The potential customers. Who are they? Where are they? How to find them? Which is the right path to take, which will lead us in the right direction? Simple questions but sometimes so hard to answer.
Latest Web 2.0 ideas have influenced marketing: go online – twitter, blog, socialize – and your customers will come to you. But as Lewis Green mentioned in his blog post – if it will be our only way of looking for the new customers, it will lead us to the failure. Why?
Because many of decision makers are not exposed to social media, they do not know about twitter, they do not have time to read blogs, and they do not use social networks. All those tools are good, but they have to be part of integrated marketing strategy and communication. You can not wake up one day and throw all the “old” communication tools – email and traditional media – away. Web gives you one more option. It is complimentary.
Think of your potential customers: who are they, how do they look, what do they do, what are their needs, exactly how you can help them, where you can find them. Go out, meet people (personal contact is very important and it works). Send follow-up emails. Create informative newsletter that answers your clients questions and gives solutions to their problems but is not selling. Send them links to your blog posts. Only all those means together will give you the expected result.
June 20, 2008 at 2:21 pm |
Good points, Liga. I find that it is important to understand where your potential customer community is spending their time and to meet them there. For some markets there is a significant & growing presence (and discussion) in social networks, blogs, twitter, etc., and others – not so much. As you point out, people are different and a single approach will miss some.
I like your last point about sending people links to your posts, etc., as a good idea for bridging those who do not participate in online media to the valuable content online. The challenge is doing that in a way that is opt-in and isn’t intrusive.
June 26, 2008 at 12:01 am |
Thanks Marcel for the thoughtful comment.
August 16, 2008 at 5:56 pm |
Hi Liga!
It has been a while since you, Uldi and I enjoyed fish & chips in Galway.
I find it easier to let clients find me, instead of me finding clients. The best way to be found is via the most popular/used media — Google. My clients are business people ad everyone uses Google. As you mention, not everyone uses Twitter, Facebook, etc.
In the networked world, it is not just “who you know”, but “who knows you” and even more “who can discover you”[quickly and without too much effort]. Then when these “strangers” contact me, I start a conversation abut their needs and these strangers soon become colleagues and friends. In fact, this is exactly how Uldi and I met.
So a key marketing question becomes “how discoverable are you?” in a time of need.