Orange E-Business Advocate
You don't need me to tell you this: The Internet is drastically changing how we live our lives. The way we shop, the way we learn, the way we interact, even the way we think has been affected by the numerous communication technologies that make up our concept of the world wide web. As consumers, we are much more savvy about products and services, we hold companies to higher standards, we expect more and we expect to pay less. We have fast-paced schedules and we've come to enjoy the instant gratification of an on-demand ecomony.
What this means: a troubling time for traditional marketing companies. Advertising tactics that were once successful no longer hold true for today's smarter consumer. Television and radio advertisements are expensive, reaching smaller and smaller audiences. Mass mailings and email spam are quickly deposited in the trash can, physically and digitally. Bulletin boards, magazine ads, even bumper stickers... they all compete for our time and attention. These forms of "Interruption Marketing" worked well in decades past, but today's consumer has learned to filter out most, if not all, of this marketing noise.
The question then, is how can a company wisely spend its marketing dollars and have its brand rise above all that noise, be noticed by customers, and generate more business?
I recently picked up a book by Seth Godin that offers an innovative and exciting way to handle this dilemma and reach your customers more effectively. The title of the book succinctly identifies this new era: "Permission Marketing." By getting creative about how you market to customers, and by offering (for free) something that grabs their attention, you can in essence win "the permission" of a stranger to send them more marketing material. This kind of communication will be much more effective for turning strangers in friends, and friends in loyal customers. While I could elaborate on these techniques, I'm just hitting the tip of the iceberg in this new, exciting time... Seth's concept is much better explained in these articles:
http://www.fastcompany.com/online/14/permission.html
http://www.reveries.com/reverb/marketing_strategy/godin/
http://www.zeromillion.com/marketing/permission-marketing.html
He also goes a step further by practicing exactly what he preaches; the first few chapters of his book are available for free download at the book's website: http://www.sethgodin.com/permission/
Please send me an email (joseph @ oceagroup.com) if you are interested in brainstorming creative ways to market to the consumers of Orange County. As I encounter additional quality marketing resources, I will post them here.
Posted by joseph at June 1, 2004 09:31 PM