Trust
Mar 17, 2008

I’m sure we’ve all had experiences when two people tell us the same thing, and we listen to one and dismiss the other. We listen to people we have relationships with. We pay attention to those we trust.

Trust has become even more important in today’s world, where attention is becoming more and more scarce.

The challenge is to build a relationship with your customers – to get build trust. And for more on the topic, check out Chris Brogan and Julien Smith’s excellent manifesto on Trust Economies.

Calling Your Customer’s Name
Mar 8, 2008

When we hear our own name being called, we tend to have a greater response. It’s a biological fact. We’re more alert and responsive to our own name.

Marketers should take note of this, and make use of it. Call your customer by name. Make your messages personal. If it’s personal, it’s more likely to get a response. And you’re more likely to be able to get the person’s attention.

Here’s a great example of making your message personal (aimed at Jeremiah Owyang). And true enough, it definitely got his attention.

How are you making your message personal to your audience?

Background Sounds
Feb 24, 2008

Ever noticed how you tend not to hear background sounds after a while? When you first turn an air conditioner on, for example, you notice the sound. After a while, you don’t hear it anymore. Same goes for a clock ticking, among other things.

Our brains have “novelty detector neurons“, which respond to newer sounds, and stop firing if a certain pattern of sounds is repeated over and over. Because of that, sounds that don’t change fade into the background, and we don’t hear them.

We have a natural instinct to not pay attention to things that stay constant. And on the reverse side, as marketers – and face it, we’re all marketers – you need to be different to get attention. You need to keep changing with the times, adapting your medium and message to fit the audience.

You need to provide something that others aren’t used to hearing.

Whatever you’re marketing – be it your personal brand, a corporate product or anything else – how are you getting attention, and stopping yourself from fading into the background?