This is the third installment regarding posts that are inspired by the Art of Marketing Conference that I went to in Calgary on June 14th. After attending I'm convinced that the function of marketing is indeed going through a revolution in the Western World. Rather than post some of the general highlights I thought it would be best to frame my key takeaways as they relate to digital marketing, specifically. Today's post is inspired by the presentation given by Gary Vaynerchuk who is an internet rock star best known for his site winelibraryTV.com and book Crush It! Gary has been described as the "Social Media Sommelier" and is widely known for his passion and fervor when it comes to social media marketing.
The "Thank You" Economy - Gary Vaynerchuk
As we all know the web is the great equalizer when it comes to conducting business - Regardless if you're a small company you can still compete with the big corporations if you're passionate about creating remarkable content and engaging your audience. The growth of social media tools has leveled the playing field even more and I would venture that being small might be an advantage in the current online marketplace. Gary Vaynerchuk advocates that indeed having a small town mentality to business and building relationships is what will be the most important strategy businesses need to execute if they're going to be successful finding and converting customers on the web.
Most big corporations are at a disadvantage because they have thousands of customers they treat like numbers on a spreadsheet. The growth of the social web means that water cooler talk and coffee shop conversations are taking place more and more on the web and that companies that are part of the conversation and actually care about customer's opinions will benefit more than those that rely on big advertising campaigns. Gary claims that the social nature of the web has created an opportunity known as the "thank you" economy. It's back to basics and that companies that genuinely care about engaging with people and showing appreciation will beat out competitors that compete on price and features.
You can't buy friends and relationships. They have to be earned through conversations, adding value, and being genuinely interested in other people. Some large advertising campaigns definatley get attention but the most important aspect is nurturing relationships with people once you get their attention. This will take more time/effort than money and those companies that find a way to do it effectively will be the ones most people talk about. Outsourcing customer service to foreign lands where representatives don't speak the language or know our culture should be abandoned in favor of training your existing workforce to engage with people online. Marketing is not the responsibility of one department or person, it takes an entire community to create something remarkable. Thanks for reading.
P.S. To help prepare you for the emerging social web and the importance of getting back to basics I strongly encourage you to read Dale Carnegie's "How Win Friends and Influence People" - It was originally published in 1937 and it's genuine approach is more important today than ever before. In my opinion, it's the best book ever written about developing not only business relationships but personal relationships, as well.
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