• by Steven Morris , April 9, 2009

Recently, I read a magazine article that contained a startling statistic. "Ninety-eight percent of what we think, feel and talk about is about us," it said. I'm not sure if that stat grabs you the way it did me, but I was taken aback - personally and professionally - by the idea.

Translating this thinking into my professional world of brand strategy and creative, I often find myself reminding clients and our team about why we do what we do. We're not in the business of creating stellar branding strategies and campaigns. Nor are we in the business of building brilliant ad campaigns or killer websites. We're not even in the business of doing what clients say. We are, however, in the business of authentically communicating to our clients' audiences, and this is where the "2% Opportunity" hits home.

Remember Bill Clinton's mantra during his first run at the White House? "It's the economy, stupid." While such a sentiment has multi-meaning truth in the current economic age, Clinton's single-pointed focus did well for his campaign. Translating that focus to the "2% Opportunity," the world of marketing and communication has something to learn here. Our focus is and always will be about the customer.

I've witnessed again and again that companies and brands spend too much time chest-thumping and not nearly enough time focusing on the audiences with which they are in business to communicate and serve. And I do mean communicate with - not just sell, advertise or market to.

A men's grooming-product line put out by a global packaged goods giant is a good example of a brand making it "all about the customer." I participated in a recent promotion effort, launched just prior to St. Patrick's Day, in which the company used a Twitter-based social-media campaign.

Via a microsite, Twitter folks were asked to complete the following statement: "______ me, I'm _______" -- as in "Kiss me, I'm Irish" with a twist. The top-voted phrases then were shared on the microsite. My favorite was "Trust me, I'm a doctor," and there were plenty of other great responses.

The strength of social media proves that people want and need communication. They insist on it. It's human nature to look for a two-way street of communication, and technology is beginning to catch up to this need. People -- especially women -- want a dialog. To effectively and authentically communicate we must be thinking about our audience as least as much as we're thinking about ourselves and our products and services.

Do your brand, product or services consistently respond to the question, "What's in it for them?" If so, then you're well on your way to understanding your business and how to thrive in that business, regardless of the economic situation. If not, you might want to spend more time considering the wants and needs of your audience.