I spent the better part of 3 days last week at the ISA Sales & Marketing Summit in St. Louis, MO. The key focus, of course, was to explore how we suppliers can better market to the ever changing web-savvy customer now commonly identified as “Customer 2.0.” By the very nature of the highly technical automation business where we interact, it is suggested that many of you may fit into this group. If you are not aware of the characteristics of this species, here are a few commonly recognized characteristics of Customer 2.0 …
- Responds to honest, relevant messaging from peers and other trusted information sources and is less influenced by general corporate and product advertising.
- Does not exhibit mass market buying characteristics. Deals in personal choices and looks for products and services that speak to them and their individual requirements.
- Digests short, personal and highly relevant messaging while growing increasingly expert at blocking out what they consider spam.
- Chooses to search for and consume what they find useful in their lives, desiring to have as much control over the flow of information as possible rather than being a slave to marketing campaigns.
- Will speak about, re-purpose and associate with a brand as they see fit.
If you’re an influencer or purchaser of automation equipment for your company, is there a chance these characteristics of Customer 2.0 describe you?
If you can answer yes, I would appreciate your spending a few minutes sharing some information with me and the other readers of this blog in a kind of informal survey. As a customer in this space, what are the topics, issues, and concerns that you struggle finding valuable information from your suppliers? Without using supplier company names, what do you find works for you in the way us suppliers market and interact with you? And what turns you off? Are demos still important? Are face to face visits from your account representative important and how often is appropriate? Do you find videos valuable and if yes, what content is most valuable? Are there topics outside of the technical areas that you look for in a supplier like ethical performance, sustainability programs, or other social type topics that you need information about? These suggested topics or anything else are fair game here.
Alright, I’ve typed enough on this one, now it’s your turn. Thanks in advance if you participate.