The Mystery of Aloof Companies

Some companies are mysterious if not a little bit aloof in the way they don't overly advertise or promote themselves. What makes them so? Here are a few ideas.

It could be that their business strategy enables them to not need to expend finances on publicity, commercials, ads, or online marketing. It might seem peculiar, but for some businesses their success actually benefits from solely word-of-mouth advertising. It's a cache you could say, and one of the companies of our time that is a perfect example of this strategy is Costco.

Costco

CNBC put Costco's strategy this way: "breaking all the retail rules." Costco doesn't rely on "frills," as it was put in the article—frills referring to not only looks but also the way that Costco doesn't try to bring attention to its superstore brand in the way other stores and businesses do.

Costco was established in 1983 by James Sinegal and Jeffery Brotman. Costco has relied on the confidence of their members to speak well of the brand. Not only that, Costco believes in their products and the unique experience their stores offer people. If you're unfamiliar with Costco, I recommend you read an article from Business Insider which goes through each step of Costco's unorthodox strategy.

What Costco, Starbucks, WholeFoods Have In Common

One of Costco's strategies named in the article was zero advertising. The writer Ashley Lutz said "By not advertising, Costco saves two percent of its budget each year and can invest more in employee pay and benefits." Doesn't that statement make you think of Starbucks or WholeFoods?

It's hard to name more than 3 brands like Costco, Starbucks, and WholeFoods, that are recognized as being very good to their employees. Read about some of the stellar ways these brands take care of their employees here. However, notice how Costco does not engage in advertising and publicity like Starbucks and WholeFoods. Costco actually has for a long time had a very strict social media policy. But, that might all change.

Opening Up

Quietly, Costco has started to fill out their online presence starting first with a Facebook Page in the hopes of attracting younger shoppers. They are behind stores like Target, Walmart, and the like with their social media performance, but they know that in the long term, social media will help them reach the elusive millennial audience in a way that other forms of advertising cannot.

That's right, Costco is recognizing that as dependable as their main customers are (average age of a Costco member is in the Baby Boomer range), their future lies with the next generation of customers too.

Our Approach

As an online marketing corporation, we at Geoffresh Inc. recognize that some clients don't want frills, they want to authentically put themselves out there. However simple the request, it's what the client needs and feels comfortable with that matters to us. Every business is different and needs different things when it comes to marketing themselves online or on television. That's why we always meet with a potential client to learn where they are, what's worked for them in the past, and how we can help them boost themselves. Not every business wants a lot in terms of marketing and advertising, some businesses like Costco carefully craft a brand image and cache that is unique and doesn't need to be everywhere you go to get new business.