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The masterful Brian Clark of Copyblogger has launched a nifty Podcast series called Internet Marketing for Smart People Radio.
In last week's episode, Brian stressed the importance of knowing who you're striving to be in the eyes of your social media audience.
Brian, for example, hopes to be seen by his followers as a "likeable teacher."
The Podcast spurred me to think about who I'd like to be perceived as.
Unfortunately, I can't decide at the moment, because of my dual personality.
On the one hand, I'd like to be perceived as social media marketing's David Ogilvy.
On the other, social media marketing's Lewis Black comes to mind.
How about you? Who do you want to be?
- It's magical to be surrounded by "fellow travelers."
- The chance something could go wrong in a live performance adds excitement.
- The chance something could go amazingly right adds even more excitement.
Regrettably, most people in the "'live' business" (such as restaurateurs, hoteliers and speakers) "work hard to avoid getting anywhere near any of the three," Godin writes.
Why do most producers of tradeshows and professional meetings work so hard to avoid these preferences?
I spoke last evening about this very topic with event designer Bob Hughes. We concluded:
- Most producers don't really understand their audiences.
- Most don't design their events from end to end; they merely "organize" them.
- Most don't report to executives who care whether the audiences have a satifactory experience. (The execs merely want to extract money from the audiences.)
Sound right to you?
I was a mere seven when Psycho was first released in movie theaters.
Fifty years later, the film's marketing campaign is still as vivid to me as it was in 1960.
As the grownups lined up in front of our local movie house, Alfred Hitchcock's voice played through a crackly outdoor speaker, advising them to keep the end of Psycho a secret.
Just inside the glass doors loomed a life-size cardboard cutout of the director with a sign that said, "The manager of this theater has been instructed not to admit to the theatre any persons after the picture starts."
Both warnings were echoed on the marquee and the outdoor posters wrapped around the building.
Before the release of Psycho, a lot of people thought it was okay to stroll into a theater at any point in the showing of a film.
Not after 1960. Hitchcock changed the way people went to movies. Theaters playing Psycho actually had to close the box office once the picture started.
Word-of-mouth turned Hitchcock's $800,000 production into a $15 million blockbuster.
What lessons can "the master of suspense" teach?
- Are you offering customers a new experience?
- Are you asking customers to talk about you?
- Are you surrounding yourself with a bit of mystery?
- Are you insisting on time limits?
Harrah's is making big news by pioneering PetStay, a program that allows dogs in three of its properties in Las Vegas.
Canine guests will enjoy many in-room amenities, including a sleeping mat, food and water dishes, and treats.
At check-in, dogs will receive welcome packets that include directions to essential services providers, including groomers, walkers and veterinarians.
Dog owners will be furnished disposable waste bags.
This may be the only time a visitor ever cleans up in Las Vegas.
It's time to take a fresh look at your sales "funnel."
Only executives—comfortably behind the lines in the daily battle for market share—still believe customers are gullible.
Direct-accountability salespeople know they're anything but.
Today's customers are self-educated. And then some.
That's why Joseph Jaffe, in his recent book Flip the Funnel, insists the traditional metaphor of a sales funnel is passe.
Today's customers are "indefatigable researchers," Jaffe writes, who "will do what they can to make informed decisions that disintermediate marketing misdirection, hyperbole, overpromise and hype."
If customers are smarter than ever, what should marketers do?
In a 2009 article, "The Consumer Decision Journey," consultants at McKinsey & Company recommend marketers "look beyond funnel-inspired push marketing" and begin to cultivate customers while they're conducting their research.
"The epicenter of consumer-driven marketing is the Internet, crucial during the active-evaluation phase as consumers seek information, reviews, and recommendations," the authors state.
Wooing customers during the "decision journey" demands that marketers forego old-fashioned media advertising, according to the authors.
They must focus instead on building content-rich Websites and word-of-mouth advertising.
If you want your customer base to grow, Seth Godin famously says, you should turn the funnel sideways.
Let customers use your funnel like a megaphone. They'll broadcast their satisfaction to others.
That would take care of your word-of-mouth advertising.
But what about your content?
That's where you need to turn the funnel upside down.
You need to flip your funnel and fill it with tons of great content. And make the content free and accessible.
So when customers on the decision journey find you, they'll find not a hypester, but a helpful, trusted advisor.
