by Greg Meadows
More and more marketing tactics are aimed at collecting information. How to get hard information with a soft sell is every marketers quest. People don’t want to be mined. They don’ want to be preyed upon – but will offer up information if they don’t feel threatened. And - yes - in many cases people don’t even realize they are giving it up. This piece in the New York Times caught my eye. Orchestras are using text messaging to interact with a captive audience, and to collect information. While this approach is novel and rather interesting, I was more initially taken by the premise. I am always being told to silence of shut off my cell phone when entering a concert hall or movie theater. Now - in these scenarios - I am being encouraged to turn it on. Check out the article and share your thoughts.
Reply Comment From Amanda Roberts
There are tricky ways for companies to get a hold of your information and this is just one more. For example, if you use a credit card to by an item at a retail store and the cashier asks you for your zip code, and you provide it, you have unknowingly agreed to receive promotional mailings from them, if you want a free music download become friends with us on Facebook or Twitter, and if you want to vote for a song to be played at a concert send us a text.
With all this social media communications out there people are really giving companies and organizations a lot of inside to their personal life. They’re granted access to individual people’s likes and dislikes, their friends and family and everything in between. And that needs to be respected from the company to get the same benefits in return. Company “X”, you want this access, okay, you can be my “friend”, but don’t come in my house to talk too much, abuse my network, and steal my stuff.
Just simple common curiosity and taking care of your neighbors can really go along way. That is what really keeps customers thinking positively about you and returning for more. As for the concert text, if the organization wants to reply “sign up for the mailing list” in a return text I think it’s a good trade. If I’m interested in having more of a relationship with you I’ll sign up. Also, if you want more up front, let me know in advance, I need to know what I’m getting into for this relationship to work. You can’t just have needs, you have responsibilities too.
With the way that we socially communicate and share all this information companies better be careful; it’s a dating game now, and it’s only going to work if we both benefit. It’s not “just business” anymore, you’re in a relationship.
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