My marketing evolution (or revolution?)

I realize Permission Marketing might be an oldie (10 years is light years in the marketing world!), but in just a few short chapters Seth Godin has already taught me a few key things:

I used to be an interruption marketer. Or at least an interruption seller. In my corporate selling days, with 600+ prospects across the state, interruption marketing and selling were it. I would try to get more clients with a low-priced deal, hoping that something would stick. Or there would be cold calls trying to get in front of a new prospect. In both of those cases, it wasn’t unusual to be interrupting a client’s already happy (or at least not unhappy) relationship with another vendor. There was pressure to close end-of-quarter deals which always heightened the interruption marketing mindset.

I’ve evolved into a permission marketer. I appreciate Seth’s comment that even in permission marketing the first step is an interruption of some sort. You still have to get someone’s attention initially. But from there, I get to create a relationship with people who actually want to hear from me. I love that! It’s like I’ve been given permission to take the pressure off – of myself and my potential clients – and build trust over time. I can revolt against this all out, pushy, flash-in-the-pan interruption style, that isn’t really me anyway!

I want to grow into a one-to-one-marketer. This is where I get to take the relationships created in permission marketing, and grow them into fiercely loyal customers. It’s a win for them, it’s a win for me. Why? First for them – this type of marketing focuses on a smaller set of more profitable customers, so the stakes are much higher  – they know I’ll treat them like gold. Second for me – I have an opportunity to sell additional products and services to those people I’m meant to serve. They’re less likely to drop out of the proverbial “product funnel.” They will hopefully allow me to serve them for years to come!