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They're Talking About Your Competition
Written by: Max KallesArticle Overview: Social media takes conversation marketing to a new level. But it also lets you scout the competition like never before.
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They're Talking About Your Competition
A recent google search for “conversation marketing” yielded over 33,000,000 results. The term long ago reached buzzword status, but, unlike most buzzwords, it refered to the latest iteration of something that pre-dates marketing it self – word-of-mouth or, more simply, people relating their experiences to each other.
Even before it became a marketing tool, word-of-mouth influenced the success of most businesses. With the emergence of online social media as community gathering places, word-of-mouth marketing, under the guise of conversation marketing, viral marketing, buzz marketing, etc., becomes exponentially more accessible, powerful and profitable.
But, after clicking on a sampling of the results from my “conversational marketing” search, none of them mentioned the competition. Clearly, listening to what your customers have to say about your company and products is important. But, so is what they say about your competition. Social media, forums, blogs, etc., are perhaps as good a source of competitive information as you’ve ever had.
It’s a known tactic for retailers, small and large, to visit their competitors’ locations to check on prices, merchandising, customer service, etc.. Now the click of a mouse accomplishes the same thing. But the internet allows you to take scouting the competition to a new level by giving you an ear on what their customers say.
Imagine knowing what customers liked or disliked about your competition; why they bought, why they went elsewhere. Among other things, you can use the information to help develop your marketing strategy, key messages and product offering.
But, don’t forget, your competition reads these posts too, and now they are scouting you!
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Article Tags: competitive information, conversation marketing, marketing
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Related Forum Posts
Book: Talking From 9 to 5
- Book: Talking From 9 to 5: How women's and men's conersational styles affect who gets heard, who gets credit, and what gets done at work
Deborah Tannen, PhD
1994
You say something at a meeeting, it is ignored, then someone else says the same thing and everyone embraces it as a marvelous idea. You devote yourself to a project but don't get credit for the results. You work around the clock to avoid a crisis, but your efforts are not recognized because no one notices a crisis that never occurs. YOu give what you think are clear instructions, but the job is not done, or is done wrong. ...
Work is a special world because as we talk to get our jobs done, we are also being evaluated. How we get others to do what we want, and how we accept or avoid responsibility for mistakes, display or challenge authority, reveal or conceal what we don't know -- all affect how we are regarded and rewarded.
TOC
1. Women and Men Talking on the Job
2. "I'm sorry, I'm not apologizing": Conversational rituals
3. "Why don't you say what you mean?" Indirectness at work
4. Marked: Women in the workplace
5. The glass ceiling
6. "She's the boss": Women and authority
7. Talking up close: Status and connection
8. What's sex got to do with it
9. Who gets heard? Talking at meetings
References
Index
Re: Congratultations to GT!
- Hi GT,
Competition is great and i know I wouldn't be here without it, but it is not the main reason for posting and participating. But I admit, it is the trigger I need to get some work done.
If there is none, i create one for myself and try to make it.
First prize is ice cream.
Social Media Marketing Category...
- I agree that a social media marketing category would be useful and added my vote. I would include "bookmarking" sites in the mix as well.
Such a category would be useful for several reasons:
1. Talking about SMM, its purpose and networking strategies and tips.
2. Discussion of the various SMM sites.
3. New about new sites and developments.
4. Helping to build each others SMM networks.
Re: 7 Strange Japanese Inventions
- Wait a minute, the "Japanese smile" is itself a kind of mask! So now we have a mask behind a mask with a smile (or grimace or hideous grin) on the face of it (the mask).
Talking of masks and faces, have you read the novel The Face Of Another by Japanese novelist Kobo Abe? It is all about how a man loses his face in a lab accident, and has a life-like face mask made... an exploration of face and identity...
Re: Is Google Search getting better or worse?
- Competition and that too stiff is something I have always loved and being a true web user I hate spammers the same way and so I am very happy with the recent changes that Google has made and so I must say that it is getting better. I am happy because now we could be able to get and read fresh and unique content instead of the repetitive ones. Now the value of actual SEO will be seen as results now will be completely depend on the hard work SEO and strategies an internet marketing company will apply to get on top of search giant's ranking. surfing the web daily as addiction I have seen most of the webmasters asking several questions related to real time search and how they should commence now to get better and faster results, found lots of useful information and learned new strategies too.
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