What do the best marketers and coaches have in common? It’s not an emphasis on wins and losses.

They’re good listeners.

If you want to make an impact on your audience, you’ve got to get to know them and engage with them. And today, we’re taking hints from one of the best listeners out there: Ted Lasso himself. We’re coaching you on social listening and incorporating creative details into your UX.

Forget about trying to sell to your audience for a minute. We realize this is counterintuitive for marketers. But marketing isn’t only about selling — we’re going to show you why it’s worthwhile to get to know your audience as more than just customers. To engage with and entertain them on their favorite platforms, and to show them appreciation through little moments of surprise and delight.

This week, we’re reining in “Ted Lasso.” So don’t bring an umbrella to the brainstorm. Because we’re coaching you on social listening, incorporating creative details in your UX, and building in elements of edu-taining in your B2B marketing.

About “Ted Lasso”

“Ted Lasso” is a comedy series about an unwaveringly positive and wholesome American football coach played by Jason Sudeikis who gets hired to coach a British soccer team, fictional team AFC Richmond. The series has run for two seasons which aired in 2021 and 2022, and its third season will air this spring. It also stars Brendan Hunt as Coach Beard and Hannah Waddingham as Rebecca Welton.

What B2B Companies Can Learn From “Ted Lasso”:

• Use social listening to learn about your customers as people. Learn what matters to your customers by tuning into their Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and other social platforms. Then, use that information to personalize their customer experience. A little surprise and delight goes a long way! Here’s an example: at Brandweek 2019, experience management company Qualtrics asked conference attendees to tweet them a wish that the company’s Dream Team would deliver in real time. And deliver they did. Whether it was a fishbowl margarita, a Popeyes chicken sandwich, a comfy pillow, or a fresh pair of Nikes, guests were surprised and delighted to see their wishes come true at the conference. By doing so, Qualtrics catered to their guests, got them talking, and created a lasting impression that would inspire diehard customer loyalty. Internet provider Spectrum also monitors Twitter for messages by customers, responding to tweets about outages and offering to help restore services. As for Ted Lasso, listening is like his superpower. Players mentioned that the water pressure in the locker room showers was “rubbish”, so Lasso repaired it. A seemingly simple gesture reminded players that he was listening and cared about their experience.
• ‍Build small details into your UX to bring your customers joy.
  In the first season of “Ted Lasso,” Ted bakes shortbread cookies for his boss Rebecca. It’s a small gesture that gives the two a chance to connect – and it’s a powerful lesson for your UX. Baking in these little moments to build connection is essential. When you complete a task on Asana, a unicorn flies across the screen – and that simple animation gives a straightforward project management tool a sense of personality and whimsy that isn’t easily replicated. In your B2B marketing, incorporate personalized touches into your website that speak to your brand and values.

“Everyone loves random acts of kindness. And when it comes to marketing, it's the same thing. Like if a brand is able to show that they understand the wants and needs of their customers, they can gain that customer loyalty. And that's where surprise and delight come in. Like if they execute a surprise and delight idea really well, customers are more likely to be brand advocates and stick with the brand, especially on social media. So using surprise and delight helps increase brand awareness but also companies can use it as a retention strategy.” - Anagha Das

“Companies now are using the power of social listening to really understand where their customers are, what they're super interested in, what they're listening to, what they're watching, what trends they're really into that are not related to the company at all. It's literally just like, what are your customers into? And like, how can you play into that to show that you're listening and that you understand your audience and show that you care and want to do something that makes them feel good about whatever they're passionate about.” - Anagha Das

“It's really just becoming a little bit more human and thoughtful about your audience, and realizing that everyone doesn't wanna be sold to 24/7. And I think surprising and delighting your audience, even for a B2B audience, it can be as easy as, ‘All right, today, we're not gonna post promotional stuff on LinkedIn. We're gonna just send out like a have a great day post.’ Like it's something as simple as that. Just to show that there's people behind the brand and they're acknowledging their audience as people as well.“ - Colin Stamps

Links

Watch Ted Lasso

Check out how the Qualtrics Dream Team delivered Popeyes, a dog, a margarita, and more to their event attendees

See Asana’s Celebration Critters that emerge when a task is completed

Read tales (pun intended) of Chewy’s epic customer service

Learn more about Custom Ink’s unusual money back guarantee on customized goods  

Find out more about social listening and how it could benefit your business

About Remarkable!

Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both non-fiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com.

In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios), Dane Eckerle (Head of Development) and Meredith O’Neil (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith O’Neil, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK.

Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.