The Wrong Idea About Friends

If you’re trying to use new media to bolster an archaic business plan you’re in for a few surprises. The old idea that you can’t sell without lying isn’t worth much when your customer can Google your name or your company and find out more than you might even know yourself.

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review quotes Theodore Levitt from the 1960’s as saying that the average salesperson often thinks “the customer is somebody ‘out there’ who, with proper cunning, can be separated from his or her loose change.”

A Two Way Street

When those customers “out there” can get “in” through simple web searches, the salesperson quickly becomes the victim of their own cunning. Communications technology is, not surprisingly, all about communications, and this is a two way street.

How is your sales force using new media? Do they have the wrong idea about friends?

Here are a few points for SMB’s to keep in mind when trying to execute an effective new media campaign:

1. Keep in touch with your community – Yes, it is possible to reach out globally with the technologies available today, but it’s also possible to connect with your community and deepen the partnerships that are already formed by close proximity.

2. You’re helping neighbors, not pillaging the village – The social aspect of communication technology allows SMB’s to effectively leverage the person to person service that they are already good at, don’t waste this by turning technology into another means of mass exploitation.

3. Give back – Another useful aspect of communication technology is the immediate feedback loop it creates; instead of using it solely to find out if you’re marketing is effective why not use it to see what your community needs?

4. Help others prosper – You may be successful at getting the word out about your products and services, but if you’re not helping other local businesses get the word out about their offerings you’re missing an opportunity to develop valuable relationships and strengthen your community.

5. Nobody cares – Nobody cares about advertising or marketing, they care about people, they care about passionate ideas, nowhere does this become more apparent than in social media. Rather than pushing an agenda make sure you are reaching out to connect and reciprocate relationships that create value for everyone involved.