Geek Marketing

3 years on this is still a great post by John Dodds on geek technical marketing. It’s no surprise it’s his most popular post but I wonder how many have sent it around to their friends and colleagues saying this is how things should be but never actually seeing or driving the changes John suggests. I’d put myself in that category sadly…I look at his list and go “yep, yep, yep” but then never really do anything with it. That stops here, for me at least.

Some of my work at the moment allows me to cover so called “Last Mile” issues on our product launches, services etc. Though I can’t say I can singlehandedly introduce John’s list of 10 and make them work across Microsoft, there one I’m going to try to incorporate in to this process.

7) Technical Support is marketing.
In the absence of all of the above, your users inevitably need help. A technical support department speaking in non-technical, hand-holding language transforms their purchase from waste of money to life-enhancing boon and is the greatest marketing tool you have.

That’s such a simple but great way to think of support and no, it doesn’t mean whenever you give tech support you finish up by trying to close a sale. It means you treat tech support as an opportunity to engage with your customers and build their loyalty, not a cost of selling a product or service.

So that’s the one I’ll concentrate on and it’s another thought that makes me wonder if my next career move is to our retail division where they’ll get plenty of these opportunities.

Go take a look at John’s list and pick one to work on.

[image credit: Scott Johnson]

Comments

• Anonymous
  August 17, 2009
  A little tech company here started out with this philosophy, they gave free tech support even to people who weren't their customers. I asked them why. They said they built up a relationship with people who then came to see them when they wanted to buy. A small front room brother and sister business has gone on to be a thriving main street shop in our town. So yes, rule 7 rocks. chris

• Anonymous
  August 17, 2009
  In a world of online sales your support team may be the ONLY people who actually enage with the customer - support moves from necessary evil/cost centre to strategic asset

• Anonymous
  August 19, 2009
  cyberdoyle, I'd love to hear more about that company. who are they, where are they?? cheers Steve