The Inner Marketer Take Over
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Is it just me or do all marketers seem to have issues with their inner marketer coming out a bit too strong? I have heard that a marketer can be sensed miles away: I think that’s true.
Marketing affects most things in my life; I find myself contemplating how to present to an audience, even if I shouldn’t be thinking that way. For example: I was searching for new broadcasting software and found an appealing option; however, I wanted to present it to my business partner, before completing the purchase. Between the time I found this software and the time I presented for consideration I already have a strategic plan of action in which I use to present it. Am I approaching it as my inner marketer or am I being diplomatic? I often ask myself this question, but as I’ve reviewed both how I presented it and how my partner received it, I’ve usually decided that it was my inner marketer who has spoken; hindsight is always 20/20.
Here’s another example of how my inner marketer has come out.
I recently created a Facebook page for my classmates from high school, as we are having a reunion this year, and Facebook is such a magnificent tool to connect with old friends and fellow Alumni. I started several discussions and I received great feedback, but when I tried to include them in the discussion of what we should set our custom URL to, they simply chuckled at me. They couldn’t see the importance of the URL for search engines and sharing. Once again my inner marketer came out; but this time it mingled with my extroverted personality and my sincere wish to engage my audience (classmates).
Can you relate to these stories? Are you sitting there nodding your head or laughing, all-the-while envisioning my inner marketer taking over my entire outlook on life?
I have another story to share though, where my inner marketer may again seem unbalanced. I play an online game and have for over a decade now. In this game I lead a guild, which is basically a community inside the game. For this guild to succeed and continue to grow it needs members or followers, much like our businesses and websites. It needs dedicated long term members, and in order to flourish, a steady flow of new members. But when I set to recruit new members for this guild, I am once again taken control of by my inner marketer. But I shouldn’t. In this circumstance the inner marketer is unneeded. People react better to a more natural and objective approach than to a sales pitch about why they should join.
So you’ve read several examples of how my inner marketer manifests; now I’d appreciate hearing your opinion:
- How do you separate your inner marketer from the diplomat?
- What stories can you share about when your inner marketer took over?
- What tactics do you use to recruit and attract attention to communities that aren't business related?
I look forward to hearing your feedback and your stories!
How to Retain Customers in the Internet Marketplace with Terry Vavra
Friday, 08 July 2011 17:37 | Written by Cassandra Stein |
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In the internet marketplace customer service and satisfaction seems to be playing a smaller role on a daily basis. While businesses compete internationally for new customers they are losing current customers because they ignore the key principles to business longevity. Cassandra Stein and Terry Vavra will discuss customer loyalty and satisfaction in the Internet marketplace. Here are some of the topics covered:
Terry Vavra is a world-acknowledged expert in customer retention strategies, having authored (or co-authored) three groundbreaking books: Loyalty Myths (Wiley 2005); The Customer Delight Principle (American Marketing Association 2001) and Aftermarketing: How to Keep Customers for Life Through Relationship Marketing (McGraw-Hill (1995). In Aftermarketing Terry was one of the first consultants to urge the business community to pay more attention to current customers. The book achieved international recognition through six non-English editions and sold over 50,000 copies. Terry has also authored two books on customer satisfaction methodology for the American Society for Quality: Improving Your Measurement of Customer Satisfaction and Customer Satisfaction Measurement Simplified. His publishing accomplishments demonstrate Terry's commitment to helping organizations evolve their practice of satisfaction and loyalty tactics to make them maximally productive of increased revenue. Terry's five books evidence his passion to evolve the tools of satisfaction and loyalty into true contributors to the bottom-line, not just 'nice to haves'. He is committed to helping organizations properly harness the information and power of satisfaction and loyalty. He is internationally sought for his advice and guidance, having met with management teams, addressed professional audiences, and conducted marketing seminars around the world from Brazil to Iceland, Japan to the United Kingdom, Singapore to Sweden. Terry was President and co-founder (with his wife, Linda) of Marketing Metrics, Inc. a firm acquired by Ipsos, S.A. (of Paris, France) in 2003 and currently doing business as Ipsos Loyalty. Marketing Metrics was a marketing consulting company focusing on customer loyalty, stakeholder retention and satisfaction, and customer and brand equity. The firm counted among its cherished clients internationally respected organizations including: AllstateMotorola AT&T Wireless Morgan Stanley Ferrari The Port Authority of NY & NJ IBM PC and Consulting Jaguar NA Sharp Electronics Mercedes Benz USA Toys 'R' Us Merrill Lynch Rolls-Royce Motor Cars In addition to his entrepreneurial success, Terry has worked in the corporate and academic worlds. Prior to founding Marketing Metrics in 1983, Terry worked for The National Broadcasting Company and in the advertising field for Kenyon & Eckhardt as well as BBD&O and Levine, Huntley, Schmidt & Beaver. He served as Associate Professor of Marketing at the Lubin School of Business, Pace University for 15 years. He is an active member of the American Marketing Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Association of Public Opinion Research, The Association for Consumer Research and the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Business. Terry pioneered self-administered electronic interviewing first using pre-programmed computer diskettes and later Internet surveys. His methods have been employed in the mail, on the Internet and through kiosks. He has also published several computer software programs for marketing research including Verbatim AnalyzerTM for analyzing open-end survey responses. Terry's academic degrees are: a bachelor of science in business administration from UCLA; a master of science in marketing also from UCLA and a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. |
