The internet is like an elephant. It never forgets.
As long as there is a server, a web page with a story about you, plus money in the meter, you are going to be read about. For days, weeks, years, possibly decades. Great news.
Possibly.
Which is why I feel for Jennifer.
Nobody wants to be made an example of, for the wrong reasons. And in that regard I refer B2B marketers to Seth’s point:
You can contact just about anyone you want. The only rule is you need to contact them personally, with respect, and do it months before you need their help! Contact them about them, not about you. Engage. Contribute. Question. Pay attention. Read. Interact.
For every Seth, it still seems there are ten thousand Jennifer’s. And that is not intended as being another slight on Jennifer. The reality is, there are very few B2B marketers not guilty of invading privacy, mis-reading trust, or abusing or mis-reading permission.
This simply needs to change, in an era where consumers of all kinds (from CIOs @ FTSE 100 firms, through to window shoppers @ a local store) are craving a new marketing tipping point.
So whilst growing your subscription list, increasing your sales pipeline or adding to your customer list can feel like a mad dash in B2B circles, my advice is simply to change the goal of your marketing. Race toward Trust and Permission. Play the long game, take the long haul.
And although this can take months, even years in B2B, the good news is (to completely over-use a racing analogy) we are probably just on a parade lap.
Albeit a highly visible, search engine optimised, parade lap; with a memory of an elephant.
Filed under: Strategy, ideas, marketing | Tagged: attention, contribute, engage, Forbes, interact, Jennifer Rosini, seth godin | 1 Comment »