This is the final installment in a five-part series on the impact of the current economy and social media on the principles of marketing known as the 5 P’s.
The 5 P’s include the principle of implementing superb customer service through the People who work for a company. From a branding perspective, this refers to how employees manifest the corporate brand through their interactions with customers/clients.
People and the economy
With the substantial level of unemployment that exists as of the date of this post, many clients have come to place a significant value on the relationships that exist with their most reliable resources. One of our clients is our greatest advocate within his company because he understands that the ddm team that services his division “get’s us”, in his terms. The knowledge of this client’s internal corporate dynamics as well as experience in their marketplace enables our team to create solutions, make recommendations and successfully navigate projects through corporate oversight. While our team has experienced some turnover, key players are still actively involved which provides both continuity and confidence for our client.
The flip side of this situation, however, is the significant level of turnover that has occurred in many of our client contacts. The attributes that were valued by our previous clients must now be reiterated and experienced by entirely new teams. Sometimes these transitions are smooth, other times not. Some retraining is required in each case, both from the standpoint of educating the client on our value as well as revising our team’s perspective on what the new client considers important (which may differ significantly from the perspective of the previous contact). Turnover has always been present in companies, but the level of change that has taken place in the past two years is more substantial than I can recall. In light of this, protecting our core team of professionals and thereby maintaining continuity within our client relationships has been a key contributor to ddm’s ongoing viability.
Social media and customer service
As a young professional, I would often share my personal stories with clients thinking that the more casual our relationship was, the stronger their connection would be to me and my employer. That was the case until a few of my clients finally had reached their point of saturation and would say, “Can we get back to business now?”.
Many people maintain a presence on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In that enables them to connect with friends, colleagues and clients. The nature of the content that may be appropriate for each of these constituencies is different. Clients, for example, may not be particularly interested in my latest vacation experiences but could be intrigued by a new level of professional accreditation. My friends may care less about the accreditation but will be more than willing to voice their opinions on the vacation exploits. Both interactions have value, but the obvious message here is to communicate with contacts on the topics that they consider most relevant. Unfortunately, from my perspective, too many people utilize social media like I used to use my stories with clients. Once I clarified the boundaries for blending a business and casual relationship, my career dramatically advanced. I suspect that social media interactions will also need similar levels of clarification.
The fundamental answer to the question of whether or not the 5 P’s of marketing still apply is yes, but. The economy and social media have changed the dynamics of the principles of marketing, but the principles remain valid. Smart marketers will recognize these changes, adjust their strategies accordingly, and ultimately be more successful than their competitors. And success, after all, directly impacts the one P that will never change: Profit.
Mike
ddm marketing & communications
