Stop Advertising and Start a Conversation

When people share information, ideas, and sentiments, it's called "conversation." If people were not equipped with the natural ability to listen, think and respond, then "conversation" would be called "advertising."

In the past, companies had to use advertising to communicate. But today, with all the advancements in communication technology, companies, like people, can listen, think and respond. It's time for these companies to stop advertising. And start a conversation. It's time for Conversational Marketing.

Conversational Marketing isn't a completely new idea. Perhaps the earliest sign of Conversational Marketing were those ads fifty years ago that sported body copy that was "conversational." Instead of flat, lifeless copy that espoused the features and benefits of the client's product, some copywriter began speaking to consumers like they were really there.

That copywriter was Bill Bernbach, the man who radically revolutionized advertising creative as we know it. And because of Bill's insight and creativity, advertisers learned that they could be more effective if they talked to consumers instead of themselves. Advertisers learned to talk to consumers as if they were really having a real conversation with them. Right there in their own living room.

Conversational Marketing is the natural endgame in advertising's compromise between genuine communication and fabricated communication. The advertising industry has been heading in this direction for the last fifty years. And headed even faster for the last ten years. The evolution of Conversational Marketing has left a wide trail that's easy to follow.

Remember "direct marketing"? This is the notion that marketers will communicate directly with individuals. Which became "direct response marketing" which realized if you communicate with someone directly, you should give that someone some way to communicate back. And that lead to "relationship marketing". Here's where the industry realized that if they talk to you and you talk back then what you have here is a "relationship."

What you also have is a conversation. But let's not stray too far away from "relationship" just yet. Because it seems that after a few years of this "direct-response-relationship-marketing" going on in the mailboxes across America, along came the World Wide Web. (Yeah, remember how everyone actually called it that for the first couple of years.)

The Internet came along and changed everything. Because the one thing that no one expected to happen, happened. Consumers began initiating the conversation with brands and businesses online. They were actually using those powerful search engines to look up things like Palmolive and Chuck E Cheese and Valvoline so they could ask a question or get a free sample.

And out of this unexpected behavior was born "one-to-one marketing". Which basically describes an e-commerce transaction. Suddenly every other advertiser out there learned about the value of customer data. Not only did marketers sell to consumers online, but they learned so much in the process. What's your favorite color? Who's your favorite band? How many glasses of Ovaltine do you drink in a day?

So, what's a marketer supposed to do with all of this information? "CRM." Customer Relationship Management. It seems that businesses were getting so much genuine dialogue with their customers that they needed entirely new systems to be built just to manage it. Of course, the first order of business for the marketers of these businesses was to make the term "CRM" completely meaningless.

Everybody in the industry, clients and agencies alike, began calling just about everything they did "CRM". If they sent out an email newsletter, it was called "CRM". If they collected information about a customer and added it to a database, it was called "CRM". If they did a customer survey, it was called "CRM". Of course all of these things can be part of a "CRM" program. The problem is that for most marketers, there isn't a program in place--just some convenient jargon.

It's not much of a surprise, though. The thing that everybody is using "CRM" to describe is a thing much bigger than just managing customer relationships. The thing that everybody is using "CRM" to describe is actually the basis of the business to customer relationship. A basis that has seemingly evolved overnight while most businesses' ad agencies were busy crafting television commercials.

And can you blame the ad agencies for ignoring this profound sea change? After all, what do email newsletters, surveys, and databases have to do with advertising? Who cares about that stuff anyway? As it turns out, the clients are the ones that care. And so now you have everybody and their brother crafting "CRM" campaigns. Customer Relationship Management campaigns? Ad agencies just don't seem to get it.

Fifty years ago, Bill Bernbach inspired advertisers to talk with consumers like they were real people. Back then, no one thought about the listening. So the advertisers marched off and created millions of ads just like good ol' Bill would've done 'em. After a few generations of advertisers doing the same old routine, consumers learned to tune it out. And why not? Who's listening?

What would have happened if fifty years ago, the industry would have looked at Bill's ads and said, "Wow! This is great! People are going to talk about this one. We better come up with a way to pick up on their conversation." What would have happened to advertising as we know it if all the energy that went into to trying re-create Bill's magic had been spent trying to support the next part of the conversation. The part where the consumer gets to respond.

Maybe it was inevitable. The power of the consumer is so great that they just had to be heard. They say in a capitalistic society, consumers vote with their wallet. Obviously that wasn't enough of a voice. Which might explain why we have consumers creating Doritos commercials for the Super Bowl. And posting their favorite ads on their MySpace page. And writing about their frustrations with their recent airline experience on their blog. And producing their own video commentary in response to advertising videos they see on YouTube. Whatever the forces are behind this communication revolution, one thing is clear. You can't have a relationship with a customer without having a conversation.

The good news is you already know how to have a conversation. Now you just need to carry this knowledge over to your marketing communications. For example, you know in order to have a conversation there must be a two-way exchange. Someone is talking. Someone else is listening. So the first step in Conversational Marketing is to make sure you can listen. Here are some obvious signs that your marketing communications are ready to listen.

You have a specific call to action. Write. Call. Email. Click.

You make a specific invitation. Join. Register. Sign up. Opt in.

You ask a question. Survey. Poll. Vote.

You open yourself to questions. Search. Feedback. Chat.

Now that you're listening, make sure you're paying attention. Don't listen like the 50s husband with your head buried in the Sports section. "Yes, dear. Uh-huh. That's right, dear." Here are some signs you are really paying attention.

You have a single customer database. It's not divided up into separate databases serving separate departments in your company or performing separate functions for your customers.

Your customer database not only collects data important to your business goals (name, address, payment method) but it also collects data important to your customers' interests (survey answers, search queries, comments).

You make intelligent responses. You send a thank you email when they leave a comment. You customize your newsletter by highlighting content you know they are interested in. You reply to their emails with a personal response as often as possible.

These are the basic signs of Conversational Marketing. You can take your conversation up a notch by inviting your customers to join a discussion group, sign onto a bulletin board, join a focus group, or become an advocate by sharing the conversation with their friends and associates.

Knowing what tactics to employ that enable conversations with your customers is important, but none of it will be effective without a Conversation Strategy in place. So, before you update your website, revise your email newsletter, start a podcast, or open the phone lines, make sure you understand who and where your customers are. And then devise a plan that intersects your business goals and objectives with their needs and expectations. Do this, and you are sure to strike up a very effective conversation indeed.

And soon, you won't be working for an ad agency or a marketing firm anymore. You'll be going to work for a Business Conversations Company. You'll be producing Conversational Marketing. And kids in college will be taking Conversational Marketing Communications 101. And majoring in Business Conversations. And your family will finally understand what it is you do at work because everybody understands what a conversation is.