When I was 10 years old I had a best friend and we did everything together. When she wore crazy socks to school, I wore crazy socks to school. When she saw a movie, I saw the same movie. When I sang a song, she sang the same song. We were best friends because we liked all the same things and did things the same way. After all, that’s what many BFF’s like to do.

Client’s however are not BFF’s. They think differently than you do, they read different books, and do business their own way. Today especially, consumers have multiple avenues in which to shop. They can pick and choose where and when they do research on the products or services they need.

Recently I had a prospect tell me “I’ll never do email blasts because I hate receiving emails.”

It occurred to me that this particular gentleman was more focused on his own preferences than those of his clients.

As marketers we need to understand that each customer has a unique set of preferences and needs. Our job is to not only provide the appropriate product information that guides our target market to buy from us, but to personalize the content and deliver it through the channels they prefer.

Once we’ve determined the appropriate communication channels, we can then go one step further and determine the best TIME to send content. We can actually increase conversion rates (the percentage of users who take a desired action) by understanding these types of preferences. To add to the complexity of marketing, personalizing your content today is something that customers have come to “expect”. It is important to understand the likes and dislikes of those people with whom we do business and work to personalize their experience as much as possible.

The bottom line is this; when you interact with customers you need to go by their rules. Do not assume they want to consume content the same way you do.

By the way, did I mention the prospect that disliked email blasts actually found me and responded to an email I had sent…..

Irony or effective marketing?