Permission Marketing

I have been reading excerpts from Seth Godin’s book Permission Marketing.  It is interesting to think about how society has been using Interuption Marketing (TV Ads, Newspaper Ads, etc) for so long with little success.  I started to think that my Newsletter might be using Interruption Marketing, but the more I think about, i think I might be asking them for permission.  My newsletters are informational and offer many training classes, for free.  So I guess by offer them something for free with no strings attached, we are actually asking the customer permission to invite them to HD Fowler Events, and asking them if we can send them more info.  We have started seeing customers that we never had dialogue with in the past.  Even with the minimal communication, we are still asking them permission.  We are asking for a chance to bid a project.  Maybe after bidding the project, the experience will have been good, and they want a second experience.

Seth talks about how Permission Marketing is much like a relationship, dating your customer.  Take a look at what he says:

Every marketer must offer the prospective customer an
incentive for volunteering. In the vernacular of dating,
that means you have to offer something that makes it
interesting enough to go out on a first date. A first date,
after all, represents a big investment in time, money and
ego. So there better be reason enough to volunteer.

Without a selfish reason to continue dating, your new
potential customer (and your new potential date) will
refuse you a second chance. If you don’t provide a
benefit to the consumer for paying attention, your offer
will suffer the same fate as every other ad campaign that’s
vying for their attention. It will be ignored.

To read more, feel free to check out his website and get 4 free chapters!

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~ by jerryeverist on February 25, 2009.