So Misguided

A couple of months ago I started talking about The Long Tail and the Cluetrain Manifesto. Both interesting things. I particularly like the point in the Cluetrain Manifesto about markets as conversations and engaging in conversations with your customer. The end of the corporate press release, or marketing speak ... these I see as things that do need moderating.

Well, this week I observed a “conversation” that if it had been a true face to face, undoubtably someone would have said shut up, no you shut up.

Conversations are interesting things. I certainly change my tone of voice when a survey person calls. Blah blah blah, calling on behalf of ____ marketing, are you the woman of the house? The greater the sense of intrusion, the sharper my voice. But I do remember that I’m speaking to a person, not to a feeling-less building, not to a corporation.

It strikes me that email is always the worst form of communication, you can misinterpret tone. It’s so many steps removed from the face to face conversation that people will often say or phrase things in an email that they wouldn’t in person. So in the Cluetrain Manifesto when it talks about markets as conversation, and paying attention to what is being said about you or your company in print, on the web, by bloggers. It seems the “corporate” person is disadvantaged. There is an expectation about what a “corporate” person will say, or what they’ll do with your information, or how they will talk and talk forever keeping you on the phone until you eventually give in and take the damn survey. But what if you contact the company--don’t you expect a response?

Here’s my related thought. When buying something there is the anonymous research stage, then the ok here’s my details buying stage. There isn’t a nice way to figure out what stage a person is in when they contact your company. Some things are easy. Hey you, your product sucks and I want a refund. Personalized contact and an exchange of details is pretty clear. Hey I want your newsletter. Maybe less clear.

How do you approach companies? What types of interaction are you looking for? Are there best practices listed somewhere? Every email marketing newsletter I’ve read, for example, suggests personalizing and segmenting the subscriber list. Do people find this helpful or intrusive? I wonder ...

I like personalized information, as long as I don’t find it intrusive or constraining. Only receiving the types of information that interest me in an email newsletter seems like a good use of personalization. The recommendations that Amazon.com suggests to me based on the purchases or other shoppers, my personal profile, the phases of the moon and numerology (okay, I have no idea what the algorhythm is, but it’s never helped) just get in my way.

As a general rule people like to either be in control or think they’re in control of most of their experience. When a telemarker calls, I haven’t asked to be called, they haven’t sought my permission to be called. I’m not in control. When I choose what to receive or not receive in an email newsletter, I think I’m pretty much in control. In the context of conversations, as long as I remain able to choose whether to continue or end the conversation, I feel pretty good about it.

I think the challenges comes when I’m representing something or someone else (a company, a spouse) and my actions reflect beyond myself. Many company representatives have to sublimate their own prefences in a conversation and replace them with those of the company. As a friend says, ‘We all have to grease the pig some time.’