Today’s guest post is by Ryan Griffin, Digital Account Manager at Switched on Media.
Last week I finished a book called Permission Marketing by Seth Godin. Based around the idea of customers “opting in” to various marketing promotions such as newsletters and social media, I came to the conclusion that this wasn’t exclusive to just customers.
It sparked the thought of where else we fight for others to pay attention.
At work.
It’s common practice to assume your own priorities are the most important. It’s not your fault; you’ve been ingrained with it ever since your kindergarten teacher told you that you were special. Unfortunately, they were most likely wrong, and the project you’ve been working on for the past month isn’t quite as important as you expected. The resources you requested aren’t delivered and suddenly your world begins to cave in, like a small child realising that Santa didn’t receive his Christmas list. Breathe – you’ll be just fine.
With clients.
I always thought that I was the busiest person on earth and that because I worked for an advertising agency, I was inherently busier than my clients. I’d be frustrated when it took days to get a response to one email, but I never really looked at it from their prospective. Then I began dealing directly with a CMO and my 3-4 meetings per day suddenly seemed very insignificant. I forgot that I was just one person from a single agency. Most large companies deal with 5-10 agencies, each with their own specialty. It’s easy to get lost, even if you’re an expert tantrum thrower.
With consumers.
The first thing that comes to mind for me when it comes to successfully gaining consumer attention is the “opt-in” email or a Facebook “Like”. These wins allow you to reach a targeted consumer base that expresses strong purchasing intent. Unfortunately, these are typically consumers who are already familiar with your brand and just want to know when your next sale is on. This may or may not be me…
So how do I get someone’s attention?
Poking them with a stick may be effective but it’s for all the wrong reasons. You’re being ignored because you require too much effort. Don’t take it personally – it just means that in someone’s head there are greater priorities than yours, but it can be reversed. You just have to make it beneficial for them. So how do you do that?
Only provide solutions.
Everyone’s got problems. Your problems aren’t any more special than the next person’s; if they were, then they’d be listening to you. All you need to do is present a solution. If you go to your boss, client or consumers with an unresolved problem it just creates more work for them. Solve the problem and ask for approval.
Get to the point.
Long emails intimidate people; they get skipped over quickly and despite the strongest intentions of being looked over later, they never do. There’s nothing wrong with being direct – you’ll get an immediate answer and you can stop wasting your time on fruitless adventures. Put things in dot-points and ask for a decision.
Pick up the phone.
If you’ve got a problem that’s getting ignored, another email won’t solve it (even if you flag it with the little red exclamation mark). Despite the advances in technology over the past few years, you will still hear people say “Oh, it didn’t come through”. You know that they’re probably lying…but you’re not in a position to call them on it. Phone them until they answer, if nothing else, they’ll at least promise to get back to you.
Ask for help.
You’d be amazed at the response you receive when you reach out to someone else for support. Provided their job hasn’t yet sucked the life out of them, you’ll usually find someone very supportive who’ll help you achieve your goal. If they can teach you correctly today, they don’t have to worry about you tomorrow.
These are by no means an exact science, but they’ve definitely worked for me. If only vaguely, they revolve around making the life of other’s easier. I’m sure there are people you always reply to quicker than others, and it’s probably because you don’t have to do any serious thinking when you reply. And don’t we all want to think less?
How do you get someone’s attention and keep yourself top of mind?
Ryan Griffin is a Digital Account Manager at Switched on Media. Follow him on Twitter at @nutsocial.