Mr. Meyer, Don't be Afraid of Your Customer

As Marketing and PR Consultants we have been coming across some very interesting 'species' of clients lately (we will not mention real names): the Uncoachables of the 21st Century. They just keep being resistant against any kind of new client/consumer approaches. They stick to traditional print ads and direct mail campaigns and choose to ignore the new media: the internet with all its possibilities. We wonder sometimes: is it just lack of knowledge or real fear? 'Uncoachables of the 21st Century' come in many forms: as managers, executives, small and big business owners, men and women, young or on a senior level etc. They often hide behind ignorance, arrogance or even an optimism, which usually crosses the line to denial. But they have one thing in common: they fear their customer(s).

Yes, the new Marketing and PR world is fast, and yes, we all know it is not for everybody (yet). Most people don’t like running fast in business: they feel more comfortable if there are lots of meetings, committees, excel-sheets to hide in or behind. We admit, it can be quite scary to drive in that new, sometimes rough Marketing and PR lane without many rules or regulations. Customers could actually express in very clear and open words, that the service or the product ‘sucks’. Uuups, that hurts. But it teaches everyone a few lessons: to do better and to listen to customers directly to find out what they want. Forget anonymous research statistics for a few moments – everyone needs them, but they are not everything. Prepare for the direct communication with your buyers via internet and have fun!

Let's assume we had a client the other day, let's call him 'Klaus Meyer', whose marketing department said that the company needs to spend at least $40.000 to do a professional video to reach out to new customers. And the PR manager suggested to hire a PR agency for $ 15.000 a month to get stories in the national papers. These may be good ideas (well 10 years ago), but we strongly recommended to Mr. Meyer not only check on the credibility of his people, but also to look at his budget and his target groups again. Why not create a 1-minute-fun-video for a few hundred bucks, put it on YouTube and tell the world all about the product, or – even better – himself and his team? Why not put an article on a blog, which reaches not only the media, but also his customers? Well, fortunately, Mr. Meyer belongs to the new generation of coachable people. He wants to get to know his customers. He is now checking out the blogging and YouTube arena; and he is re-evaluating his marketing and PR approaches. Good for him: he will save tons of money and he will finally be able to understand his customers. We will let you know in the next few weeks how Klaus Meyer does.

Please let us know what your experience is with Marketing and PR in the internet world. We are also excited to hear from other Marketing and PR consultants: tell us your experience with your clients. And you can give advise to Klaus Meyer - he likes to learn from the whole world!