Tip 81: Make them lol (literally)

You like to have a good time don’t you? Your customers probably do too. Make your customers’ day by giving them a giggle. Laughter is such good medicine, and you might be the only one who makes them laugh that day. Next time your customers need a bit of a pick-me-up, they’ll know they can count on you.

Examples

  1. Watching this Old Spice commercial makes me laugh every time. It just doesn’t get old. I’m soooo grateful to them for thinking this up.
  2. Kmart gave their customers a giggle with their “Ship My Pants” campaign, and JC Penny did it a while back too with their “Beware the Doghouse.”

Suggestions

  1. You can make laughter a part of a campaign, that helps tie in your product and the benefit it provides your customers. But be careful. Humor can be hard to pull off well, because different things speak to different customers. It is best to stick to humor that matches up with the customer profile you have created for your business.
  2. You can make laughter spontaneous and totally unrelated to your product. It can just be a part of the experience your customers get when interacting with your business.

Application for your business

  1. Write down what type of humor aligns most with your ideal customer. Next write down what type of humor your ideal customer would not find humorous (then you know what to stay away from.)
  2. Brainstorm three ways to incorporate humor into communications about your products and services.

Previous tips

1-22. Section 1: Build a relationship with your customers (series)

23-48. Section 2: Make your customers’ lives better (series)

49-62. Section 3: Reward your customers (series)

63. Be cool (code for be yourself)

64. Love what you do (and let it show)

65. Give your business some G.A.S.

66. Have awesome people

67. Take care of your awesome people

68. Be remarkable

69. Be memorable

70. Shake things up

71. Be awesome in unexpected small ways

72. Be awesome in unexpected big ways

73. Start a movement

74. Be fearless

75. Tell the story about your product

76. Do mundane tasks in a new, different, and unexpected way

77. Empower your team to make a less than optimal experience right

78. Be prepared for anything

79. Have an ego

80. Don’t take yourself too seriously