Sassy Sally 25 – your new product endorser

Forget celebrities. At least as endorsers of your company and/or products. Many of the top celebrities in entertainment, business and sports make themselves available to help market products like yours to the forefront of public attention and consumer awareness. In many cases, the presence of a celebrity spokesperson lends the credibility necessary to launch a new product successfully into today’s competitive marketplace. Or do they? Sassy Sally 25 is your new product endorser. Do people still believe that celebrities give credibility to a product? Even though they receive millions in endorsing products? In hindsight – do you really want your product to be associated with Michael Jackson, Mike Tyson,OJ Simpson or even our own Oscar Pistorius? I thought not! So let us start using Sassy Sally 25 or Fedup with Corruption as our future endorsers.

Sharing economy

The “Sharing Economy” refers to the use and access of shared physical or human resources or assets, rather than the fact that there is no monetary exchange. A Sharing Economy enables different forms of value exchange and is a hybrid economy. To see the sharing economy in action, one has to just look at Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, e.t.c.) and Disruptive Innovation (Uber, AirBnB, e.t.c.). Just read the comments, warnings and advice posted on these platforms. They are in fact endorsements (if it is positive) or warnings (negative endorsements) that are shared by like-minded REAL people, like Sassy Sally 25. As a business owner, you should be very worried about what ordinary and normal people has to say about your product or company. Because they are not paid to endorse your product they are more credible than any celebrity can ever be. They are the person next door, they say what they want and they have a reputation to keep up within their own tribe. They will not “endorse” a product to their peers if they do not believe in it. Whether they had a positive or negative experience with a product – they are bound to let everyone in their tribe, and beyond, know about it.

Sassy Sally 25 product endorser

When booking accommodation in Budapest, Bela-Bela or Belarus, I read what other REAL people are reporting. Depending on your own generation, you will seek out people you can associate yourself with, and put more credibility on their opinions. For instance, a group of university students will put more weight on Sassy Sally 25’s opinion, whilst Baby Boomers may value Retired Ron’s opinion. In either case, nobody is interested what Andy Murray thinks about it. When doing renovations to your house, surely you would like to read what Guy Next Door has to say, rather than what Donald Trump thinks?

If you agree – then surely it is vital that you, as business owner, start taking your online reputation seriously and start engaging with your clients. Make their shopping experience with your company unforgettable – every step of the way. That means providing advice, offering a comprehensive service, listening to their complaints, sorting out problems and communicating with them.

Business owners tend to forget that they are also consumers. Take off your owner’s hat, and put on your consumer hat. Then look at your own business and ask yourself – “Will I do business with my own business?”
Sassy Sally 25 is the new company endorser. And when Sally is caught with her knickers on her knees – nobody will know – and thus your company will suffer no reputational damage, because Lazy Leon and Perfect Pam will take over the endorsement role.

Contact Prof Gary to help your company grow, through consulting and interim management.