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The GBA Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people
Angela Brown, Business Development Specialist at
Venable LLP is today’s guest blogger:
No matter where you are in your career or what industry you’re in, chances are you’re constantly being bombarded with the next big thing when it comes to marketing your brand.
The way that we work and communicate has changed so much that our attention spans are increasingly short and our brains are increasingly fried. We’re always on – tethered to BlackBerries and iPhones, checking emails from soccer games and taking conference calls from airport terminals.
Twenty-four-hour news cycles have given way to up-to-the-minute blog posts, and every time you think you’ve mastered the latest and greatest social networking tool, another one comes along and it’s time to play catch up.
Trying to establish or sustain a career in a challenging economy while staying on top of industry trends and living your life is a recipe for burnout. So you start to slip, and common courtesies and best practices go out the window. We’ve become so consumed with what’s next, we have forgotten the basics.
I’ve seen it everywhere lately. I see it when a disgruntled blogger posts about a pitch they received from an individual or company that clearly has no idea what they write about or who their audience is. I see it when I receive pitches for services I don’t need or don’t have the authority to buy. And I see it when people flock to social media sites, post once and never return.
The people and companies that make these mistakes have one thing in common – they are members of the “throw spaghetti at wall” school of thought, choosing to take action without direction in hopes that their efforts will stick. But stickiness is not a marketing strategy.
If you treat your marketing and branding efforts like spaghetti, you won’t get very far.
A sticky marketing approach will get you two things:
- You will risk alienating your audience.
- You and/or your brand will lose credibility.
To the first point, the worst thing about sticky marketing is that it’s self-serving. Sticky marketers are so consumed with their product, their service and what they believe to be newsworthy, that they give little consideration to the needs, wants or interests of the people on the other side. They’re looking inward and working backward.
Under ideal circumstances, the point of sale shouldn’t be your first encounter with a blogger, prospective client or consumer. From performing extensive market research to gain insight into consumer wants, needs and complaints, to monitoring blogs and commenting on posts prior to engaging the authors (and engaging them with relevance), what the marketing strategists behind the most successful businesses have in common is that they look outward with their efforts.
Savvy marketing strategists recognize the importance of understanding the needs of your audience first. Never assume that a prospect wants or needs what you have to offer because their name appeared in a search or on a list. Do your research, listen, establish and cultivate the relationship, and go from there. Every move you make should be client or prospect focused, and you must continue to nurture that relationship for the long term. They’ll thank you for it and tell their friends.
Going about it any other way sends the message that you can’t be bothered to tailor your approach to what your audience truly wants or needs, and there is no faster way to get them to write you off.
Loss of credibility is a natural byproduct of alienating your audience with a sticky marketing strategy. Credibility is based on trust, which is extremely difficult to gain if you don’t take the time that an outside-in marketing approach requires. And in the same way that a business can reap the benefits of word of mouth when it comes to a job well done, word gets around when you compromise credibility with the wrong person.
The proliferation of new media has given a new voice to consumers and influencers, and increased the speed with which they can sing your praises or verbally rake you over the coals. Choosing sticky marketing over a thoughtful, consumer-centric approach can make the difference between building a stable of loyal brand evangelists and having your brand skewered on a blog (or in the mainstream media). And when it comes to earning trust and building the lasting relationships that will carry your business forward, sticky marketing just doesn’t work.
There will always be new ways for us improve and change the way that we work, but we can’t forget the fundamentals. Save the spaghetti for supper.
Green Buzz Agency wants to thank Angela Brown for her great guest blog post!
To Contact Angela Email: angelabrown810@gmail.com
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