Does Your Marketing Strategy Produce Classic Cars?

This weekend I stopped by a "cruise in". For those that don't know, this is an event where the public can come and view classic cars which people have either restored or just taken really good care of throughout the years. While I was walking around looking at all of these classics, it occurred to me that there is a really great marketing lesson to be learned here.

What you have here are raving fans. These people are dedicated to a brand. So dedicated that they are willing to pour thousands of dollars into it. Then they do what most raving fans do which is to spread the word and show off their love of that brand. These are the marketers that continually spread the word to the rest of the world. Even though these cars are no longer produced, the word is still getting spread around.

But what is really happening here? It's not the company that these people are raving about - it's a product that the company made which somehow became a classic and then somehow found its way into the hearts and minds of loyal fans. Is this pure nostalgia or is there something unique about these specific cars?

To me, the answer lies in the product and the marketing. The product needs to be one of perceived value, have qualities which ignite emotion, and one that "sticks" with you. The marketing then needs to take these elements and create loyal fans, not by pushing them at you, but creating sustainable messages that last a lifetime. These days, we are too focused on being urgent. Everything is now. Everything is fast. Everything is about churn. This does not create classics. Nor does it create raving fans.

Let's shift this to your marketing efforts and the services you offer. Are you creating services that are sustainable? Services can create raving fans just as much as products do. When you create your services and then market them, keep the long-term in mind. Think of how those services could be like classic cars - how could they create loyal fans that care enough to use them for the long haul and then continue spreading the message around long after they are introduced. It's a great time to be thinking about this especially with all of the amazing community-based social networking tools at our disposal. We have abilities that the classic car makers never had - which is to spread the word around the world faster and cheaper. But rather than just spreading the word, make sure that the product or service behind the message can become a classic.