Don’t talk to Strangers!

Images_8 The mantra of mothers everywhere.  "Don’t talk to strangers!."  At least it was the mantra of my mom.  When my daughter was little, it shifted to "stranger danger!"  But the message was the same.  We talk to the people we trust.  People we know.

It’s no different in marketing.  Consumers are fed up.  They are tired of being talked to.  They are tired of the unwanted invasion. They want to engage in a conversation.   With someone they trust.  Someone they know.

There’s a great book that talks all about this called Waiting for your Cat to Bark.  It’s an insightful read about how the inmates have taken over the prison!  The consumer truly is in charge today.  As we sit here and blog, we are living proof of that.   The Do Not Call list is living proof of that.  Spam filters — yup, living proof.

Valeria Maltoni, over at Conversation Agent, has a great post about "the consumer revolution."  In the post, she offers 10 great questions that speak from the customer’s voice about how they want to engage in that conversation.

So, here’s my question for you.   What are you doing to move your brand from stranger to trusted friend?  I fear if we don’t — we’re going to be very lonely because pretty soon, we’re not going to have anyone to talk to.

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12 comments on “Don’t talk to Strangers!

  1. Let’s not forget that we are also the consumers. Maybe we dig a little deeper for what would make us pay attention — we know what it is.

    When Fast Company magazine came out 11 years ago, they announced that “Work is Personal” and they started a movement. People really responded to the genuite impetus behind the headline.

    I see the evolution of brands to lovemarks. I also see the microeconomics of the Long Tail and niche markets as having a role in this conversation.

  2. Valeria,

    You are very correct– we are all consumers. And an understanding of our own buying (or at least listening) triggers will give us insights into the buying process. Heck, just being more mindful of the question will bring new insights!

    But…there is a real danger (we wrestle with clients on this one all the time) to over-generalize and make all consumers like us. While some are, many are not.

    Bottom line, we’re in some ways, the worst judge of how consumers preceive/interact with our brand. We simply cannot see ourselves as our consumers see us. We’re inside the bottle, trying to imagine what it looks like from the outside.

    That’s why we have to ask them, in my opinion. That’s a world I think most businesses are still in the dark about. But, that’s a whole new post for another day!

    I do love it when you stop by and engage in the conversation. Please do it often.

    Drew

  3. Aukcje says:

    I wolud like too insert this article on my site. Can I? Thank you!

  4. We simply cannot see ourselves as our consumers see us. We’re inside the bottle, trying to imagine what it looks like from the outside.

  5. Max Entin says:

    A great way to start a conversation with your potential customers is to give them something they will enjoy and would like to share with their friends or colleagues for free. You are not imposing or pushing the message on them – ypur message is spreading through their friends like a virus (because people passing it on from one to another). I wrote about viral marketing here http://www.maxentin.ca/tag/viral-content/

  6. Max,

    Very true. People like to do business with people they know and trust. One way for them to get to know you is by extending your hand out first.

    Whether it’s a freebie, new information or something else, the point is, you gave first.

    They will remember that.

    Drew

  7. freck says:

    i think consumers are also looking for new things, trying to satisfade their curiosity and buying new things, the only important point is give them easily adn if it possible cheap

  8. Very true. People like to do business with people they know and trust. One way for them to get to know you is by extending your hand out first.

  9. swingers says:

    (sorry for english) Talking to the strangers is not allways dangeours.
    sometimes kids became introvertic

  10. kredyty says:

    ha ha ha!! very funny!:) I sent link to my workers… 🙂

  11. biurka says:

    Do you have this picture in more resolutions? I want to print poster like this. Thanks for article.

  12. Good customer service will do wonders. Gone are the days of scary thoughts if you will apply talking to strangers — your customers – and conscientiously get their feedback and turn it to positive result.

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