Time to get on my soapbox.  pacman

I HATE the whole approach to calling customers “consumers”.  When I hear it, I think of mindless creatures endlessly consuming something – like Pac-Man gobbling up little pac-dots.

I also hate Internet marketing terms like “squeeze” pages.  The connotation is that you “squeeze” the contact info and money out of your prospects.  Even the phrase lead “capture” pages makes it sound like you are “capturing” a lead, like hauling fish in using a net.

Why does this bother me?  Because our customers are people like you and me.  I don’t want advertisers and marketers to treat me like a mindless consumer.  It insults my intelligence and there is a rising trend in this tough economic climate for people to become more selective in how they spend their money.

So how can you get people like me to buy in today’s new marketplace where people have worldwide choices  and are much choosier about what we buy?

Here are some tips:

1.  Entertain us.  A heavy sales pitch is boring.  Tell us a story, make us laugh.  I love the Diamond Shreddies commercials where they equate the old square version of the cereal as boring and the “new” diamond shape as exciting and innovative.  (Yes, it is the exact same cereal with the same shape).  This commercial increased their sales by 20% with no change to the cereal,  just publicity and some box changes.  I love buying the Diamond/Square “Combo” Packs.

2.  Give us value.  We are spending more selectively so we want a lot more value for our dollar.  And we can choose worldwide, so we can find it from someone else if you aren’t willing.

3.  Woo us.  Build a relationship.  Selling to us the first time you connect with us is like proposing marriage or sex before a first date.  How about some dinner and dancing first so we can check out our compatability for longer term committments?  Show us that you want a real relationship with us, not just quick gratification.  Over our lifetime, each person represents a huge amount of potential sales for you.  Doing a money grab now risks losing a lifetime profitable relationship.

Try to remove ALL negative references to your customers in your speaking and writing.   Blantant examples would be calling them “marks” or “suckers.”  No matter how good of an actor you are, this attitude will poision your relationship with your clients.  You must genuinely like your customers and make sure that you and your team use the right words to help keep your thinking on the right path.

  • Instead of “consumer” try “member.”  This takes you from thinking of them as someone who buys to someone who has an ongoing relationship with you.
  • Instead of a ’squeeze” page, call it a “member interest” page or an “attraction” page where members are indicating what topics and product types they are interested in.

Language is powerful.   Get it working FOR you, not AGAINST you.

Garland Coulson, “The E-Business Tutor”