Your marketing bridge is quite possibly the most important element of your marketing, and it’s the element most often ignored. What is a marketing bridge, and why is it important? The marketing bridge is the “connection” between what your advertising says about your business and what your customer experiences. If your advertising tells people something about your business and they don’t see, hear, or experience it upon making contact - there is a disconnect…and that's a problem. For example: An electronics retailer advertises that their sales consultants are experienced, knowledgable professionals who can answer your questions. However, when you arrive at the store, your sales consultant is clearly a part time employee with limited knowledge about the products they sell. What does this do to your image of that retailer? Here are some ways to ensure you have a solid marketing bridge:

• Make sure your ads tell your real story. Don’t make false claims or exaggerated statements.
• Follow through on a message internally.

For example: If you are home of the “best price guarantee”, have your people answer the phone “home of the best price guarantee”, hang a sign in your showroom that says you’re home of the “best price guarantee”, put it on your website, on your receipts and paperwork. Post the details of the best price guarantee near the registers. Make sure your staff understands and communicates the best price guarantee to the customers appropriately.

• Make sure your entire organization is on board with and aware of your advertising message.

Southwest Airlines has a solid marketing bridge. Their ads are quirky and funny, and they promote low prices and free checked bags. When you search for flights, their prices are low. And, when you fly with them, everyone from the baggage clerks to the pilots is friendly, quirky and funny, and your bags do fly free. See? Connection. Good. People trust a connection, and they connect others to it... Bottom line - if your internal customer experience doesn’t match up with the one you advertise, you have no marketing bridge, and the customer leaves scratching their head. The simple steps above will solidify your marketing bridge and thus your customer loyalty and trust. At Viamark Advertising, we help build a solid marketing bridge through campaigns that have synergy inside and out. If you feel you need a little engineering assistance with your bridge, give us a call. Got an example of a strong or weak marketing bridge? Tell us about it, let's learn by example - good or bad.