Much like in politics, marketers have different strategies for different demographic groups. You have your solid supporters who will purchase your product more or less consistently. You have the large middle group of undecideds, who feel no real brand loyalty. And then you have the solid supporters of a competitor. These people are mostly lost causes. So which group deserves the most attention in your marketing? Probably the undecideds, right? After all, they represent the portion of the market that’s up for grabs. Well, not so fast, says David Spark. Spark advocates focusing on and cultivating what he calls super users. Here’s Spark:
What if you were to flip that traditional marketing question around and ask yourself, “How can we pay more attention to our users?”
That is the most common formula for cultivating super users. Once you have super users on your side, they can be the most powerful communications tool your business will ever have. And they’re far more cost efficient than your marketing department.
Nobody is born a super user. We all start out as just users, non-users, or people complaining about a company’s product. Through true one-on-one relationship building efforts, individuals can grow to become super users, and in some cases super users can even become employees.
Spark goes on to identify four methods real companies have used to build a base of super users, including: Make a Genuine Connection, Give Super Users Full Access, Seek Out Customers Who Rely On Your Product, and Listen For Customers Who Already Promote Your Product. Let’s take a closer look at the last of these strategies:
Schedulicity is an online scheduling application. The company seeks out potential super users by scanning unique keywords on Twitter. “By listening, we can identify and cultivate super users in the same way you can nurture a budding friendship — letting it evolve out of a mutual respect,” said Bridget Cavanaugh Schedulicity’s Director of Marketing, “You can’t force it, and it doesn’t fit a formula.”
For example, within 24 hours of using the app, Tiffany Taylor, owner of Ms. Esthetician and the beauty salon Wax My Bikini, was tweeting about the product and the company, speaking highly of Schedulicity’s service. To return the favor and cultivate the relationship, Schedulicity offered Taylor an iPod to give away at her upcoming tweetup. “We did it because we didn’t just want her to be successful — we wanted our customer to have an amazing event and know we were behind her 100%,” said Schedulicity’s Cavanaugh.
Over the ensuing months, Taylor’s Twitter and blog activity drove a lot of traffic to Schedulicity’s Facebook Fan Page. Her frequent discussions can be directly linked to new subscribers, said Cavanaugh.
This is a great example of a low-key use of targeted audience building. Notice that there is no hard-sell involved here. Schedulicity kept its ear to the ground, looking for supporters. And when it found one, the company made sure to build a personal connection, offering the customers resources with nothing expected in return. But Schedulicity, of course, knew that Taylor was an active tweeter. To garner this type of meaningful social buzz for the cost of a well-allocated iPod is real marketing success story. You can’t buy this type of buzz. But with a little creativity and effort, you can most definitely earn it.
What audience are you targeting? Do you seek out supporters on Twitter and in the blogosphere? What do you do with these super fans once you identify them?
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