I’ve got a marketing stalker. Actually, several. Bet you do, too. It’s those calls, emails and other reachouts from people we don’t know; we don’t want their services or products and they won’t leave us alone. Recently, a roof installer hammered on my front door for quite some time. When I finally answered, he was miffed. Really? No, I don’t want you to do my roof. And, you’re a bully.
There is so much pressure to achieve results that sometimes sales and marketing people become bullies. Quotas must be achieved. Profits must be made. Jobs are on the line. Bills must be paid.
Whether you are selling products, services, memberships, subscriptions, seeking donors or anything else, it’s important to remember what it’s all about. It’s totally about the customer, client, member, subscriber, donor or whoever you are targeting. When your anxiety around marketing and sales increases in the workplace, you risk becoming a bully.
I always refer to the following quotes from Peter Drucker:
• The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and “sells itself.”
• Marketing is not a function; it is the whole business seen from the customer’s point of view.
• Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two — and only two — basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.
High-pressure tactics is the business term for bullying. Before email, apps and social media, high-pressure tactics were usually limited to the realm of sales. Think time-shares! But, it’s crept into the communication arena in an unflattering and unprofitable way. People do not like feeling pressured. A single negative experience can turn them off forever.
Is your organization a marketing bully? Remember, your organization’s culture is contagious. If you are a marketing or sales bully, it will contaminate your entire organization.
Excellent communication and marketing are based on relationships. So, it’s a two-way street. The goal is to so fully understand your clients and customers that you don’t need to stalk them for them to work with you. I remember my dad saying, when confronted with people who wanted to aggressively sell him something, “Everybody is selling something. The trick is to know who is buying.”
Businesses and organizations have different “seasons,” times when customers and clients are in particular want or need of products and services. Some are year-round, most have certain niches. Fully understanding this and communicating at the right time with the right messaging will make your efforts more meaningful for you and for those you are reaching out to.
David Ogilvy, one of advertising’s leaders in his day, once said, “The consumer is not a moron; she is your wife.” Ogilvy’s main point here is multifaceted. Although, I would expand beyond “wife.” He critiques the common mistake marketers make of rolling their eyes at buyers or taking customer relationships for granted. If your messages aren’t resonating, it isn’t your prospect. It’s your approach.
It is not uncommon to reject something we may have been interested in simply because the approach is disrespectful or aggressive. I’m fully capable of making my own decisions. So are you. Just provide us with the information needed to make the decision.
Remember, your customers, clients, members, subscribers and donors want an experience that makes them feel valued, understood, respected and perhaps even loved. So just as you do with your loved ones, show respect, esteem and support at every customer interaction. With this approach, you will resonate.
Stacy Cornay is the owner of Communication Concepts Public Relations & Advertising. She may be reached at 303-638-7127; [email protected]; www.comm-concepts.com; Facebook.com/Communication Concepts; X @CommConceptsPR; or Linked In.
