A little customer acquisition never hurt anybody. Yet, you would think from the recent plethora of warnings (this blog included) about the importance of customer retention and the prohibitive costs of buying customers that acquisition is toxic. It's not.
Chocolate and cash aside, often less truly is more – especially when it comes to quality versus quantity in marketing. We’ve said it many times at 1to1 regarding such messaging as direct mail and email: Don’t blast out every communication to every customer. Sometimes the blast is appropriate, but in most cases, targeted relevancy should prevail.
It turns out that the rush for more in marketing is prevalent in another area that could perhaps be better served by a less-is-more approach.
"Word of mouth is an outcome and a philosophy, not a marketing tactic. There's no 'marketer' in consumer-to-consumer. But word of mouth can be treated like traditional media in many ways, like tracking its impact."
This quote is from BuzzMetrics CEO Jonathan Carson. He was presenting at the WOMMA conference. This comment struck me because some marketers do talk a lot about word of mouth as a marketing tactic. I would venture to say that although most word of mouth -- good or bad -- happens simply because people are in conversation, it is quite possible to create a buzz that gets people talking. The trick is to create something sustainable, instead of just a one-off that vanishes with the next company's new, cool thing.
It's also possible to create a community that encourages customers to interact, with each other and with prospects -- giving them yet another reason and venue to talk about your products/services. Cymfony CMO Jim Nails says "giving customers a voice empowers them to share their opinions with others." It also shows that you're willing to listen, which, Nails says, will help to build a community of evangelists.
The caveat, of course, is that word of mouth is "an uncontrolled, unprompted 'media' that sometimes behaves wildly," as Carson so aptly puts it. So when you do encourage word of mouth, keep in mind these age-old warnings: Be careful what you ask for; and, Expected the unexpected.
I received a press release a few days ago announcing a new pay-per-lead service. Consumers sign up to receive information on product types, provide contact information, and, if they choose to, give other details to help match their specific needs. Companies interested in reaching those individuals bid for the leads. The four highest-bidding companies are given each lead, so prospects can do some comparison shopping.
My first thought was, companies that contact a prospect are simply the highest bidders, not necessarily the most appropriate for that consumer. Perhaps company five is really the best for a particular individual, but simply doesn't have as big a budget. Although the site does offer consumers a choice, it many not be the right choice. It reminds me of those listings in local area publications of the "best" whatever (party venues, restaurants, etc.), but only the places that pay get a listing, so it's not a true representation of what's actually the best.
According to the press release, the service provides companies with better ROI on leads because the bidding creates "market-based pricing of leads." Perhaps. But does it deliver high ROI for customer-centric companies, organizations that aim to create a lasting, value-driven relationship with their customers from day one? Does outbidding for a lead actually make it a better quality lead -- or just make it cost more?
What do you think?
No may be the favorite word of toddlers and parents everywhere -- heck, even most sales professional see it as an opportunity to learn about customers' real motivations -- but many marketers tend to shun it whenever possible.
Think about it. How often do marketing communications offer a "no thanks" option? Some do, but it's rare and most often found in direct mail for such offers as a subscription to a specific magazine. Personally, I don't think I've ever seen a "no thanks" option in an email offer.
But no can be as informative for marketers as it is for salespeople. "A no is as good as a yes," Ron Swift, vice president of cross-industry solutions marketing for Teradata, explained during his keynote earlier this week at Frost & Sullivan's Sales & Marketing Executive MindXchange event. "It tells you not to market that product or service to that person anymore."
Think about the many benefits of this: you save money, time, and effort; you boost customer satisfaction by not repeatedly sending offers on something the customer is clearly not interested in; you might even improve your results over time by communicating with those customers who have clearly noted their interest in receiving information and offers on specific products/services.
One of the ideas behind Return on Customer is that marketers are potentially destroying customer value by overcommunicating with customers, especially when those customers feel the communications aren't relevant to them. When you send a mailing and get a 10 percent response rate, in a way, 90 percent of the recipients have said no by not responding. The trick is to find out which meant "no, not ever" and which meant "no, not this time." The only way to find out -- and to show that you're actually interested in customers' needs -- is to ask.
So go ahead, take Ron's advice: Ask the question.
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