Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/107993
BUSINESS STRATEGIES Real personalization means actually knowing and caring about each customer as a special human being and treating them like that. So to summarize, marketers can win by doing these seven: revitalize, strategize, fanaticize, personalize, socialize, authorize and incentivize. 5. Socialize. In the old days, guys did business on the golf course or at the country club bar or both. That's changing. So you need to find out where your customers hang out. Nothing beats face to face, eyeball to eyeball conversation, so just go hang out where your customers do. If you want additional proof, look at the banking industry, my former profession. At the time I started Meridian in 1991, mergers in banking were running rampant. The power players had clout and technology that made them superior. But as they grew, they lost touch with the customer and personalized service became a thing of the past. Until… And to connect with the younger generation, emerging decision-makers, you will need to hang out on social media and internet connections. While you may have been able to successfully avoid this mode of marketing the past few years and not missed much, that's all going to change quickly. Smart marketers are already diving into social media and you should too. 6. Authorize. Building a super strong company means decentralizing spending and decision-making authority. Of course, you spread the power with training, under direct supervision and with clear boundaries. Pushing authority lower and lower in your organization gives you the ability to delight customers through more rapid response to their needs than your more corporate, slower competitors. If you want an interesting case study in empowering customer-level staff, read about Zappos, a fledgling internet shoe business started by Silicon Valley superstar Tony Heisch (who sold his first company at age 24 to Microsoft for $265 million). After turning down a $300 million offer in 2005, Tony sold Zappos to Amazon for a cool $1.2 Billion. (Yes that is billion!) Having personally met Tony, and knowing his results, I completely agree with pushing authority down the line. …Community banks. All of sudden smaller home town banks began to grow, much to the shock of the regional and national banks. "How could this be?" they thought. "We are bigger and better with lower rates." And the answer from the customer was "they know my name" and "they give me great service." I see that same trend happening in petroleum, and it's been a joy to me to help marketers decide and execute their strategy. Just today I had an email from a marketer that touched me. He said "the mistakes I avoided and the extra revenue I generated due to Meridian are immeasurable." Wow. That felt great because it's exactly our goal. Call me at 817-594-0546 if you'd like to talk about the future of your business. 7. Incentivize. Since the success of your company rests on your people, and how your people treat people (like your best customers), giving them a stake in the game is smart. By using self-funding bonus pools, you'll always have great ROI. Done well, these pools can create performance peer pressure, too. While money isn't the end-all, be-all, great, productive employees want to feel appreciated! Incentives directly linked to an individual or team's actual productivity are the most powerful for producing sustained positive results which in turn catapults your bottom line. WINTER 2013 OIL PROPHETS 31