Demand Gen BizBlogging about the Demand Generation Business

I think the current economic situation; well dire for some may also be filled with opportunity. Crisis forces us to find solutions. We seek out ways to fix the problems. We become much more receptive to new ways of thinking and new ideas.

As Marketers we have to become more effective with our budgets and we need to be more creative in the way we generate activity and drive inquiries, prospects and leads. What worked in the past, may not work so well any more. The good news is that there are lots of enablers that could be the catalyst for change that you need. Here is a list of my favorite change enablers in alphabetic order:

1. Marketing Automation
2. Search Marketing
3. Social Media

Don’t waste the opportunity of a crisis!

I was using Google to search for a solution to a business problem. I found a company that looked like it might have the answer. I registered to download one of their whitepapers. After reading it and spending some time on their web site to fully understand their offering, I was sold. I wanted their product. It was $200 a month and I felt that it would be a good investment. I clicked their “Schedule a Demo” link and carefully completed the contact form providing them all the information they would need to contact me. I submitted the information and received a confirmation that I would be contacted within 1 hour. I was excited and ready to buy.

Seven days and still counting, I have not heard from them. My excitement has changed to disappointment and then to indifference. I am no longer ready to purchase. They lost the business and probably don’t even know it. I am not sure why they never responded, but I do know that if they had good marketing systems and business practices in place, this might not have happened.

Everything we do as Marketers is to generate interest in our products and services. We spend all our energies and budgets on trying to generate that “inquiry” from a potential customer that may be ready to make a purchase. When it happens, it feels fantastic! Don’t waste it.

I like social media. I appreciate what it is and how it has the possibility to create energetic conversations around an idea. I like the way it can draw you into the conversation and make you want to participate and contribute and if the idea is a product and service, it makes you want it. This seems like a more natural way to engage a potential customer then some of the marketing tactics we use today.

The other day I received an email from a company I did not know. They rented the email list from an organization I did know and do have a relationship with. The email contained an offer for me to download several online presentations and whitepapers about social media. Since I am always interested in learning more about social media, I took them up on their offer. One of the presentations started out by saying “interruption marketing tactics don’t work” and that “email, telemarketing and direct mail simply no longer get you results”. The presentation then went on to position social media as the new way to connect with your customers and that their product had the ability to measure the success of your social media efforts.

The irony of this of course is that they are using the exact same tactics to reach their target customers that they are saying do not work. They rented an email list to blast to a group of people they don’t know and don’t know them in hopes that someone might be interested in their product. The thing is - at least for me - their marketing efforts worked.

I do believe we are moving towards a new marketing model and visionaries like Seth Godin tell of a future were interruption marketing will no longer exist. I will work hard and smart and look forward to that day when customers are only seeking me out because of my social media efforts or my good reputation, but until that day arrives I may also need to supplement my social media marketing efforts with a little ironic marketing.