As a marketing professional, I don’t look to companies to tell me what’s hot, trendy, working or not working in marketing. I believe it’s best to research top thought-leaders rather than looking to a company who will have a self-interest slant on their information. And I don’t just take everything they say as gospel. These [...]
Even if you’re the hottest, most outgoing guy in the world who sweats charm and has one of those perfect laughs that both men and women are ok with, making conversation does not just happen. It may seem so when you’re sitting with friends or family because you know them and have things in common [...]
What the heck does this post title mean, is probably what you’re asking yourself, right? Well, my intention for this post is to raise the topic of being “conversational” in your communications with customers and prospects vs. writing perfect, grammatically correct informational conveyances. For that information, I recommend a few writing classes with text books [...]
I’m always preaching to businesses to keep in mind the 5 keys of true participation when they are looking at getting into the social media/Web 2.0 options to expand their company reach and product awareness. Listening Speaking Caring Sharing Building relationships Lately, I’ve been talking with a number of engineers from startups who are in [...]
Social media isn’t just for the Fortune 500 world, but it isn’t a just a simple, free, easy 1-2-3 proposition, either. In fact, as major corporations build out their social media strategies to expand their place in the market conversation, increase market share, differentiate from competitors and expand their offerings and refine their customer support, [...]
We’re finally here. Post #6 on what it means to participate in the market conversation. Building relationships is a key part of that participation, but who should you be building relationships with and how? Every market space has a conversation going on by an ecosystem of individuals and organizations. These people include Influencers, Participants and [...]
To date, this blog series on what it means to participate in the market conversation has covered Listening, Speaking and Caring. We’ve now gotten to the 4th of the 5 most important objectives in a conversation marketing strategy: Sharing. This one is simple: share your experiences—positive and negative—and your insights as you grow your company [...]
Companies provide products and services to consumers who want or need them, right? So what difference does it make if the companies actually care about the needs and wants of their customers, so long as they keep buying their products? It makes a big difference if you want to keep customers and sell more. To [...]
The first amendment to the United States Constitution empowers the people of this country to freely say anything they want (unless it will cause a stampede, of course). Over the years marketers took this to heart and companies haven’t stopped talking at us since. But, just because you can speak doesn’t mean you should. For [...]
What did you say? I didn’t hear you, I was too busy talking, in fact, you’re lucky I realized you were saying anything at all. All too often, this is how companies have treated their customers, prospects, Influencers and everyone else with a stake/interest in their market space. Sad, isn’t it. So much can be [...]
