September 23, 2013
MAKE THE MOVE FROM HYPE TO HELP
Marketing depends on being able to command your customers' attention. Historically, the strategy for marketing rested on "top-of-mind awareness," explains marketing consultant Jay Baer in his new book, Youtility. Top-of-mind awareness is predicated on companies putting their brand names in front of the consumer as much as possible.
A more recent marketing strategy is the concept of "frame-of-mind awareness." In this case, the brand appears when the consumer is in the right frame of mind — that is, when he or she is ready to buy. Search engine optimization and a presence on specialized sites is key.
Inbound marketing, as this type of marketing is called, is important, Baer writes, but it's only half the story. As social media starts to compete with websites and search engines, companies cannot rely only on frame-of-mind marketing to sustain them in the information age. Today, instead of using a search engine, someone with a new dog might ask for a vet recommendation from his or her Facebook friends. As a result, companies need to engage in what Baer calls "friend of mine" awareness; instead of saying, "I'm here," they need to ask, "How can I help?"
Baer calls this helpfulness, Youtility. He writes, "Instead of marketing that's needed by companies, Youtility is marketing that's wanted by customers."
Three Facets of Youtility
How do you translate the attitude of helping your customers into action? The first step, according to Baer, is to understand the three facets of Youtility:
Having established the three facets of Youtility as guiding principles, Baer then offers a step-by-step blueprint for "creating" Youtility. The first step, not surprisingly, is understanding customers' needs. Baer urges companies to use the technology available today — including social chatter and web analytics — to determine exactly what needs customers are looking to fulfill through their purchases. Mapping customer needs to useful marketing is the next step and involves how to best convey the information. "Determining the optimal conveyance mechanism requires a level of research beyond understanding customer needs," Baer writes.
The third step in creating Youtility is to market your marketing. In other words, promote the useful information your company is pulling together. If you have an app, make sure the app is promoted on your website, describe the app in your email marketing and even create a related YouTube video. The fourth step is to insource Youtility, which refers to getting a wide variety of employees involved in the "useful information" effort. Whether this involvement is voluntary, assisted, mandatory or even circumstantial depends on the situation.
A Process, Not a Project
Baer also urges companies to "make Youtility a process, not a project." Youtility must be an ongoing program for a number of reasons, including shifting customer needs as well as technology advances, he writes. Finally, companies need to keep score; they should use different categories of measurement — including consumption and sales metrics — to gauge the effectiveness of the effort. Admittedly, the return on investment may not always be easy to calculate.
Baer's book is a detailed, very well-organized manual for adapting marketing to the parameters of today's world of information avalanche. At the beginning of the book, Baer writes, "If you sell something, you make a customer today. If you help someone, you make a customer for life." Youtility will help guide you in making more customers for life.
YOUTILITY by Jay Baer
MAKE THE MOVE FROM HYPE TO HELP
Marketing depends on being able to command your customers' attention. Historically, the strategy for marketing rested on "top-of-mind awareness," explains marketing consultant Jay Baer in his new book, Youtility. Top-of-mind awareness is predicated on companies putting their brand names in front of the consumer as much as possible.
A more recent marketing strategy is the concept of "frame-of-mind awareness." In this case, the brand appears when the consumer is in the right frame of mind — that is, when he or she is ready to buy. Search engine optimization and a presence on specialized sites is key.
Inbound marketing, as this type of marketing is called, is important, Baer writes, but it's only half the story. As social media starts to compete with websites and search engines, companies cannot rely only on frame-of-mind marketing to sustain them in the information age. Today, instead of using a search engine, someone with a new dog might ask for a vet recommendation from his or her Facebook friends. As a result, companies need to engage in what Baer calls "friend of mine" awareness; instead of saying, "I'm here," they need to ask, "How can I help?"
Baer calls this helpfulness, Youtility. He writes, "Instead of marketing that's needed by companies, Youtility is marketing that's wanted by customers."
Three Facets of Youtility
How do you translate the attitude of helping your customers into action? The first step, according to Baer, is to understand the three facets of Youtility:
- Self-serve information. Unlike in the past, people today are used to researching the information they need rather than depending on the advice of professionals. To build loyalty, companies must help customers and prospects in their quest for self-serve information.
- Radical transparency. Companies shouldn't try to hide or distort information; prospects want to know the unfiltered details. Make it easier, not harder, for them to find information.
- Real time relevancy. The information must be useful — not only today but, in the age of apps, useful at this very minute.
Having established the three facets of Youtility as guiding principles, Baer then offers a step-by-step blueprint for "creating" Youtility. The first step, not surprisingly, is understanding customers' needs. Baer urges companies to use the technology available today — including social chatter and web analytics — to determine exactly what needs customers are looking to fulfill through their purchases. Mapping customer needs to useful marketing is the next step and involves how to best convey the information. "Determining the optimal conveyance mechanism requires a level of research beyond understanding customer needs," Baer writes.
The third step in creating Youtility is to market your marketing. In other words, promote the useful information your company is pulling together. If you have an app, make sure the app is promoted on your website, describe the app in your email marketing and even create a related YouTube video. The fourth step is to insource Youtility, which refers to getting a wide variety of employees involved in the "useful information" effort. Whether this involvement is voluntary, assisted, mandatory or even circumstantial depends on the situation.
A Process, Not a Project
Baer also urges companies to "make Youtility a process, not a project." Youtility must be an ongoing program for a number of reasons, including shifting customer needs as well as technology advances, he writes. Finally, companies need to keep score; they should use different categories of measurement — including consumption and sales metrics — to gauge the effectiveness of the effort. Admittedly, the return on investment may not always be easy to calculate.
Baer's book is a detailed, very well-organized manual for adapting marketing to the parameters of today's world of information avalanche. At the beginning of the book, Baer writes, "If you sell something, you make a customer today. If you help someone, you make a customer for life." Youtility will help guide you in making more customers for life.
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