Since the core value of my consulting company is anchored on “spiritual intelligence” or the recognition of natural and spiritual laws, I will share with you my mantra on marketing and customer service.
Though I am also a marketer, I am not comfortable with few conventional strategies, these are:
- Tooting your own horn
- Affiliation with a “king maker”
Social Media and Tooting Your Own Horn
Because social media is the least expensive way to do marketing, few have excessively used this wrongly. It is unfortunate that social media and e-mail marketing is almost associated to 2 activities, 1) spamming and 2) shameless plugging.
The Downside of Having A King Maker
I find it amusing why some people would love to have a “king maker” to give them a push. A king maker “can” make you forever beholden on them. While someone will always open a door of opportunity for us, these are supposed to be a natural consequence of our actions, and not the direct and intentional influence of the king maker.
The Value Adding Alternative: Buoyant Force Marketing
Science defined buoyant force as “the force of the displaced liquid brought by the weight of an object “. If the weight of the object is heavier than the displaced liquid, the object will sink. If the force of the displaced liquid is stronger, the object will float.
When applied in marketing, the brand is the object and the liquid is the market/customers. If the brand [object] is heavier than the displaced liquid [market], the brand will sink. Unless you intervene with the natural law. Thus, companies have marketing programs to keep it afloat. On the other hand, if the brand [object] will spread it’s weight to make the force of the market [liquid] stronger, then naturally, the force generated by the market [liquid] will keep the brand afloat.
How do we make the force of the displaced liquid stronger?
The “displaced liquid” [market/customers] is the point of contact of the object [brand]. The bigger the community or the more people are touched by the brand, the stronger force is generated by the liquid [market/customers] to keep the brand floating.
The activities associated to these are:
- Social governance programs [CSR].
- After Sales Customer Service Management.
- Social Capital Investments
The concept behind these principles are called differently, some call this social entrepreneurship, others call it word of mouth marketing, still others call it ripple effect principle. But I call it buoyant force marketing and customer management.
One thing is certain in this approach, the brand should create value to the community where it seeks to make business with.
