Social Networking, Viral Marketing & the Internet

August 19 Installment: Social Networking, Viral Marketing & the Internet

With the premiere of "Snakes on a Plane" the other day, everybody in marketing, not to mention Hollywood, is talking about the Internet and the future of marketing movies, not to mention, everything else.

Now we have Myspace, YouTube, blogs, podcasts...and everybody's getting into the act, trying to build BUZZ through WOM (that's "Word of Mouth") marketing.

It's simple. You turn a few people on to whatever you're promoting. You give them a reason to get excited about it. They in turn will tell their friends, who will tell their friends, and so on. With the speed and ubiquity of the Internet, soon, everyone will be talking about it.

It's new. It's hip. And (at least for now) it's much less expensive than traditional advertising. And judging by the fever pitch for "Snakes on a Plane" that's been building over the past year solely due to its Internet presence and the passion of people passing the word to all of their friends everywhere, this could be the future of marketing.

What's your take? How has buzz-building fit into your marketing efforts so far, and how will it play in the future?

This is an area we at Epiphany Marketing are focusing on, and we'd love to hear your thoughts.

To personal connection,

Ron Marcus
Founder, Epiphany Marketing

Who are you working for?

Who are you working for? Yourself? A corporation? "The Man?"

Why are you in business? To manufacture a product? Provide a service? Make a profit?

All common answers, and all truthful.

And, all the wrong way to answer these questions. Here are my answers:

Who are you working for? THE CUSTOMER.

Why are you in business? TO SERVE THE CUSTOMER.

Of course, you make a product or provide a service. And of course, without making a profit, you won't last in business. No argument. But here's the real bottom line: without customers, you have no business. Period.

I know, so obvious. Why am I writing a blog post about it?

Because, quite honestly, so many marketers just don't seem to grasp this obvious point.

Don't take it from me. Pull out a few magazines, particularly business-to-business (Business Week and Fortune will do too), and start reading the ads.

Count the number of ads that use their headlines to tell how great the company is.

Now count the number of ads that use their headlines to tell you how they're going to take care of you and your needs and wants.

I feel comfortable betting you you'll find a ton of the first kind of ad, and very few of the latter.

There are a lot of reasons for this which we can discuss in another blog post. The bottom line is this: the customer only cares about one thing: "What's in it for me?" Not, "What's cool about that company?"

Of course, this should not only change how we write our marketing messages. It should be on the top of our minds every business minute of the day. Our jobs are to deliver the absolute most wonderful experience a customer could possibly have. That's what will keep them coming back for more.

Again, so obvious. Again, so not integrated into marketing. So missing the boat.

That's my opinion. I'd love to hear yours.

Here's to building a presonal connection,

Ron Marcus
Founder, Epiphany Marketing