Duh. Focus on the Customer

Just went through one of those surreal experiences as a marketeer that you wish didn't happen, but very often does in the heads down, blinders on world of corporate America.

Someone had a great idea about how to utilize a new technology - in this case - create a video blog. So half a dozen of us jumped in and began stamping out content, videotaping segments, pulling together resources, etc.

It was all really great until we stepped back and realized, "Where are the customer's needs in this whole thing?" Yep, we had made that age-old mistake of getting so excited about what we wanted to talk about (ourselves) and how we would use a cool new technology, that we forgot to focus on the customer.

Thankfully several red flags were thrown into the ring, and we took a collective step back to re-analyze our strategy.

Of course, this is basic marketing 101 - know your audience. But like a bad date, all we wanted to do was talk about ourselves. It's an understandable occurrance. There are so many cool innovations happening right now. We're like unbridled 5-year-olds who want to let you know everything we've done in an unfocused stream of consciousness.

Unfortunately, the remorseful date or the distracted parent isn't going to buy what we're selling until we make make it relevant to them.

We know that's the truth. Why do we keep getting ahead of ourselves?

Well, the good news is that I think the new strategy is going to work, but still have a few hurdles to cross before I can let you know for sure. Stay tuned for the next installment on this topic in the ongoing Marketeer Adventure saga.