Influencers vs Marketing Budgets

In today’s world of business the importance of what you say about your own company is not nearly as important as what your customers are saying about your business.  Companies used to have the freedom to carefully craft a brand through the size of their marketing budget and the creativity of their team; advertising “worked.”Now it’s the conversation that is happening about your company that truly defines a brand.  In many ways the value of what a key influencer on the web says about your company carries far more weight and importance than what your billboard, print or tv ad does.  Fortunately for customers these influencers are not as easily bought and sold as ad space.  This creates trust which is the foundation of this new world.To properly reach the influencer, companies need to be more humble and personable in the approach.  Firing off an impersonal email, addressed to “Hello” is a recipe for ineffectiveness.  Nowadays, you have to put in the effort rather than playing the numbers.

This new way of doing things may require a realignment of thinking.  A company needs to orient itself entirely around providing value to  customers.  Numerous studies have confirmed that word-of-mouth continues to be the most powerful component in buying decisions; customers are increasingly moving into the role of your marketing department.

You can’t just throw money at it, your new marketing department is sustained by how you do business.  Your new marketing team are your customers, and they want interaction, they want to be engaged and thought of as humans, not numbers; and they have the power.

Many companies will see this concept and opt to keep exclusively using existing channels and ways of doing things.  That’s fine too, but the effectiveness of those channels is dwindling.  Traditional channels are now seeing the greatest success when paired with a strong online strategy.  The status quo of old media is rapidly being replaced by this new social way of doing business.

Is you business even ready to think this way?