Imagine you’re a marketer that wants to reach a 35-45 year old male who has a household income of $100,000, has 3.2 kids, drives an SUV and lives in the Midwest.
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If you’re a good direct marketer you can do that in your sleep.
Now trying to reach the same guy through social media. Sure, you can reach him, but you’re also going to reach Grandma Jones and that goth kid down the street.
Too many direct marketers today are trying to keep their tried-and-true spot on messaging that they learned in 90′s by applying that same approach on social media platforms. That approach can sometimes work for new business opportunities. Social media by its very nature encourages interaction and relationships with people you might never imagine would be paying customers.
Here’s the problem: Many of these same direct marketers also want retention efforts to work for them through social media by keeping it private. They only want to talk to their customers through social media platforms. That approach can work on sites like Ning where you can create password protected communities or even through some of the Group features on Linked-in. But that’s where the social media for “current customers” ends.
Remember that party you had in high school? You invited five friends over to watch movies and the whole school showed up? Well, that’s the excuse I gave the cops and my parents anyway. That’s what’s happening on sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. You serve decent food and drinks and everyone shows up for the party.
Our advice? You can keep current customers satisfied through social media. You can also attract new customers as well. Don’t do one or the other, do both. By providing value to current customers, Grandma Jones and that goth kid down the street might realize that being your customer offline and online offers value.
Save your direct marketing tactics for where it belongs – email and direct mail. Better yet, use direct mail and email to let people know about your social media efforts. You never know who might show up for the party.
Author: Josh Fleming
www.lessingflynn.com
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
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Funny, a product that entices Grandma Jones AND a Goth Kid. Must be one spectacular product.