Like many I know, I’m reading up while traveling on business. There’s nothing like a six-hour flight across country to encourage one to look for distractions from the low, monotonous hum of jet engines and the loud screems of teething kids. In fact, it’s a perfect time to get lost in a book, and better still, one that edifies and helps you see everything in a new light. For me, that has been Permission Marketing by Seth Godin.
Godin’s overarching premise is that consumers’ time is an increasingly scarce resource as it is divided among countless marketing messages. This “infoglut” reduces the effectiveness of traditional marketing methods that are designed to interrupt what one is doing in order to call attention to a particular brand. These traditional ad campaigns cost millions of dollars, yet only a small fraction of those who see them will ever act on the message they receive. In fact, more than ever before, consumers simply tune them out.
So how does a company or brand rise above the clutter? They create a real, meaningful relationship with the customer that is built on permission: The customer or prospective customer opts in to interact with a company, whether it’s in the form of a company newsletter or enrollment in a frequent flier program. The company shares a dialogue with the customer that is anticipated, personal and relevant. The goal is to build trust to achieve higher levels of permission from customers to send additonal information and up-sell them on additional products.
It’s not a quick and easy process, but it is powerful, lasting and will ultimately generate more sales with fewer expendatures over the long term. What struck me was that, although Godin published the book in 1999, it informs many of the best practices social media strategists uphold today including honest marketing practices, the importance of permission and trust, the concept that consumers are now in charge and that companies should share a dialogue with them rather than imposing a mologogue.
I highly recommend Permission Marketing and when you’re done, a nice follow up would be Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith. It seems I’ve read these books out of order, but regardless of the order they compliment each other very well.
What are you reading these days?
Photo Credit: Seth Godin
