Why your marketing is no longer enough

February 28, 2008 12:05 PM

For all you marketers out there, I’ve got good news and bad news.

THE GOOD NEWS IS: The world is flat, the barriers to entry are low and the opportunities to leverage new ideas are ENDLESS!

THE BAD NEWS IS: your marketing is no longer enough.

Here are six examples:

1. SHTICK is no longer enough. The word shtick is defined as “A characteristic attribute, talent, gimmick or trait that is helpful in securing recognition or attention.” The challenge is, shtick won’t sustain you. Sure, shtick is catchy and cool and clever and fun and different; but it’s not enough.

REMEMBER: Shtick might get you in the door, but only substance will keep you in the room.

Is your marketing a Tootsie Roll or a Dum Dum?

2. WEBSITE is no longer enough. Websites used to be fancy, expensive tools only possessed by the technologically elite. Not anymore! Now, any 10 year old kid with the right software can create a website in under an hour. So, combine that trend with the expansion of social networking and blogs, websites are no longer enough. You need a web PRESENCE. A interconnected network of different sites, all pointing to the baseline, i.e., your original site.

REMEMBER: Be an octopus, not an earthworm.

Does your marketing have enough tentacles?

3. SATISFACTION is no longer enough. Who cares if your customers are satisfied? The real question is, “Are they telling their friends about you?” See, customers EXPECT to be satisfied. That’s par for the course. That’s like getting a C+. If you REALLY want to make a name for yourself, think of your customer service as having three levels: satisfaction, loyalty and INSISTENCE. Strive for the last two and you will create fans (not customers) for life.

REMEMBER: Satisfied customers don’t tell their friends about you.

And if clients aren’t actively telling their friends about you, this might happen.

4. SOLE CONTACT is no longer enough. If a customer comes to your website, she expects to be able to call, fax or email you instantly. And, get a human response. But again, that’s standard. With the advent of instant messaging, widgets, messages boards, blogs and other cool forms of online communication, that’s no longer enough. The best, most approachable and most ACCESSIBLE businesspeople make themselves available via multiple media.

REMEMBER: Don’t give customers a reason NOT to investigate you further.

Instead, do stuff like this.

5. SOLE DELIVERY is no longer enough. Text-based marketing is SO 1994. This is 2008, Holmes. Your customers’ attention spans are diminishing daily. Not to mention, we live in a “My Culture” where customers call the shots. So, you need to appeal to them with multiple modes of content delivery like video, audio and RSS.

REMEMBER: Customers don’t read anymore. They scan.

Or, they watch videos like these.

– – –

Ultimately, when it comes to marketing, something things are just no longer enough.

Something to think about.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What aspects of marketing do you think are no longer enough?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
If you’d like to know what the most important word in marketing is, email [email protected] and I’ll gladly (attempt to) enlighten you!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
[email protected]

How many people blogged about YOU this week?