Communications Technology

 - New Rules of Marketing

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Communications Technology – The New Rules of Marketing Apply
Communications Technology is becoming increasingly important to business success. The ways potential customers receive information about your products and services are vastly different in the 21st Century than they were in the 20th Century. In the past, customers got their information about products and services from print and broadcast media. And they communicated with their group of friends about their likes and dislikes. You've heard the saying that you have to expend an enormous amount of effort to gain one customer. But if you treat that customer badly, they influence five or more of their friends against your product or service. In today's world, that number has increased exponentially with the advent of social networking sites (like Facebook, MySpace, etc.) where your customers can say what they think about your product and reach thousands or, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of potential customers. As a business owner, you have to perform at a top level, or it doesn't matter if you are Proctor & Gamble, you can loose business as quickly as the wildfire of the web can burn. And you need to know it can burn faster than any wildfire you can imagine.

Communications Technology isn't merely a villain, though. It also can open the doors for opportunity if you know what to do. You can utilize social networks for your benefit as well, if you participate in them and not use it for mere promotion. Build interactivity and openness with your customers and potential customers. Get involved in recommendation sites which relate to your product. Build in technologies in your own site which allows your customers to give feedback showing them you appreciate their constructive input and will take action. David Silver in his book The Social Network Business Plan puts it this way:¹

Peter Drucker said, “The purpose of marketing is to make selling easy.” the social network that encourages reviewing, ranking, and recommending is the new marketing tool.