A Letter to the Marketing Dept. from Your Shoes

By Scott Hepburn | Comments (12) | Trackbacks (0)

Old Shoes, New LacesDear Marketing Department:

It has come to our attention that you’ve been experimenting with some new ways of reaching out to customers. Blogs, Twitter, YouTube…they’re all the rage. We get it.

We’ve been down this road before, you and us. Remember when the fax machine came out? It was gonna change the world! You rushed right out and bought one. It would spit and churn and tie up the phone line, but by God, it was gonna take us to the next level.

It helped. Sorta. For a while.

Oh, and the Internet! Or the World Wide Web, as we called it back then. “We’re gonna be on the Internet!” you shouted jubilantly. Orders would be streaming in from China and Japan!

Okay, so we dreamed big.

Now they say “social media” is the next big thing. It’s all about the SpaceBook and the MyFace and what-have-you. It’s about “conversation” and “engaging” and giving your friends a virtual cactus.

Who needs advertising when you can send a virtual cactus?

Anyway, back to our point: Your shoes are still here for you, reliable as ever. Sure, we lack the excitement of a YouTube video or the sizzle of Twitter, but we’re still a great way to connect with customers.

When you started your business, who was there for you? That’s right: Your shoes. Every step you took, we took. We were there when you landed your first account, hired your first employee, and turned your first profit. Boom or bust, we were by your side (or under foot, but you get the point).

So don’t forget about us…we’re part of your marketing team, too. Pound the pavement. Hit the streets. Knock on doors and visit your VIPs. You know…meet with people “IRL”? (That stands for “in real life,” right?)

We’ll be with you every step of the way.

Sincerely,

Your Shoes

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Topics: Social Media
  • A good reminder not to abandon the tried and true. However, it has been my experience that successful sales and marketing has never been about jumping on one new tactic exclusively and forgetting the "old." It is about integrating and finding out the best mix.
  • Definitely need to remember the basics. Tools will come and go, be effective and non effective, grow and shrink. But you need to know your core values and goals that those tools support.
  • Right on the money. I am coming to the same conclusion. Social media, web, on and on are a part of the mix. Certainly these new tools can help, but they don't replace the fundamentals of marketing, they enhance them. I am hoping to see some evolution where people realize that social media in the hands of your sales team is where the power is at. It is not in all of us contemplating our navels about the medium. We are going past that to see where the rubber hits the road. Great post.
  • I agree with part of what you say here, but disagree with another part, Scott.

    I agree that we definitely need to get past the navel-gazing and talking about the medium. Enough of the "Why the medium I operate in is awesome" posts -- show me the "How to use this stuff to achieve your goals" posts!

    Where I disagree is the "social media in the hands of your sales team" line. Yes, the sales team should definitely be using social media. But so should HR, operations, service, marketing/PR, customer relations, and executives.

    Actually, as I think about it, getting social media into the hands of all those people will help get us to the "next step" you're envisioning. Funny how it all comes together...
  • I don't buy into this shoe business. My shoes are in the closet and they are going to stay there. I leverage technology and communications to do the job of ten salespeople. I also put my horse in the stable years ago after the telephone came out. Salespeople are messengers of information and influence. It's the message that they deliver and the personal influence a salesperson can create that makes the difference. The problem is that many buyers don't need salespeople to get the information they need to make a decision. Salespeople must adapt and change. Salespeople need to embrace the changes in our world. Much of what a salesperson does can be duplicated with communications and technology.
    However, even as I write this from my sales automation perspective, I can say this, it is easier for me to replace a salesperson with my automated selling sytem when the salesperson doesn't put on their shoes and do the job they are being paid to do. So, on one hand I agree, if you aren't putting on your shoes, you will be replaced. I can replace you with a systematic approach that mimics the communications you should be sending as a salesperson.
  • Thanks for offering a different perspective, Steve. I love it when someone disagrees with me civilly! Love that line about the horse ;)

    You're right about many buyers being able to make decisions without the help of a salesperson. In fact, that's one of the reasons I think social media IS so valuable. If consumers continue to tune out salespeople -- and continue to find new ways to do so -- our job is marketers is to find other ways to show them how our brands/products/services will enhance their lives.

    I'm not a big fan of "automated selling systems". It's not that they don't work -- they produce, and numbers matter. I just think the human element is the difference between profitable companies and successful companies.
  • Mary Deming Barber
    What a wonderful post Scott. Not only will I try to remember my shoes, but I'll also remember those other "tried and true" support systems and tactics that have been such faithful friends all these years. Thank you for putting it all in perspective.
  • Kicking ass in the trenches and in person are essential. You can't beat face to face contact with a client or a partner. The ideas, solutions and discussions that take place from those meetings are far more valuable then commenting on or producing a video. I can guarantee Scott, if you and I met face to face we'd probably learn a lot more from each other then just by simply commenting on each other's blogs.
  • You better believe it, Stuart!
  • Haha, the irony is here we are doing just that. Distance is a bitch though.
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