Customers Are Good For More Than A One-Night Stand
ADOTAS EXCLUSIVE - Too many customers have been abandoned (or just forgotten) by well-meaning marketers who are releasing a new development. And that needs to stop.
Most of us reading and writing for Adotas are located somewhere in the marketing food chain, so we know that customers are always right.
But let me add another point about customers: In marketing, customers are always necessary.
I have begun to work on too many marketing initiatives with marketer clients only to find out that they don’t have any customers ready to validate the efficacy of the marketing initiative.
As a publicist, my dream is to distribute a press release without the obligatory CEO quote. I mean, let’s be honest here: No one actually believes them. I usually try to use the quote to sum up the company’s objectives, or to remind the readers of a recent and significant event so that the quote isn’t an entire waste of time and money.
But I have had too many clients ask me to write press releases without a customer ready to be quoted.
When a new start-up is announcing funding, they can get away without quoting a customer if no quotable customer exists.
But when a company is announcing a new product or service, there is no excuse in the world for not including a customer.
Even if your product is late and you have no beta customers (which is probably a problem in and of itself), there are still ways to obtain the customer quote. I recall one case where I demoed a new product to a customer and worked with him on a quote that communicated his enthusiasm for the offering despite the fact that he hadn’t actually used the product.
But rather than having to comb through your customer databases two days before a product’s launch, the best solution is to incorporate your marquis customers in your product development process. Turn to them in advance of development and ask them what they’d like to see in the product, and then show them the product during development process. Let them feel like an extension of your development team. And what will happen when you turn to them for a pre-launch quote: A fantastic quote even if they weren’t part of your beta test.
Many marketers don’t like to ‘bother’ their clients, but truth be told, clients usually welcome the opportunity to provide feedback, particularly technical people.
So marketers, don’t wait until you’re deciding the color of the product packaging to consult with your current product’s clients regarding a future product…
Because in marketing, clients are necessary.
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