How Sticky Is Your "Stuff?"

After reading the title of this post there may be a few of you who'll need a minute to pluck your minds out of the gutter. That's okay, take your time. The rest of us will just hang out here until you regain your composure.

Okay, now that I have everybody's undivided and uncompromised attention let's talk about sticky and stuff. In that order. 

As the image accompanying this article clearly illustrates, stickiness is what happens when something (in this case a nasty piece of well-chewed gum) latches on to you and won't easily let go. Whether we're talking gum, barbecue sauce, duct tape, plant burrs, annoying song melodies, super glue or mutant velcro, the net effect's the same: once you've crossed paths with a tenacious tagalong, separating yourself from it isn't always an easy task. 

With the possible exception of the leftover barbecue sauce, nothing else from that short list is something you'd usually willingly and/or cooperatively welcome into your life in the first place. Doesn't matter. Anything that's sticky by nature doesn't need your permission to do its thing. And guess what? That's actually good news! Read on to understand why...

As a fiercely competitive “new economy” business professional, you should always be looking for cool and innovative ways to reach and expand your market. Regardless of whether you're selling a product or service, your ultimate goal is to own the hearts and minds of your prospects, customers and clients. And that's most effectively accomplished through the implementation of potent, emotionally-charged sales and marketing campaigns, along with the delivery of a kick-ass product or service that rocks your customers' world! Oh, by the way, what I just described in that previous sentence is your "stuff." 

Is this beginning to make sense? Your marketing stuff, your sales stuff and your product/service stuff needs to be so sticky (in a good way) that people can't get it out of their heads or stop talking about it. 

Stickiness needs to be engineered into every component of your business at the cellular level. You want to create the business equivalent of the catchy commercial jingle or #1 radio hit that drills deep into the brains of your audience and relentlessly reminds them of who you are, the astonishing and unique value that you provide, and why they need to get their hands on it ASAP! 

There are lots of ways to do this and, fortunately, they're not always costly, complicated or convoluted. However, they do need to be consistent and compelling. That's a lot of alliteration to wade through, but when it comes to creating stickiness, those last two "Cs" are the most important ones. 

Your stuff needs to be – at the very least – interesting to your audience. Even better, though, is if it actively engages them...gets them involved in a conscious and deliberate fashion. The more invested (and I don't necessarily mean from a dollars and cents perspective) people are in something, the more memorable and sticky it becomes. 

Your marketing should invite participation and feedback. Your sales process needs to be dynamic and customer focused (i.e. what's in it for them). Both your follow up and ongoing customer service need to be value-driven and openly encourage input and suggestions for improved performance. And all of these things need to be practiced consistently. Because if they're sufficiently engaging and compelling, and they occur with a precisely-choreographed regularity, they can't help but become sticky in a way that serves the interests of both you and your audience. 

How about you? Is your "stuff" sticky? Does it meaningfully engage your prospects and customers in a way that puts you "top of mind?" Ideas and comments are welcome and appreciated.