We’re All Wrong

Published
by
Matt
on Jan 30, 2008
in Marketers and New Marketing
.

How’s that for a headline? Pretty bold, I know, but hear me out.

We all talk a lot about new marketing (see blog title), conversations, engaging customers, interaction, building relationships, etc., but is that what people really want?

I don’t think so. At least not all the time.

For one thing, consider Dunbar’s Number, which says that 150 is the theoretical limit to the number of relationships any one person can maintain. I don’t know about you, but I have a hard enough time managing relationships with my family, friends, acquaintances, and co-workers, let alone companies and brands. So what happens when my sneaker or frozen vegetable brand starts jockeying for position with my good friends? Sorry Jolly Green Giant, you’re going to lose that battle.

You’re going to lose it almost every time.

And you’re not alone. Because the truth is, for any given person, there’s only an extremely small number of brands that matter enough to be on their radar. For me it’s Polo, Google, XBox, Blue Moon, eBay, and Seth Godin. If you’re not on that list, then I really don’t have the mental/emotional bandwidth for you all the time.

Keeping the capacity for relationships in mind, we need to avoid forcing a relationship on people who don’t want one. It’s similar to banner ads versus contextual advertising. Sure you can use the old “spray and pray” method, but it probably wont do much good (the average banner CTR was 0.2% in 2007). We need to figure out a way to make sure people only get something when they’re looking for it, a way to have “targeted conversation” (hat-tip Adam Snider).

Most new marketers (myself included) spend their time trying to figure out how to get their brands on people’s short-lists.

And that’s where we’re all wrong.

We’re trying to figure out a way on, but just like 30 second spots, people tune us out. Call me cold-blooded, but no matter how much my toothpaste brand tries to become a meaningful part of my life, it probably won’t happen. They can be personable, smart, genuine, and thoughtful, but in the end, they still don’t matter enough to me.

So where does that leave us? With the people that care, the people looking to interact with you, your fans.

Our focus needs to be with these people. Make yourself easy to find and your fans will find you. Make yourself easy to interact with, and your fans will interact with you. Don’t worry about everyone else, if you’re brand is good enough and you treat your fans well enough, that will bring more people around.

The trick is to take care of the right people, and the rest will take care of itself. That’s what new marketing is really about.

  • I think you're definitely onto something here, Matt. It's pretty obvious, when you actually stop and think about it. I mean, branding can work wonders, but when it comes to conversions, the way to get them is to go after the people who are already your fans. You don't create new fans by shoving stuff in front of there face, you do it by treating your existing fans well enough that they will go beyond mere fans/customers and become brand evangelists for you.
  • I think you bring up some great points.

    The good thing is, especially since the internet and new media enable global marketplaces, that there are enough people to go around, so to speak.

    Companies need to focus on equipping their brand evangelists, so that they can be influencers with their circle of friends.

    LinkedIn does a beautiful job of showing people how connected they really are, without having to know a ton of people.

    Most things in life work best within some sort of hierarchy, and new media is no exception.

    Fantastic post!
  • Adam and Nathania,

    Thanks for reading! I think you're both on to something when speaking about creating brand evangelists. That might be the natural progression from fans. The challenge then is how do you keep your evangelists and how do you help them spread the good word?
  • Actually if you have bleeding gums, and amongst lots of toothpaste brands you've tried, you find one which stops this nightmare, then you have a special relationship with that brand. If you have a strong need, and there's one brand which fulfills it, then that brand becomes special to you. And you'll be an evangelist for that brand.

    The hardest part is to realize who are actually those people who really need me (the brand I am), so I can give them more attention.
  • There is a trendy startup there Matt

    My 5 brands:
    Zvents
    Coca-cola
    Baja Fresh
    Fischer Price
    Tivo

    Give me a call, find a engineer, and let's get it launched

    Devil's Advocate though....
    Your post highlights why Search is the medium of the future. Not the keyword query box set of results search engine but the underlying concept: you indicate what you want and we'll give you exactly that (including some from advertisers that are of equal value to you though).

    What I can't stand is the inability for marketers to evolve to the fact that highly targeted advertising is good content, valuable to the audience and the business. Where "we've" gone wrong is that people don't want radio ads, billboard ads, tv spots, display ads, email, or etc. because they do more to distract us and suck the joy out of life than convert us to new brands; they are incapable of showing me an ad for Sleep Train only when I want to buy a new mattress! Even social marketing will struggle because you can't advertise to me what my friends like, that's irrelevant to me. Advertising that way however, is exactly what the search model does:
    I need to buy a mattress
    I need gas
    I want tickets to Foo Fighters
    Where is the closest Baja Fresh
    I need a new dress shirt

    Here, here it is and by the way, consider these no less relevant and valuable alternatives
  • @Simonne

    Thanks for reading. What you're saying about the toothpaste is dead on. If you have a strong need that a brand fulfills, then bam! you're a fan. But the issue is that not everyone has that need, nor is it fulfilled in the same way. So if a certain toothpaste saves people from real pain/discomfort then I fully expect them to shout it from the mountaintops, but that won't happen for everyone.

    And you're right. Recognizing the need is the hardest part.

    @seobrian

    Right on. Thanks for sharing your 5 brands. I think you make a good point in that it's not "search" as in Google, Yahoo!, etc. but the mentality that really works. I completely agree that we need good content thats valuable to both the audience and brand. I think that providing actual value to people's lives is the real next step. How can you make your brand that +1 in someones day?
  • It's nothing to do with recognising the need. It's recognising the demographic you wish to address.
    Once you have discovered their behaviour patterns; the research you can find on www.thebaldchemist.com/articles, you discover what you need to pitch. Harder than that its not.
    Nice article though. Stay strong and get as much joy as you can from every day.
    The Baldchemist
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