We all do it. Of course we do. . . it’s okay, you are not alone. We all hit the delete key without taking the time to read what someone has taken time and effort to compose and send to us. Why? Because in our minds, what they are sending does not deserve our immediate attention and is not deemed important enough to file away to be read later.
WHY?
Because the amount of information that is thrown at us on an hourly basis is staggering. I personally wake up to 50-60 new emails from people trying to show me what is “new” and “innovative” every single morning. Let alone the comments on Linkedin, Twitter, Google + and my Blog. Keeping up with the flow of information and data can be staggering.
We have all developed our own filters. . . mine is the delete key. If I don’t see immediate relevance, it is gone. I know they will send the information again, that is the nature of what they do, so ignoring it the first time is not so horrible. . . right?
But in all seriousness, turn this around. As Seth Godin said the other day “How do they know you are not a flake“? How do we get someone’s attention in a way that is meaningful to them and deliver it at a time and method that they are receptive to? This is the voodoo of marketing. There is no silver bullet, but you need to listen better.
One great example is that a supplier of mine sends out a warning shot. I get an email, a short email, two days in advance of them sending out their newsletter. It tells me it will be coming on this date, at this time and here are the three or four bullet points of information you should expect to see.
Brilliant, they have peaked my interest and I will be receptive when the newsletter comes in to either read it right away or archive it to read when I have time. Otherwise, it might have just have been deleted with the other 50 emails I got that morning.
Think like your customer. How do they like to be communicated to? What is going to be valuable for them? When are they busiest during the day or week? When do they seem to have more time to talk to you?
Tailor your communication to fit their needs, not yours. You will be amazed how much more receptive they are to hearing your message.
As always, we are here to Get YOU Noticed!