In a recent blog post, Jim Nail, chief strategy and marketing officer at Cymfony, wrote about a study that provocatively proclaims “Spending on Conversational Marketing will Outpace Traditional Marketing by 2012“. To find out if that’s even possible, I got together with Jim and Pete Blackshaw, executive vice president at Nielsen Online Strategic Services. Like Jim, Pete is wary of the “conversation” hubbub.
What ensued was a very lively debate about whether marketers are prepared to support conversational marketing, and the answer isn’t very pretty. As Jim and Pete point out, not only are marketers not using Web 2.0 tools to create a conversation. To even listen effectively, they need to overhaul their infrastructures, big time.
We invite you to listen to the debate and then tell us what you think by leaving a comment on this blog. Enjoy –
Link to Original Audio Source
About Jim
Jim Nail has an extensive background in integrated marketing through his 22-year career that spans online marketing, market research, brand advertising and direct marketing. Jim was an analyst at Forrester for eight years, focusing on how marketing strategies and tactics must adapt to technology-driven changes in consumer media consumption habits. Prior to joining Forrester, he helped launch Web advertising network AdSmart, where he served as director of marketing. He spent 15 years planning and managing integrated marketing campaigns at leading advertising agencies including Ogilvy & Mather Direct, Draft Worldwide, Bates USA and Hill Holliday.
About Pete
Pete Blackshaw, whose professional background encompasses politics, interactive marketing, and brand management, is Executive Vice President of Strategic Services for Nielsen Online, a new entity combining Nielsen BuzzMetrics, a firm Pete helped co-found, and Nielsen NetRatings. Pete’s primary focus revolves around how to help brands interpret, manage, act upon consumer-generated media (CGM). A former interactive marketing leader at P&G and founder of consumer feedback portal PlanetFeedback.com, Pete co-founded the Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA). He is a frequent speaker at interactive marketing industry events, serves as Ad-Tech advisory board member, authors a regular marketing column with ClickZ, and authors several blogs including ConsumerGeneratedMedia.com (www.consumergeneratedmedia.com). He is author of an upcoming book by Random House entitled “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3000: Running a Business in Today’s Consumer-Driven World.”
Related posts:
- Study: ‘Conversational Marketing’ to Beat Traditional by 2012
- How (and Why) to Make Your Business More “Conversational”
- Oh Behave! Hidden Forces that Shape Irrational Behavior
- ‘Stopwatch Marketing’: Synchronizing Marketing Strategies with Customers’ Shopping Styles
- The Death of Marketing to Women?
Tags: Conversational Marketing
A lot of interesting points have been brought up here. Is “Conversational Marketing” really a conversation? It doesn’t quite work with the typical “push information scheme” that agencies, marketers and PR professionals have subscribed to for generations. And as for reacting to input, many companies have either not embraced their own plans or haven’t thought it through.
Has anyone gone to a customer service desk with a problem just to be told that they can make inquiries on the corporate website?
Hey, but they have “comments” or a “customer service” section in their website, don’t they?
It’s like handing some kids a stack of dynamite. After a few fingers are blown off, they’ll begin to understand that this “new toy” has some power. To harness it’s potential, there had better be more research, discovery, understanding, asset management as well as liability control…
Recently, Josh Hallett, posted a blog ( http://www.mpdailyfix.com/2007/10/this_word_conversation_i_do_no.html#more) similar to this. Some good thoughts were posted there, but this interview took it to a new level.
Thank you!
Andrew
I enjoyed the insight provided in this podcast.
How do you solve the inherent problem of top executives who just don’t get the message though?
I work with companies who BELIEVE that they are listening to consumers because they provide a tool for feedback, but they aren’t making meaningful changes based on feedback trends.
Many seem to be getting too wrapped up in the process of providing feedback tools and forgetting to actually HEAR the messages being relayed.
Hey guys great podcast. I think what you guys are doing is more conversational marketing than anything else I see truly happening in this day and time.
Our credibility is a long way from what I would call the reality of being geniune. Now this has been one of the major problems I’ve been shouting out about for years. If companies think by putting up a blog or other technological systems that they are having true dialogue with their customers they’re just not being true to themselves.
From the time telephone industries started putting in place computerized phone systems we have been moving away from true dialogue with our customers. Working with customers in a way that truly reflects conversational marketing begins with us serving the customer in a way that they perceive is healthy not the way we perceive a healthy relationship.
Having a great customer relationship is like going to a restaurant and sharing with the waiter what you want to eat and then having them comply. Often we order what we want from companies we are financially supporting but we get what the company brings us. If a waiter ever did this he’d not only frustate us, lose his tip but he’d be subject to losing his job too as we report our issue to the management of the restaurant. The restaurant manager listening to us and rectifying the problem…that’s conversational marketing. The waiter choosing not to serve us in a manner that we have asked them too is not conversational marketing but this is how a great deal of businesses are treating a large body of their customers.
I think like Pete and Jim that we are a very, very long way away from conversational marketing. I say this even though we have a greater opportunity now than we have ever had to impliment conversational marketing relationships.
The big problem is that companies are still refusing to SERVE customers and their objectives are wrong. We can not focus on monetization before we focus on SERVING customers. Making money is a by product of serving customers in a way they desire. All businesses grow as a result of SERVING first.
This has been a great conversation and there is no room for debate. Until customers are SERVED conversational marketing is a mute point. True dialogue and all great conversations with your customers begins with listening. Trying to speed up call center service destroys relationships because you are avoiding the one thing you need the most and that’s dialogue with the customers.
I think Pete and Jim are right on and that Conversational Marketing” is all hype until marketers drive companies to listen. This is the most honest thing a company can do to create trust and great long term relationships. When conversations between husbands and wives are limited to reduced conversations and speed of conversations you’ll continue to see divorce skyrocketing. What we are seeing in this age is customers divorcing themselves from the companies they used to love because conversations are short, limited and they are centered around companies trying to get their customers off of the phone so they can save money.
Is there anything I can do for you?
Your Servant,
Lovingly Deremiah