What price whimsy?

The Encarta English Dictionary defines ‘whimsy’ as “the quality of being slightly odd or playfully humorous, especially in an endearing way.”

You don’t see a lot of whimsy these days. And that’s a pity—because whimsy may be directly translatable to increased ROI. I’ve recently been reading a marketing classic—INFLUENCE, THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PERSUASION—in which author Dr. Robert Cialdini exhaustively documents the point that “We most prefer to say yes to the requests of someone we know and like.”
“Well I knew that!” I hear you thinking. Sure. But while I’m sure your customers know you, what are you doing to make them like you? (Note: The annual holiday card is not enough.) Think about your company’s or brand’s personality. Does it ever give your prospects and customers a reason to smile? When we’re wearing our corporate hats, most of us are dead serious. And how likeable is that?

I tried to come up with some examples of likeable brands and came up pretty dry. Which just supports my point. Sure there are companies with funny advertising—but it rarely seems to carry over to their other materials. What is there on your website (or mine—I’m guilty too!) to make you smile? How about on your billing? Your sales collateral? The recorded announcements on your automated phone system? Forget likeable—most times, these things aren’t even user-friendly!

Ben & Jerry’s probably qualify as “likeable.” Who doesn’t smile when they see a pint of “Cherry Garcia” ice cream? And Snapple was likeable before Quaker Oats “corporatized” it (Wendy is still one of my favorite spokespeople of all time). But such examples are very few and far between.

None of us want to look or sound frivolous. And “likeability” costs money—it’s easy to be serious and factual, but adding (a likeable) personality takes extra effort. And that effort cannot come at the expense of the value you offer customers—it is the whipped cream on top of the dessert, not the dessert itself.

Still, look at the benefits. Properly executed (in today’s cheerless environment), the creation of a likeable brand personality can generate buzz, attract additional prospects, increase conversion rates, and improve retention. Put like that, it sounds like it might be worth a try, doesn’t it?