Conversation Agent: 100 Thoughts on Marketing

Leo Babauta has written the perfect post for some of the thoughts I've been having about marketing, social media and the age of the customer. In it, he encourages us to be lusting for life, not stuff. I couldn't agree more. I find that the more I know myself, the more refined and specific grows my taste on wines, food and yes, stuff - like jewelry, clothing, cars, even vacations.

Plus, there's something else - I'm all bought out. In fact, it's been a couple of years that I started paring down what I own and being very deliberate about purchasing only when I need something and mostly to replace something else. Take my iron, I've had that for 15 years (wow, do they make things that last that long?).

It seems that the more time I spend creating and being creative - at work and with writing on the blog, etc. - the less I need to acquire things.

Part of the process and the joy is to get to know new people, to exchange ideas and make connections and the realization that you cannot touch someone without being touched in return. Which is a far better experience than the momentary gratification of a new thing. Ok, maybe technology warrants a separate post, I'm an aspiring geek and all that.

You probably find this, too - the less you buy, the less you want.

This is a big problem for marketers, isn't it? And for an economy that based its faith on consumers, which is probably why companies are ill organized to deal with customers anymore. Everything was optimized towards that sale of a certain kind of thing. That's probably why the amount of spam has never been greater.

The social part of digital experiences has unleashed or highlighted - along with awakening the creator in us - a desire to be that is far greater than that to have. Presence tools like twitpic and many more Twitter apps are very much in vogue. A while back we took the 100 thing challenge.

Stuff, especially marketing stuff, is due for a tune up. Let's take the meaning challenge for marketing. Here are 100 thoughts:

be short on pages for the Web site, long on user experiences
optimize the relationship, not the click throughs
let the user guide your next steps
provide experiences
use multimedia for learners and readers with different styles/preferences
use your content and smarts to elevate the other
be relevant
give trust and care
realize that the most important person on the phone is the customer
make the product rock
help the customer rock
ask questions and listen
get personal and stay personable
communicate often, simply, kindly
be engaged and participate
simplify
make it easy to deal with you by being where people are
learn, improve, innovate
liberate your inner fan often
transform your business processes
change your assumptions
think community vs. transactions
collaborate internally
create value
be passionate
be authentic
stay open to change
provide a platform for customers to find others with like interests
build interaction in your conversations
integrate, connect the dots, connect
breathe life into what you do
create magic
learn to speak your customer's language
test your ideas with the marketplace
play
use games to accelerate learning
allow your fans to brag about your products and services
let your employees be evangelists
observe more, judge less
watch the social triggers that make stuff happen
figure out where you can be more transparent
streamline your onboarding
make customers wish they never left by throwing them a party when parting ways
leave the door open
make realistic promises you can keep
go the extra mile
smile
be contagious
think long term, prepare to excel each moment
share
think relationships more than public
keep the fire in your belly burning
scrap most brochures, make eBooks - or your could go the other way and
use your brochures as souvenirs of beauty and style
make your marketing materials not just simpler, but fun, too
delight and surprise (in a good way)
give customers useful data about themselves
provide a better context around customer experience
communicate more
contribute to meaningful conversations
empower your experience designers
talk to the people who want to talk with you
learn to deal with the challenges those people face, when they face them
overdeliver
let special circumstances guide pricing
be hungry for improvement
discover the deep emotional associations with your brand
find out when to dial in intimacy and camaraderie
find your tribe and lead it
make your coupons collectibles
audition customers for private screenings/previews of your new product
help your customers do more with you and with less stuff
be agile
adapt
be portable - mobile is the next technology
be sincere
cultivate relationships and ideas
earn your media
break down your silos
help build networks of interest or communities of practice
connect networks with each other
invest in your customers
tell the customer story
know your story and values and live them
focus on the product and the experience first
remember that changing the world can also mean making someone's life easier
put people before procedures whenever you can
solve customer problems
learn about the ways people respond to your content online
find ways to match your content better with the people who want it (it may cost you more)
educate
entertain
be curious, interested and interesting
think about the many-to-many relationships in the marketplace
follow through
consider dimensional not just as a direct marketing tool
write great emails - packed with knowledge, easy to read and share
send emails only to those who sign up
encourage sharing by giving the example
mix it up - it's not all about you, make it about the industry, and the people

A penny for your thoughts?

[image courtesy of cobalt123]

Comments

Be hungry, be generous, be yourself.
Maybe marketing is facing the real revolution of selling less selling better.
If you sell better, you'll be priceless for your customers because they recognize your inner value.

Posted by: gianandrea facchini | July 07, 2009 at 07:57 AM

I saw a marketing slogan on Newbury Street in Boston yesterday, "Buy less, buy better." It was an upscale shoe store, and it stuck in my mind because it sounded like a company stanging behind their products to be worth the extra cost, which is so different from the cheaper stores that stress the buying amount.

I think this speaks to your problem of buying less to be incongruent with the marketer's quest, and also demonstrates a good example of profiting from a good customer eperience. Nicely done.

Posted by: Brindey Weber | July 07, 2009 at 09:45 AM

Innovate, for yourself and for your customers - your ideas definitely show that the landscape of business and marketing has and continues to change.

A great list that many companies should print out and tape to their walls. Well done, Valeria!

Posted by: Sonny Gill | July 07, 2009 at 10:58 AM

"Take my iron, I've had that for 15 years (wow, do they make things that last that long?)."

Only if you don't use them. :-)

With rare exceptions for exceptional products that fill a particular need, I've been paring back as well. I mostly stick to consumables for gift-giving, where I even give gifts: a flat of cupcakes, incense, wine, soap. Stuff that will get used up, in a nice way.

It's less that stuff is awful than that too much of it--or wrong relationship with it--numbs and obfuscates. Moderation: it's bitchin'!

Posted by: Colleen Wainwright | July 07, 2009 at 12:38 PM

Valeria, you identified an alternative way to sustainability's "reduce" strategy of buying less. Curiosity, creativity, and community all lead in that direction without explicit concern for the much-overused S-word. The three C's increase appreciation for quality over quantity - of material objects, of services, of relationships - and reveal that mindless consumption doesn't make us happy. Congrats on your discoveries!

Posted by: Peter Korchnak | July 07, 2009 at 02:14 PM

Food for thought, although a penny doesn't buy much these days...

Has social media become the new shopping therapy? It was my first thought as I read through today's post. After all, blogs, links, tweets, et al, allow me to interact and feel good without handing over a credit card.
Thinking, feeling, understanding, perspectives, knowledge and opinions - they seem to be the currency of this new mindset, and conversely, a true marketing minefield. Marketers, take head. It's not your father's campaign!

Posted by: Brian Corcoran | July 07, 2009 at 08:32 PM

@Gianandrea - good advice: sell better.

@Brindey - that's a good example. Growing up in Italy, we selected things carefully because we had to choose. I'm grateful for that as I never got complacent or took resources for granted. There is also such a thing as saving for that one nice purchase.

@Sonny - it is a changing environment, and a much more interesting at that. There are surprises in store for those operating on old assumptions.

@Colleen - touche' :) I love the idea of consumable for gift giving. Red wine is one of my best gifts (I have good taste). My rule for gifts to kids is either something creative or books. Moderation makes the special occasion all the sweeter.

@Peter - you probably saw my tie in sustainability and social media the other day. What's less in the area of consumption ends up being more in the area of substance. I would add, with style. Thank you.

@Brian - it was symbolic, the penny. I like the idea of social media as the new shopping therapy, although I think it's more addictive than shopping as nobody - so far - had forked over the credit card. We're investing in other ways - time and attention. Marketers, thread lightly.

Posted by: Valeria Maltoni | July 07, 2009 at 10:13 PM

Very well done Valeria. Kudos! Now ask yourself the really important question: since just about everyone who reads this list agrees with it, in principle, what's holding organizations back?

Posted by: Tom Asacker | July 08, 2009 at 08:55 AM