I read a post this morning that rocked my world and I wanted to share it with you. Isn’t that nice of me? 
Brad Ward of Butler University has become an extremely influential member of social media marketing professionals in the education arena. He is also someone that I try to talk to on a regular basis to share information and learn from each other.
He has a post entitled, It’s NOT What You Think. The post talks about a Seth Godin quote relating to using the tools to capture user attention, people who truly care. The quote:
It’s not about what you think the students want or want the students to want. It’s about creating and assembling a collection of tools that captures the attention of people who truly care.
What a great quote! Brad breaks down the quote in relation to the education world in his post but I wanted to break it down for the small business world.
1) It’s not about what you think THEY want… We would all like to think we know what people want. What does my client need… want… desire? The truth of the matter is to not rely on your own understanding. In this communication driven world… just ask. Ask your client base what they want! Send out an email and ask what people desire and need. How can THEY help YOU understand?
2)…or want THEM to want. You can plant the seed but it better be a good seed. Nourishment is key to growth. You can’t WANT them to WANT but you can create the environment to help it grow.
3) It’s about creating and assembling a collection of tools… What does your target market use in terms of communication tools? Do they read blogs? Do they have a facebook or myspace account? Maybe they just use email? God forbid it is a direct mail campaign. You need to KNOW what they use and take advantage of the medium.
4) that captures the attention of people who truly care… This is a great line to remember as we are testing this new “fad”, this new form of socia marketing. You cannot force people into blogging or reading your blog. You cannot force a group of clients onto a social network when they do not TRULY CARE about communicating online.
Wouldn’t you rather have clients that truly care about your product and service? I would.
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Thanks for the love.
Here is the actual quote, which relates even more to your side of the world:
“It’s not about what you think the market wants, or what you want the market to want. It’s about creating and assembling a collection of goods and services that captures the attention (and commerce) of the people who truly care.” (Meatball Sundae, p. 110)
Love the ‘re-design’. Wonder if anyone else out there would be willing to break it down for their market/sector in their words?
Okay. I’ll play. “It’s not about what I think the family wants to eat, or what I want the family to want to eat. It’s about creating delicious, quick and easy recipes that capture the attention of the cooks who truly care.” – Indy Recipe Blogger
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