Many folks tout blogging as a part of Web2.0. Many of those same people have convinced the main stream that in order to succeed, you must ease your site ‘copy’, get shiny, change your colors and forget selling anything- we have to educate. I’ve even heard many say that to not follow this new thread of thinking will leave you behind in the dust.
It is all a fabrication in my opinion. Web 2.0 is nothing but a label placed on something investors blew off several years ago. I believe it’s a hype to increase values of technology companies. Why do I believe that? Austin is said to be the “silicon valley of the Midwest” and with a phrase like that, you would think more folks would know what a blog is. In fact, you would think that most of the advertisers in the Midwest would know what exactly web2.0 is. The reality is that everyday average folks have no idea what in the heck a blog or web2.0 is. Nor do they understand it.
When I look at it from a know-nothing position, I have to agree. I can understand the confusion that there’s been a sudden change, but no one bothered to take the consumer with them. Think about that from a marketing perspective- change in marketing is normally driven by consumer demand; doesn’t it stand to reason if they demanded it, they would understand it? The answer is a simple yes. In the case of Web2.0, techies demanded it- techies wanted to illustrate their spin on how the market should bear out, and we let them, we even helped fan the flames.
Should we follow tech demand? Yes. But we as businesses we should find a happy middle, not swing completely one way or the other. Change with consumers is gradual, not overnight, and in the race to be different, we shouldn’t leave the consumer behind- or jump off a bridge because a heavily leveraged venture company said so, and not to please Google.
Greg’s solution? Address the problem head-on. Go beyond where I had gone, which was to justify my need to know: Acknowledge that I’m in sales. Ask whether the client/prospect has had a bad experience with a salesperson and listen to the response.
Bravo Cathleen for asking the right questions and delivering relationship-centric ideas. Relationship2.0 has been here 1,000 years, beta tested and true.
