Social networking is exposing several of the most blatant weaknesses of marketing and forcing positive change as a result. These are deep-seated challenges that persist in marketing, getting in the way of creating more opportunities to interact with, not just talk at, prospects and customers in the future.
The economy’s condition just makes these changes all the more intensely acted on. It’s not that social networking is the panacea; the conversations and transparency they enable are.
Here a few observations of how social networking is changing marketing.
From Overwhelming To Relevant
Technology-driven companies have a tendency to immediately go into overwhelming their prospects and customers with information. It’s as if the more detailed, complex and sheer volume of data delivered, the more marketing in technology-dominated companies feel they are doing an exceptional job.
In fact “Data Overload” makes customers all the more confused and begins to lose them despite their being ideal prospects for products. Social networking sites like Twitter provide immediate feedback for marketers who are in this comfort zone of data overload; people quit following and listening. It’s the same in the non-social networked world yet online it is so much easier to pick up. Marketers are getting it and moving to more simplistic approaches to defining prospects, which is the second point.
Simplifying Market Segments
This is another noticeable change of marketers who are making marketing on social networking work. They have greatly simplified their approach to defining who their target markets are.
Conversely, when marketers participate in social networks and attempt to be very specific, even granular about their segments, their message gets lost. Social networks are forcing marketers to simplify who they are and what they do. The bottom line is that social networks force a very high level of clarity – precision – in market segmentation.
Simpler, More Direct Messaging
Credit the 140 character limit of Twitter for this revolution in simplicity, or the thousands of distractions in social networks competing for customers’ attention, and it is clear to see what marketers have had to tighten up their pitches to customers.
Ditching the long, winding value propositions for simple, direct ones is happening much faster and with greater intensity now. Fragmented, complex messages are dying fast, while more direct, focused messaging is beginning to win out.
Lessons Marketers Are Learning From Social Networking
The following lessons learned were gained from watching the major change educational institutions, service providers and manufacturers have made to their marketing based on lessons learned from participating in social networking.
Brands No Longer “All Things To All People” They More Concise and Direct. Again credit the brevity social networks require for this change. Brands are trimming down all the hype and getting right to the point of which they are, what they offer in terms of solving customer problems, and working harder than ever to stay relevant.
Defining segments with greater precision to make them simpler to communicate with. Anyone who has ever worked with a technology-driven company can relate to how complex, even confusing segmentation criteria can get. From the granular to the grandiose, segmentation criteria are getting real because social networking’s modes of communicate demand succinctness, conciseness, relevance. This alone has been a big win for marketing.
Delivering Exceptional Experiences over “Boil the Ocean” Marketing. From the triple digit growth rates to the seven and eight figure subscriber counts, social networks at first glance are a marketers dream. Yet in fact social networking is much more about listening than talking. It’s much more about bringing value to a conversation, whether that is in being responsive to a customer or prospect, solving a customer problem by cutting through red tape, or making opening up and being honest about problems customers have. In a sense social networks transform marketing to its purest form: enabling and sustaining relationships with customers by enriching, entertaining or educating them.
Bottom line: It’s time for marketers to get real and realize that the old practices of “data overload”, complex segmentation criteria and complex marketing messages derail more deals than they create. Social networking’s’ needs of brevity, conciseness and transparency are in for many companies just the challenges they need to improve today.
Courtesy – Louis Columbus at Perfect CEM
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