What are your customers doing right now?
What are they paying attention to while you are trying to reach them?
How will you be relevant to them so that they will listen to your message?
Pay Attention to Attention
The wisest marketers focus on opening relationships not closing sales. They know that to be relevant to a new or existing customer, they must help them solve problems and fit into a narrative. Watching, listening and observing where they spend time is just the beginning of the journey. So when Yogi tea offers to send my friends some of the teas I love, they are searching a way to open new relationships from loyal customers.
The savvy marketers I know also focus on direct communication wherever possible. If I can reach someone through email, or direct mail or voice mail – I don’t have to rely on a third party to mediate a discussion. If I can put something useful in front of them that is both entertaining and educational, I can move the relationship forward.
Screaming (advertising) just can’t do that anymore. And, marketers create all sorts of metrics to help convince themselves it works. Udemy wants me to try new courses all the time, and their emails are a direct platform to talk to me about relevant subjects. They know my areas of interest, and when new courses on relevant topics occur, they let me know.
The clever marketers I know are also tactical agnostic. They see where their customer’s hang out, what they do and how they behave. They find ways to be a meaningful part of their lives without being intrusive. So they sponsor events that are important or donate to charities that matter. They gain attention not by pushing features and benefits of products but by fitting in as a part of their lives.
That’s why Choboni has become the new Ben & Jerry’s – promoting the cause of immigrants and causing people like me, who care about this issue, to choose their brand. In hiring new immigrants to work in his plant, the founder has gotten my attention.
How are you paying attention to what your customer is paying attention?
What are you paying attention to? Let’s connect and grow your brand together. Text me at 919 270 0995.
Photo credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ai_Haneda_AG10_09.JPG
