Customer Service “is” the New Marketing

Remember the old small business customer service mentality?  Where pleasing the customer came FIRST, and the need to delight them was “a given” not an option?   Great news – it’s back (or at least on its way back)!

The democratizing nature of social media has returned power to the customer, making Brand Advocates one of our strongest marketing assets.  If we want to share their power (not take it!), we need to adopt customer service as the new way of marketing – or “unmarketing,” a term mentioned by Brian Solis in the introduction to his book Engage, and Scott Stratten details extensively in his blog and book UnMarketing.

Considering this power shift, the #1 question we should be asking our Brand Advocates is “How may I serve you?” Ask early and ask often.

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How to be un-boring: interview with Scott Stratten, Mr. Unmarketing

Talk about cutting through the clutter! Want to make a point about pointless wall posts? Check out the Unmarketing hit song and video. Makes the point, yes? If you want to do something even more memorable, check out Scott’s contrarian marketing philosophy and tactics on his blog and Twitter stream (but please don’t post teddy bears, hearts, or even blessings on his wall).

Scott took a few minutes with me to talk about his upcoming book, Unmarketing, the tour to support it (how ’bout that “un-book tour”?), and the un-usual method he employed to git-er-dun. Time with Scott is like happy hour at an oxygen bar: you’ll leave refreshed and pumped for a grand adventure.

Guest Scott Stratten: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Scott Stratten: Twitter | Website
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[link to the Social Media Professor with Scott Stratten podcast file because Google Buzz drops the embed]