The Top Five Things Your Customers Want to Accomplish

"It’s not about how customers fit into your marketing plan – but rather about how you fit into their lives."
– Robbin Phillips, Author, Brains on Fire

You’ve undoubtedly heard the phrase "maybe they’re just not that into you." While that phase is amusing and certainly has application, the challenge with marketing is that often times the state of "their not being that into us" is preceded by our lack of genuine interest in them in the first place. In marketing, especially social media marketing, looking at things as a "give to get" model can serve us well.

When your campaign or marketing efforts come up short, it may not mean that they don’t like you – it just means they have different priorities than you. In the book Brains on Fire, Robbin Phillips writes about this very idea, "It’s not about how customers fit into your marketing plan – but rather about how you fit into their lives."

Try it: Instead of believing that it’s them and not you, organize your efforts around how your product, service or cause might become a part of their lives and fit into their daily schedule.

As an example, I asked that when we created this newsletter (and often ask it to make sure I’m still on track). Here’s what I came up with when I thought about what you want:

1. A good idea to start your week that you might be able to use right now
2. Something to send to your colleague as a subtle kick in the pants
3. Data and research on a topic of interest from a trusted resource
4. A bit of challenge to encourage you to think harder about doing better marketing

What do you think? Did I hit the mark? What would you add?

Follow Scott’s advice. Scott Ginsberg (the guy with the nametag) asks:

Are you starting with the customer in mind or just starting with the customer?

Q&A | QUESTIONS & ACTIONS

Maybe you already do this, but if not, try it out today or on your next campaign. Seriously ask yourself (and your customers) the question "what are we trying to help our customers accomplish with this campaign" or whatever it is that you’re doing. Don’t leave until you have the top 3-5 things on your list. Build your efforts around that and weave your brand into their lives.

UPCOMING EVENTS

I try to keep the promotion out of these newsletters for the most part, but I’m always asked about where we’ll be and when our classes are, so here’s a list of what we have for the rest of the year.

October

10/5 – 12/14 – Social Media and E-Marketing Certificate Series – NWTC (6 classes) (Green Bay)

10/21 – Doodles, Skypes and Boxes, Oh My! (60 Web 2.0 Tools in 60 Minutes) – Current – 10/21 (Green Bay)

November

11/2 – 11/3 – Technomarketing 2-Day Training Series – AMA (Philadelphia)

11/16 – 11/17 – Social Media for B2B 2-Day Training Series – AMA (New York)

December

12/3 – MarketingSavant’s One-Day Social Media Bootcamp – Rasmussen College (Green Bay) – A hands-on course taught in the computer lab

12/15 – 12/16 – Advanced Social Media 2-Day Training Series – AMA (Chicago)