Stopping in to an overcapacity panel on 'Marketing Without Marketing' at SXSW 2008, I picked up a few great sound bites on how to reach out to customers 'without being skeevy':
Bake virality into your core business
- David Parmet: "There's no such thing as viral marketing, only viral products."
Remember it's about relationships
- Hugh MacLeod: "There's a shift in advertising from 'here's why you should buy X' to making a social gesture...Community isn't a lever you can pull. There are no levers, only people."
- Deb Schultz: "I get frustrated when startups are trying to teach a new behavior, but don't spend enough time with their customers...You'll never have a lower ratio of employees:customers than you do now. Now's the time to bring in human beings who can answer questions. This sounds like customer service, but it's really marketing. If you're a large company, break it down into smaller segments so that you can get to a size where you can connect."
- Deb Schultz: "If you're in a relationship, you can't ignore the other person all year, then just give them flowers on Valentine's Day."
Simple rules for the new marketing
- Chris Heuer: "The brands with the best storytellers win."
- Deb Schultz: "Social media is about marketing, the way Web sites were about e-commerce."
