Proud marketer

I think this is a great time to be in marketing.

It used to be that marketing was almost a dirty word. The perception being that marketing was using slick techniques to get people to buy things that they may not really need or that marketing was used to mask some of the truth. On the flip side, if marketing wasn't thought of as deceptive, it was thought of as useless, adding no value to the customer. I think all of that is changing.

 Many marketers are using marketing to put the customer first. The great marketers are creating brands that at their core are about customer success. Brands that are about delivering on a vision.  This marketing transformation is everywhere.  I read articles everyday about being honest, talking about the pros AND the cons of your product and posting the good AND the bad reviews. I read articles about using storytelling to help prospects know what it is really like to use your product and really understand the company. I read articles about using content marketing to help prospects accomplish their goal, knowing full well many of those customers will never make a purchase and will be getting something for nothing. I read articles about consultative selling where the end result is not pushing for the sale, but letting the customer know the product might not be a good fit and offering suggestions on a better option. I read articles about consistently measuring customer satisfaction using net promoter score or other metrics and using the results to address situations immediately, not just as a data point in some quarterly review. I read articles about taking the time and effort to perform extraordinary acts for customers and working to delight them. These are just a few examples of how marketing is changing. The list of examples showing marketing adding real value to customers could go on and on. And this change is being embraced by both big and small businesses and both start-ups and established organizations.

I love it. I love that marketing is leading here. Honestly, it makes me proud to be in marketing. I want this new marketing outlook to continue to expand, to be embraced by everyone in marketing.

The other day I was speaking with someone and in trying to make a statement about someone else's sincerity, he said "he really meant it, it wasn't just a marketing technique." I was slightly offended by the statement. Obviously, perceptions about marketing still have a way to go, but with the great efforts I listed above, we are getting there. I look forward to the day when the statement becomes, "He really meant it, it WAS a marketing technique."

P.S. The best news of all for those in marketing is that this shift is not simply altruistic. In the end, treating people right, putting them first, produces results.

Is content marketing a good way to teach customers?

Recently, I wrote that if you value your customer you will teach them. I think content marketing is a perfect teaching vehicle that benefits the customer throughout their life cycle.  A well done content marketing effort should be the content representation of an organization's vision.  Essentially becoming the bible for customers of an organization.  Successful content marketing will be the first stop for the unfamiliar trying to better understand what your organization provides as well as the destination for the loyal customer looking to maximize the value of your product.   Done correctly content marketing will offer content that show how to accomplish the user's goal, that shows what success looks like, and provide insight on how you work and the quality of your organization.  Ideally through teaching your content will always help the user achieve their goal, but it will not always result in a sale.

Marketing value

What if we set a new standard for marketing?  What if the standard is that we only do marketing that adds value to peoples' lives? What would go and what would stay? I think this should be standard.

Data for everyone over big data

I am not a big fan of running your business using big data as the sole driver. Meaning that I believe it is possible to optimize yourself to failure by making short term decisions at the expense of your long term vision. That being said, I definitely believe numbers matter. In fact, everyone in your organization should be tied in to the key metrics. Everyone. If an employee says that they aren't interested, then they need to find something else to do, because numbers matter.

Is a bad customer experience a chance to increase loyalty?

A customer bought your product and some sort of unpreventable accident caused it to break, what do you do? Instead of saying you are not responsible and assigning blame elsewhere, I think the best answer is to use it as opportunity to show how good you are and perhaps even perform a miracle.    The customer will be that much more loyal to you because you fixed the situation even though you didn't have to.  I am not saying that you should rectify the situation no matter how many times an individual has an issue, customers who abuse your goodwill are bad customers, and you don't need them. It is just that odds are every customer is going to face a tough situation that is not of their own making.  It simply happens to everyone no matter how hard you work or how great your business is.  The fact that it happens to everyone eventually makes it a great opportunity to make a big difference.

Do you teach?

Of course you sell, but do you teach as well? If you value your customer, you are not satisfied simply with the fact they bought from you. You should aim for them to utilize you and your product to the fullest extent and that requires teaching. The instruction should start from the beginning, even before the purchase and continue throughout the lifecycle.  If you have constructed your vision statement around customer success, there really is no other way than to teach your customer.

Your product and price may be able to matched but your teaching cannot, because in teaching you are giving of yourself and your organization.

What do you do when an employee won't buy in to your change?

You have created a path for change, you asked others to follow but did not require them to be fully convinced, you met with them where they are instead of making them come to you, and yet there are still some on your team who are doing things that are against your new direction. Maybe they don't confront you directly but their behaviors and actions are in direct conflict with you efforts. What do you do? If you know, are absolutely certain, that you will be acting for love of your company or team and not because you feel slighted, then act boldly. Move quickly to remove them. Act with the conviction that these few are hurting the larger group. Do this for two reasons, first if you truly care about your team's success they do not deserve to have someone directly hurting that success, second the team must know that you truly believe what you are preaching and open defiance brings that into question.