Is your marketing shouting at people?
If you go into Starbucks today and start shouting at the people around you, you will definitely grab their attention. However, it’s not the kind of attention you want to attract. Many small businesses use a very similar approach with their marketing. In an effort to capture attention, they act in a way that gets them noticed, but for all the wrong reasons.
They not only fail to generate new business; they can permanently damage the reputation of their business too.
Some examples of how companies shout at people with their sales and marketing:
- Adding people to their newsletter list, without permission. It’s spam.
- Spamming people on Twitter.
- Meeting people at networking events and using that transparent crap; “tell me about your business and how I can help you.” Wake up, it’s not 1985 any more!
- Asking people to join their Linkedin network, claiming they worked with them (when both parties know it’s a lie.)
- Unwanted telemarketing calls to people’s homes at 8pm. Just what you need when getting a young child to sleep or relaxing after a hard day.
In marketing, it’s easy to confuse movement with progress. People see that they need to win more business and they know that they must do something – quickly! So, they do what they hope will generate the new business they need.
The marketing challenge here, is that just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we should. Just because we can pay someone to spam 500,000 people with a marketing email from us, doesn’t mean it will generate anything positive. Yes, you can waste half your life attending the same networking events, with the same people, all there to sell, none there to buy – but it’s massively ineffective.
Thankfully, we each have the freedom to make our own choices about the way we market our products and services. If we use our freedom of choice wisely, our success is guaranteed.
What do you think about the typical small business marketing you see?
Photo: The Dream Seeker
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Nice article, Jim, and I agree with your remarks. I ran my own Marketing and PR business for sixteen years before becoming a crime writer and business author(I won’t ‘shout’ about my books) and I have said much the same thing over the years. Marketing is long term, and takes consistency, commitment and communication, as well as imagination and the ability to know and understand your markets.
As you say Pauline, it pays (literally) to think longer term and to cover the basics.
Thanks for the comment.
Thank you for the article.
Much like Pauline stated above … everything I have read emphasized that successful marketing requires time, commitment and investment and should not be viewed as a quick sale.
Relationship building is more effective for marketing, and can be accomplished with the social media platforms in use today.
Alex C´s last blog ..Profit With Yahoo Search Marketing Ads
Relationships are essential – because marketing is all about people and how we / our business / our services relate to them.
Thanks Alex.
I am guilty of the first one I have trouble with my emails meaning I have not found a good software that could help in creating a nice contact list..
Which leaves me sometimes spamming the heck out of few great people.
So I thank you for the eye opener, I will make it a goal for 2010 to clean up my contacts list.
Ps. Thanks Jim Connolly for the superb advice.
Norman Flecha
Straight Talk
STRAIGHTALK´s last blog ..Straight Talk :: Explaining what true Networking & Marketing is all about, without all the Hype on how it’s done!
Good software is useful and it’s also good that you want to improve the effectiveness of your marketing communications. Thanks for the feedback.
We were having this discussion last week at the Construction Marketing Conference in London Jim. Met a really nice chap who manufactures co-ordinated lighting and street furniture.
Their usual MO is to try and get into the office to talk to the specifying staff, and normally being pushy about it.
But now we are in the 21st Century, the specifying staff can come to him. All he needs to do is make himself visible (for example, by blogging useful content online) and his customers (the specifying architects) will find him, recommend him, become his advocates. Then they will invite him into their offices themselves.
There was a great sign of relief on his face when he realised how useful this ‘social media’ stuff could be for his company. And he won’t have to ‘shout’ at people anymore in that way you describe.
Heaven.
Su Butcher´s last blog ..Are you Aspirational?
Thanks for sharing that insight Su. Interesting to see opinions begin to change.
I did try the networking route before. What happened was, all those who attended were also businessmen and women. I ended up with many new found friends but I didn’t make any sale. Not even a single centavo. Since then, I stopped attending those networking parties. I consider it a waste of my valuable time.
Superwoman´s last blog ..Cebu Weekend Part II: Kotex You-niversity with Carelle Mangaliag
I’m not a fan of typical, “chamber of commerce style networking events.
A room filled with sellers is not the best place to find a buyer.
Equally, the same people seem to attend all the time. Low leverage.
Thanks for the comment!
Jim you have just destroyed 90% of the marketing online.. I got so much spam this vday.. saying you sent flowers to so and so, would you like to send more flowers this vday. The thing was I was no longer with that girl and all it did was make me hate the company I use to love. Legalzoom even sent me spam saying celebrate vday with a new will.. yah like you want to give a girl a million reasons to off you…
Sadly marketing departments rarely listen.. until you fan them on FB and yell and yell… until you do youtube videos.. see the thing they don’t tell you about spam is not I can yell back. Now I can turn spam into a blog post telling the world how so and so sucks..post@posterous.com.. that easy..
the thing that gets me is social networks allow you to focus on how do they do that, reality tv and satire. Just show the genius of your people.. teach.. people are more loyal to people than a big corporation..
“yah like you want to give a girl a million reasons to off you…”
This is going to make me laugh all day!
Reeta Luthra | Stress and Health´s last blog ..Problems Are Stages In Personal Development
Might be coincidence but recently I commented on a couple of blogs and suddenly found myself on their “list”
An unsolicited newsletter doesn’t bode well at the best of times… but an unsolicited one that comes out 3 times a week…
Reeta Luthra | Stress and Health´s last blog ..Problems Are Stages In Personal Development
That’s a great example of spammy, ineffective marketing.
It not only fails to win business – it succeeds in turning people away from you.
Thanks for the comment Reeta!
Hi Jim. My experiences have been mixed. Solid small businesses who have built up a good reputation seem to be far less inclined to use the “spammy” approach as you indicate above. Less mature or businesses who may be in trouble seem to blast me with unnecessary and unwanted marketing drivel that simply ends up in the bin or in my spam filter! I have no problem with targetted, relevant marketing material from small business – but I will most certainly never use their services if I get spammed!
Barney Austen´s last blog ..Successful Business Owners – Just Do It!!