Why Your Marketing Needs To Be Cool

There’s a classic scene in Pulp Fiction where Samuel L. Jackson’s character yells to the woman holding up the diner, “[Yolanda], be cool!” (Only he substitutes a disparaging word for females in place of “Yolanda,” but we can sacrifice accuracy in the name of keeping it clean.)

How does Jules Winnifeld’s angry exclamation relate to marketing? You think that your marketing is doing just fine. You might be right, but chances are, you’re wrong à at least according to a customer survey from Yankelovich Partners via Marketo. Be warned: Are you ready for some negativity?
What Customers Think About Marketing

• 60% of customers have a negative opinion of marketing.
• 65% feel bombarded.
• 61% feel it’s out of control.
• 59% feel marketing has very little relevance.

Debbie Downer takeaway

If these stats don’t give you a chill, I suggest you pinch yourself to see if you’re alive. Let’s examine the words and their implications: bombard, negative, very little relevance, out of control. A majority feel negative about marketing. Customers generally get too much of it and donÆt perceive the relevance.

If they’re not seeing how marketing relates to them, then you have failed as a marketer. Can’t blame the customer for how she feels; take some responsibility for the type and frequency of communication you offer. Do your customers dread hearing from you, or do they get excited by what you offer them? A little soul-searching and analysis should reveal the answer.

But wait, there may be a bright side (I wouldn’t depress you like that!). All marketers should read these numbers every now and then to remind themselves that their messages are only as good as their audiences think they are. It might be bitter medicine to swallow, but information abundance (if not pollution) and your customers’ feelings are the reality. And when you fight reality, you usually lose.

Be cool

Bottom line? Don’t push, bombard, interrupt or otherwise make yourself irrelevant. Busy people don’t have time for your clever antics and slick sales pitches (at least not until they know you and/or have become sufficiently interested on their own). Remember, that’s not just my opinion; that’s what customers have actually said. So, take a cue from Samuel L. Jackson and make sure you’re cool in how you communicate with prospects and fans alike.

Author: Paul Richlovsky
Courtesy: www.fathomdelivers.com