something fundamentally important that most marketing books failed to tell you about. We were taught that the successful market mix incorporates the four Ps. Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. But, they forgot to teach us the most important P of all. People. And Dove doubled down and decided to focus all of their efforts on the missing P. It’s brilliant, and it worked.

So, why am I changing to Dove? Because it moved me deeply. It triggered something within me that resonated with the message. Dove made me see beauty differently, and it caused me to feel something. The heartstring they pulled in me earned my trust in this very brand, even to the point where I am willing to give up my 20+ years of loyalty to my dear Ivory.

What’s marketing? It’s all about relationships. It’s about the missing P, making a connection, and helping us see beauty in a new, creative, and profound way… from human to human. That’s life, too, isn’t it?

Thanks for journeying with me through this series. I really enjoyed researching and sharing about it. Stay tuned for the introduction to the new series coming up. I can’t wait to share it with you. Until then, have a great week.

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