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Customer is a (social) media

Information grows and crawls more and more, and in different channels we used to have. Then it goes again for the business, now, with an incredibly interactive two-ways, never seen so far. Traditional medias try to surf the wave, adapting themselves, creating “360” fake environment to trick the bulk. But in fact, everybody, with the envy, motivation and know-how can become an “interesting iterative start for debate”. Should we have to complain? I swear no, I hope no, in fact, heavens on the run makes a new kind of conversational process, that changes the way information travels.

 

The old challenging process for information/advertising:

Remember when you were young and fed up with commercials, again and again, repeating and stealing your brain time space…That was then, we were in the center of a huge market for noise, information and ads. But we were rarely the winners, in fact. The “too much information” spin leads us to close our receiving captors and drives us to deafness to promotion: “we’re not receptors we want to make part of this whole conversation and build the kind of relation we deserve with any brand”. So long is my ability to buy, like it, spread it to world and do it again. In the other case, I would be tempted to rejection and blacklist any purpose, whatever its pure interest for me. Advertising agencies used to “experiment” on “targets”, drew statistics, groups and behaviours to explain to brands how to consider markets and strategies. But that was before customers had speech and viral skills and the know-how to use it

 

The shout of the customer:

We may be on the edge of another period, and companies who ignore it, could take the charge of yelling customers…Say if you try to convince us that “things” to “buy” are good for us, take time first to understand our needs and what we “could” be interested in and opened to buy. Design with us before throw and waste unsold products. Prepare to figure out what could be your last compete ranges of smart products. In fact “WE” are the media you need to unchain your production and give it the reality it needs, to enlight it and free the pure movement to the eyes of the consumerism world. Mc Luhan started the revolution of media with the famous quote “medium is message”, learning us to hold the message inside the way it has been delivered, with the media which was used to spread it to the bulk. But today, media is customer and if mathematics could then be used again, we can whisper: “medium is message then customer is message”…And sometimes the message is unseen or unheard shout that costs companies failures and misfits…

 

Customer oriented, said? Try to listen first…:

“Throw away all your marketing guides as they are one direction: brand to consumers”. But as you would say and make customer first as your main value, what you could have to do is making it alive and real, to drive it believable and trustable. Who are you to affirm it’s true, while your customers don’t recognize you as a reference because you don’t listen to them while they are probably your first fans. So they are not only cash machines but also your ambassadors who are strong opportunities to make some noise for you: buzz. Already said, you’re not valuable as only “buyers” but awesome levers for awareness and your products. And think about all the social platforms that can transport and boost their reactions, for free and feed a whole community of prospects, who could become the next addicted to your brand. So “orientation” to customers is not “single direction proposition” or “quick and dirty spamming” but being in phase and alive with the attention of any kind of reaction and consider that your customers are part of your media strategy.

 

Medium is message. Customer is a media. Customer is a message to you…:

…And you’d better give him a tribune and consider, reward his genuine participation. Remember for any message you used to pay lots of money at expensive agencies. And take a look at the whole wave of “social CRM” which tries to close your customers inside YOUR system, while they to create THEIR: the only relevant system you need is develop your abilities to stare, listen, share and talk any time you can to your best customers. If you don’t catch the ”message”, the message will be without you, against you or with your main competitors. Build on the best system to achieve this, with your customers engaging and living your brand with conversation and passion for your story, values and experience. This famous experience they deserve, you can at least offer to them, to hold the story as sustainable success. Share power with your lovers then!