Online Listening: Meet them at their Point Of Need
There is a line in the marketing sand called the “Point of Need”.
On one side of the line we have blatant pitches, advertisements, and cold calls. To the receiver, these obtrusive encroachments are usually unwelcome and instinctively tuned out and deflected. No intention or need has been declared by the receiver.
On the other side of the line we may also have blatant pitches but it is perceived completely differently. On this side they are more than welcome; in fact, they are invited. What’s the difference?
The key is the point of need and the expression of this need online.
While this person may ultimately need your product in both cases, it probably isn’t the top priority for him right at this moment; he is busy and has other things to do so the timing of an uninvited pitch doesn’t match the point (in time) when he feels that need. The pitch is perceived as a rude interruption. Even worse, the company making the pitch loses brand equity because they have taken from the target customer’s valuable time and annoyed him with an unwanted solicitation.
On the other side of the line, you don’t pitch on your terms. You connect, listen, and participate in the online community. Then, when this same customer expresses a need, declares an intention, or poses a question online which you can help with, you have the opportunity and also the invitation to connect around the expressed need. Now you are helping and not interrupting.
Many companies have begun to use social media monitoring solutions (disclosure: my company’s product) in order to effectively listen online. While the initial business goals may start with monitoring conversations about your brand, measuring your share of voice, and identifying the communities of influence, companies can also tap into another benefit of effective listening: you can meet people at their point of need.
Because listening in this way is such a rare practice, the recipient is pleasantly surprised. They are delighted that you are listening to them and even more impressed that you are responding to something they said online. There are many needs & intentions being expressed online right now which are lost opportunities because no one is listening. Check out this interesting example/experiment: “I Want To Buy A Toyota Yaris“. Here is another example of how a negative perception can develop when a brand is not seen to be listening to online conversations.
The point of need changes everything. This is why most traditional outbound campaigns – regardless of the product – yield between 1-3% response rates. The timing is wrong most of the time.
This is the benefit of online listening. You always get the timing right.
Meet them at their point of need.
March 27th, 2008 - Posted in Online Listening, Online Media | | 5 Comments
It is easy to miss something you are not looking for
I received an article in my inbox today (forwarded from emarketer) which opened with:
“Only 2.6% of US shoppers use blogs when researching purchases, according to a recent JupiterResearch survey cited in a March 2008 Internet Retailer article.
The statistic naturally seems to support the notion that advertising on blogs (or perhaps even blogging about a product) has little impact or marketing value. Immediately, my next thought was:
What percentage (%) of US shoppers uses their television or radio when researching purchases? I don’t need to run the survey, the answer is: 0% of US shoppers use television when researching purchases.
Think about it. Marketers continue to invest billions in television advertising, a medium that is used for entertainment, not for researching purchases. If marketers believe there is sufficient ROI to make these investments, would not a medium or channel that is actually sometimes used for research purchases (by 2.6% of buyers) be considered high quality by comparison?
This single metric also misses the idea of the “topical” proximity of blogs. For example, when I am watching “Prison Break” on television, I am not thinking about cars and do not intend or expect to engage with a car advertisement, but when I am reading Autoblog I am already concentrating on the topic, even though I may not be researching a purchase.
Here is a video which I first saw on Seth’s blog that perfectly illustrates: “It is easy to miss something you are not looking for.”. Of course, blogs are most effective as conversational tools, but they certainly do have marketing value.
March 20th, 2008 - Posted in Social Media | | 0 Comments
