In case you aren’t aware of it yet, the email marketing industry is abuzz over Ben and Jerry’s decision to drop email marketing as a major strategy over in the UK. Check out the Email Guide’s scoop on the issue here.
The consensus among industry types (found here on the Blue Sky Factory blog) is that it could very well be a mistake to forget a viable medium such as email altogether. The train of thought went further to say that it may be successful to focus on social media, but that Ben and Jerry’s should have given the customers the choice rather than make it for them.
Overall, I agree with this. Social media may be the way to go in Ben and Jerry’s UK-oriented opinion, but giving the customers the option is probably the better idea.Any time you make a decision for a customer, you run the risk of alienation.
But the whole situation got me thinking in a different vein:
Consumers “Silo” Their Own Media
Despite the proliferation of smartphones, iPads, etc., consumers still have their separate uses for the various media, be it email or social. They use Facebook for Facebook purposes, they use Twitter for Twitter purposes. As my colleague Loren McDonald pointed out, consumers are app-friendly, with most not caring about having multiple apps open at once.
In fact, in my experience, the only folks I know who want the multitasking/multi-use apps (like a Seemsic, etc.) are marketers themselves. (I can be proven wrong on this point.)
But what does this mean for marketers?
Marketers Must Integrate Messages Across All Media, Not Silo Themselves
I touched on this briefly in my Dangers of Silo Thinking post from a while back. Email and social media are tools in a larger marketing strategy, not really strategies unto themselves. Marketers should not follow the consumer approach to silos, but rather think across all channels. It’s not rocket science. But this can be a friendly reminder.
Giving Consumers a Choice is Important
The consumers’ penchant for using silos for their own activity is very much exploitable for marketers. The more choices you have for distributing your content, the better chance you have of breaking through. It’s simply a matter of time (or you pissing them off to the point they want nothing to do with you.)
As I have said before: Create the experience your customers want. It’ll go a long way toward your bottom line.
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I absolutely agree with you! Not all of your customers are active on the social media platform. In order to reach your whole segment base you have to be present there where you customers are. That’s not only online, but also offline. Furthermore, it’s just like the tipping point, all little bits and pieces out there will spread the word and create word-of-mouth for your message. When you have reached the critical mass, it will book the results you were hoping for. The more the message gets repeated, both online and offline, the more it will get the consumers’ attention.
Natalie: Thanks for commenting! I like your idea of the tipping point and critical mass. Repetition is also important.
Scott Cohen´s last [type] ..Consumer Choice and Silo Thinking
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