Build trust with `permission marketing': if you have something to say, this new trend in marketing will get your customers to listen - business corner

Art Business News, Dec, 2002 by Lynn Fey

This year, the average consumer will see or hear one million marketing messages, almost 3,000 per day, according to Fast Company magazine. Thirty years ago, people watched television commercials, they listened to radio ads, they looked at billboards, and they read your direct mail piece. It's not that easy anymore. I don't know about you, but nowadays I don't like the odds that my message will be remembered.

One of the most talked-about trends in marketing today--permission marketing--can help your message get through, according to Seth Godin, author of Permission Marketing--Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers.

Godin is working to persuade companies around the world to reinvent how they relate to their customers. And companies are listening. Why? Because advertising just doesn't work the way it used to--in part because there is so much of it and in part because people have learned to ignore it.

The biggest challenge with mass-marketing advertising is that it fights for people's attention by interrupting them. A 30-second commercial interrupts an episode of "Friends" A telemarketing call interrupts your dinner.

Godin's model is built around asking for permission. According to Godin, the challenge for businesses is to persuade consumers to volunteer attention, or to "raise their hand" as he likes to say.

Godin applies most of his ideas to marketing on the Internet, because on the Internet, the cost of marketer-to-consumer communication is low, and the Internet has rapid feedback mechanisms. Having said this, I believe his theories hold true for all forms of marketing and for most types of businesses, both small and large.

Permission marketing is an old concept with new relevance. Engaging a consumer in a dialogue is something that business owners used to do in the old days. It was a kinder, gentler process, and it was based on the willing participation of the consumer. The arrival of the mass production economy changed all this.

The goal of permission marketing is to engage consumers in one-to-one relationships fueled by two-way conversations. The more a customer has collaborated with you to fashion the service you are rendering or the product you are selling, the more likely the customer will remain loyal to you.

There is one real challenge with this marketing approach. If you get permission to talk to consumers, you'd better have something good to say. The point of permission marketing is not just to entertain people, but also to teach them about your products and services. This is where substance will be just as important, if not more than, as style.

Permission marketing is:

Anticipated--people look forward to hearing from you.

Personal--the messages are directly related to the individual.

Relevant--the marketing is about something the prospect is interested in.

As Godin explained, "An interruption marketer is a hunter. A permission marketer is a farmer. Farming is infinitely more predictable, but it takes regular effort and focus. The upside is that once you get good at it, you can plant even more seeds and harvest even more crops."

In a nutshell, permission marketing helps build trust, and trust is what most of us are really selling, no matter our business focus. We are selling the trust that we have the product or service that will help solve our customers' problems, and if for some reason it doesn't, we will make good on our reputation.

To build trust you must breed familiarity. And you build familiarity through frequency. Think of the commercials that stand out in your mind over the years. A couple for me are the Starkist Tuna and Campbell's Soup commercials. Why are these so memorable? Because they were delivered with massive frequency in an environment that had a fraction of the clutter we face today. Permission marketing allows for the same effectiveness. It's the tool that makes frequency work by replacing continuing interruption with ongoing interaction.

To determine if your marketing efforts qualify as permission marketing, ask yourself the following questions:

1 Does every single marketing effort you create encourage a learning relationship with your customers?

2 Do you have a permission database? Do you track the number of people who have given you permission to communicate with them?

3 If consumers gave you permission to talk to them, would you have anything to say? Have you developed a marketing curriculum to teach people about your products and services?

4 Once people become customers, do you work to deepen your permission to communicate with those people?

So how can permission marketing work for you and your business? Listed below are a few examples. A successful permission marketer makes every single interaction selfish for the consumer. "What's in it for me?" is the question that must be answered every step of the way.

Ask customers if they would like to receive your newsletter. Whether by e-mail or regular mail, a newsletter is a great way to stay in touch with customers and educate them on your products and services. Keep topics informative and entertaining. Be sure to include an occasional survey to encourage a two-way dialogue.