In this social business world we live in. You know the one I’m talking about. Where every business helps. Where every employee listens. Everything has become oh so, well, friendly.
And believe me that’s just fine.
Yesterday, I talked about businesses and their awkward online handshakes. Today, let’s go to the other extreme. From the “me me” to the “you you”.
Businesses who don’t simply embrace their customers. They leave them covered in gloss-red lipstick.
But for what?
Let’s talk -isms for a second.
Sinek-isms – where marketers are learning to embrace their ‘why?’
Baer-isms – where marketers are helping their readers.
Brogan-isms – where business owners learn to act human.
Solis-isms – where we learn to embrace the technology available to us.
All wonderful themes that we can interpret and integrate within our own business and conjure new ideas from.
However. Enter the caveat. Let’s throw another -ism into the pot, a Ducker-ism… “the purpose of a business is to create a customer.”
Sometimes, we can over-egg the enthusiasm for ‘engaging’ with our customer base. We forget the over-arching intention of business – to create new customers.
Somewhere along the line there has to be a process. I hate the term, but I’ll use it – a nurturing process. From reader to subscriber to believer to customer to advocate.
My feeling is that a lot of businesses, businesses that have embraced the social arena, are focusing upon growing readership. Nothing else.
Maybe there’s a fear of upsetting readers by asking them to subscribe to newsletters or trial offerings? Why? Because it’s not the ‘social’ thing to do?
Well, this is social business.
For a restaurant to attract customers they offer a menu. They deliver choice. The waiters run back and forth delivering requests. The chef creates. But it’s the menu that connects the hungry customer with the practiced chef. Your business needs a menu on every table.
Don’t be afraid to whet the appetite of your readers. Tell them what you can do to help. Don’t simply offer your hand in assistance.
I’m a big believer in creating marketing assets. The articles. The video. The podcast. The sharing of knowledge. It sits central to my client work. But, every marketing piece that’s created isn’t judged on ‘readership’ merit. It’s judged on ‘actions taken’
Big businesses have the opportunity to experiment. To fire out new social messages aimed to ‘prove’ they care (beyond profit). Take BP as an example:
For smaller businesses? That experimentation demands a call to action. ‘This is what we stand for. We create [this] to help you achieve [that]’.
Sometimes our marketing heads carve out ideas inspired by the talk of ‘humanisation’ of larger scale businesses. Rightfully so. Just remember there’s a gulf between creating content to help build a brand and content that helps support a brand.
Believe in helping your customers by being a fountain of knowledge. By listening. By communicating. Just keep in mind that Drucker-ism… business is about creating customers. It pays bills.
Written By:
