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Your market holds the final answer
Bob Bly, legendary direct marketer, and I traded emails recently because of a comment I made on his blog. I said that blogs are a great way to test subject lines (or headlines) especially if you are a small business.
Think about it. We small businesses don't have test cells, A/B splits of 2000 each or anything else that elaborate. Instead we have to be satisfied with much smaller numbers, interactive feedback and a roll of the dice.
Mr. Bly and I ended our short exchange violently agreeing about one thing: Your market should always be the final arbiter.
We marketers have hunches about what the market wants. In the final analysis though, it's always up to your market to decide.
December 16, 2004 | Permalink
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» Consumer Driven Marketing and the Ice Cream Parlour Analogy from Threadwatch.org
Here's a short but interesting discussion between Dana Van Den and Jay Lipe on how comp [Read More]
Tracked on Dec 17, 2004 2:13:45 PM
Comments
You're right. The blog includes the customer in the conversation. Period. If we're going to converse with them, and feed them some information of a particular flavor, it sure is great to do some taste-tests to see if they like the flavor.
Posted by: Dana VanDen Heuvel | Dec 17, 2004 1:02:07 AM
Dana-
I like your analogy and want to develop it even further. These days, marketing is much more like the ice cream parlors where you make your own flavor.
Interactive dialogues between customers and vendors, fueled by blogs, can help both parties have a say in the marketing process.
In the end, the flavor that the customer creates (and likes) is the right one.
Posted by: Jay Lipe | Dec 17, 2004 10:40:40 AM
Jay,
Yes. On all accounts. In fact, keep a watch on the concept of open source marketing. In listening to the speakers here at the AMA Blog seminar in Seattle, it's apparent that allowing everyone involved in a project to co-create the end state ideal is what's really magical about this medium.
Posted by: Dana VanDen Heuvel | Dec 17, 2004 11:54:00 AM
Dana-
This approach to marketing is exciting because it harnesses the power of those directly in the market. Ivory tower marketers will have no more excuses.
If they refuse to move in this direction, competitors (who openly embrace this new method) will pass them in the fast lane.
You are much closer to this open source marketing model than me. What kinds of marketing tools and approaches can we expect to see? What changes will trad marketers have to make...?
Posted by: Jay Lipe | Dec 19, 2004 1:51:22 PM
Could I suggest that the key element is this notion of co-creating value. (The future of competition - Prahalad and Ramaswamy)
That the initial blog is the starting point, then comes the response from the audience, then begins the dialogue, the conversation.
A blog that is simply read is not much different to an article or a book etc etc
Posted by: kundalini | Dec 22, 2004 7:22:57 PM
Good point. A blog creates sort of an intersection for the initial dialogue to take place. From there, the conversation can continue in any number of ways...
Posted by: Jay Lipe | Dec 28, 2004 1:20:03 PM
