Conversational Marketing: What Kind of Conversations Are You Having?
Did you ever walk up behind a group of people, enter in the middle of the conversation, then wonder, "Just what kind of conversation is this?"
In a prior life, I had such an experience with a group of customers. Let’s just say that I wish I hadn’t been there at that moment because I was immediately dragged into a "Why don’t you guys do this...?" and "Why do we have to do…when a new software rev comes out?" I’m sure many of us have been in that situation.
Despite the pain, these interactions deserve a bit more thought. The reason customers have these conversations amongst themselves is because there are few places to engage in such exchanges, except for the occasional user conference. But candidness tends to be a one-way street at these high visibility corporate events -- the customers are candid and the corporate folks are "on story," so to speak. There may be a side conversation here and there, but that’s about it.
We’re Just Talking
As marketers, we need to think long and hard about this kind of conversational marketing. It’s time has come. We now have a variety of ways to communicate outside of the formalities of corporate-speak, including blogs, IM chats, organized online interest groups, and more. Marketing needs to recognize these tools exist and give them higher priority. Often, we root around in our bag of tricks and pull out something else, like rabbit ears, and just go with traditional communications methods. We have newsletters, we have conference calls, we have knowledge databases and online threaded forums for customers to talk to each other, etc. Most of this material is policed by the powers that be, and while it does provide useful information, it is not as noticeably honest as our customers would prefer.
Shoot the Messenger: Dell’s Blog Experience
When Dell posted a public blog on their web site that any customer could access, weren’t they surprised? They got an earful. I recall reading that their first reaction was to remove the flaming comments; they even considered pulling the blog. But just because we don’t like the message, it still may be valid. Shooting the messenger doesn’t help improve the business. Dell decided to keep it, then realized it was a goldmine. It is now viewed as a vital customer feedback mechanism that has impacted their development plans.
We all need to remember that customers have important things to tell us, but often there is no medium for that.
In the automation world, we still use traditional methods for creating conversations. It’s time to think about every marketing communication as a long term conversation from a customer perspective. Some may go like this:
"We will be exhibiting at the largest industry trade show at Booth 123. Stop by and visit us."
"The Zinger 2000 is here and is available on the market today. Call us now."
"Download our white paper that tells you how the Zinger 2000 will make your business better, cost less, and be more productive."
"We made our numbers." Or "We didn’t make our numbers."
"Meet Sandy, she’s been working here for 17 years and is our employee spotlight of the month."
Sure, I am being a bit sarcastic. I like to poke fun at thinking processes, including my own. I’m also not saying these communications are not important, because they are. But, what are missing are more meaningful dialogs where customers can feel free to share their insights and thoughts.
Consider these technologies to engage your customers in meaningful conversations they want to have (catch the emphasis on what they want):
- Blogs: Powerful, instantaneous, and useful
I’m a big fan of blogs. Telesian just launched one and I’m excited about that! Make sure you check it out. Blogs allow two-way, stream of consciousness conversations to occur that just don’t belong anywhere else.
Sun Microsystems has an open communication philosophy where several senior executives, including the CEO, operate a blog. This allows management personalities to come through in a way that may not be obvious when they address their customers at a meeting. It also is a way to expand on important strategic, product, whatever messages, and offer a mechanism for others to comment.
All blogs do not need to be public; they can also be used for internal communication. For example, if you are the Vice President of Sales and manage a large direct and indirect channel, how do your messages/directives get to every last person? You can send an email that will sit in the inbox with their other 250 messages. A blog, on the other hand, can help you make your point quickly and hear back from others about their thoughts on the issues. I guarantee you’ll hear from someone you’ve never heard from before who has a valid point to share.
I know that companies have received incredible information from blogs. NOTE: if the blog is public you will likely need a person who will moderate comments because, believe it or not, blogs get spammed as much as email.
- IM Chats
Forget about costly focus groups. Now you can set up an IM chat where a group of people can communicate. As long as you are not showing a touchy feely presentation where it is important to have face-to-face interaction, then you can create an online chat that will easily take the place of most focus groups. In a chat, you can share electronic files in advance or provide a central place to view information. The IM chat is a fast, effective method for communicating.
When I was taking a couple of MBA classes, we always used chat to communicate, collaborate, and work on group projects together. Why wouldn’t it work in business? The information you receive will be well worth it. And it won’t be the kind of information you’ll easily hear elsewhere. Often an in-person focus group is effective because you can watch behavioral reactions as much as verbal, but you never know if someone is holding back a really important thought because they feel shy or have ruled out its importance in their mind. An IM chat allows this person to put their thoughts out there without losing face.
Customer Groups Stand to Benefit
Finally, we need to think about how to structure these elements into an existing customer communications program. I used to manage a large Marquis Customer Program at a software company that represented various clients from multiple markets and product lines. These meetings were extremely useful and the customers loved them. We held meetings quarterly, with one of the meetings scheduled in conjunction with the User’s Conference. However, as soon as cost became an issue (when revenue numbers were off target), the quarterly meetings went out the window and the program lost its sheen. Customers ended up feeling slighted because they liked participating in the group, but were left with nothing.
If I had had access to these tools and technologies, it would have saved a lot of time and money, and the company would have maintained stronger customer relationships. Instead, customers felt cast aside and were angry because they felt like they had some important things to say but were not provided with a mechanism for having that conversation. Well, except they called me and told me, but what good did that do? My magic wand had been taken away in the budget cuts, too.
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