Day: July 30, 2011

Bringing the Sales Organization into the Social Relationship

OK, Marketers. Be honest. If I were to ask you what your first thoughts are when thinking of social media marketing, what would you say? If being honest, the majority of you are thinking of social networks, social media influence or maybe social media ROI: all popular themes among my colleagues today.

If you’re extending your thoughts to other business silos, maybe you’re thinking of the Customer Service or PR departments. Maybe C-Suite bloggers.

Chances are, few if any of you are thinking about the sales department. Most marketers believe that social media marketing is about freely sharing and exchanging ideas and dialogue, building online communities and not overtly selling products.

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Are You Laying the Groundwork Your Brand’s “Infinite Moments of Truth”?

Moments of Truth are well-known concepts in the marketing world, from research (Zero Moment of Truth)… to shopping (First Moment of Truth) … to owning/using a product (Second Moment of Truth).

Now, in a recent blog post, David Berkowitz introduces one more: the Infinite Moment of Truth (IMOT), which is all about sharing the experience of any (or all) of the other Moments of Truth.  Berkowitz suggests the IMOT is infinite in three ways:

  • the number of people a consumer can share experiences with
  • the ways they can share experiences
  • and the period of time during which they can share their experiences

Each of the Moments of Truth provide their own marketing opportunities, but the Infinite Moment of Truth is the one that can harness the full power of social media and start the “moment of truth cycle” again by influencing the choice a consumer makes at the Zero moment of truth.

The consumer purchases a product, uses it, loves it, and shares this experience with their networks… and someone in their network gets to the Zero Moment of Truth and says “I will purchase.”  

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Social Media And Integration Chief Among Marketers’ Priorities

According to the recently released State of Marketing Report from the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, 57% of marketers plan to increase their marketing budgets this year with a priority on incorporating social media across all channels and taking full advantage of the insights gleaned to grow their respective brands.

For its report the CMO Council – which is made up of 6,000 chief marketers who are responsible for over $200 billion in spending across 110 countries, queried over 750 of its members with 64% of the respondents indicating they reported directly to the CEO, President or COO.

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