John Wanamaker said this almost a century ago: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” The words are still true today.
Companies spend millions on marketing and trying to get our attention. With all the technologies available today there is a lot of noise in the market place. How do you differentiate yourself?
In the pharmaceuticals industry, there is a sales and marketing process called Closed Loop Marketing (CLM). CLM in a nutshell is about communicating with the doctor/customer the way they want to be communicated with.
The problem with this is we don’t know how people want to be communicated with unless we know them. That involves building a relationship with and getting to know your audience.
This is true in business as well as in our personal lives. In today’s society people move at a very fast pace and sometimes this makes communication very hard. We tend to speak in TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms).
So how do you find out how people want to be communicated with? Simple: ask the question. Ask your client, ask your significant other, ask your friend. Some prefer email, some prefer the telephone, some prefer an in-person conversation. Don’t get me wrong, all are appropriate, all I am suggesting is that you have a conversation, build a relationship, and find out what people want. Talk about a great way to save time—giving people what they want. Imagine what kind of a relationship that will build.
“I think it’s fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we’ve ever created. They’re tools of communication, they’re tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user.” —Bill Gates
Have a great weekend.
—Vijay
About Friday Food for Thought (FFfT)
I frequently attend conferences and retreats on entrepreneurship and leadership and while I am away, the J2 team picks up the slack, allowing me to learn to be better at what I do. I wanted to share what I was learning with my team, so I created the weekly FFfT emails in November of 2015 and have been writing them ever since.
Before long, the J2 staff began sharing the FFfT emails with their friends and family and now other leaders have asked to be included, which led to the creation of this newsletter. I hope you enjoy!