Alli, the new over-the-counter brand of the prescription
drug Xenical from Glaxo-SmithKline, is being marketed by a
new, strategic mix of personalized messages. Their
marketers understand both the emergence and importance of
social networking as a new marketing tool, as evidenced in
their latest television commercial. They get it.
They are now able to grasp the concept of social media
networking as a tool for viral marketing. What is
particularly interesting, is that neither of these terms
were even included in general marketing vocabulary and
strategic thinking until just recently.
The marketing professionals employed by the pharmaceutical
giant have created a huge buzz surrounding their new
product while addressing a huge and hungry market; no puns
intended! Their latest ad vividly displays the power of
word-of-mouth viral marketing. The ad focuses upon people
conversing via email, extolling the benefits of this new
product, Alli. The ad then begins to accelerate the
layering of these images so that we can more easily picture
the word-of-mouth actiivity and viral growth of their
message. It works! Their message connects with us and they
understand how and why.
At his informative and highly respected blog DoshDosh, Maki
has posted an impressive, detailed listing of forty-seven
new social media sites. Brandon Fritz, writer for
Kolbrener, has also assembled an amazing list of fifty
social media sites further categorized by market. These
social networking site lists will continue to grow and
change over time.
Certainly, as is being proven with the current political
drama unfolding in cyberspace: Marketing and the timely
dissemination of relevant information is evolving beyond
anything previously available or conceivable, and will
continue its development.
Social networking is now viewed as a legitimate means of
strategic marketing. How will your sales be impacted by the
development of new social media and viral marketing tools?
We need to be paying attention to these revolutionary
developments, learning new selling skills to take advantage
of this growing phenomenon as the sales cycle in most
industries is certainly being impacted.
Sales strategies are becoming more conversational as social
media marketing unfolds. Perhaps the marketing mainstream
is finally grasping what he direct marketers have known for
some time; that selling is most effective when it is made
to be personal and conversational.
Relationships continue to win sales. Salespeople who make
the time to understand their customers and their needs,
connecting with them, will sell more and have many more
satisfied, referral-providing, long-term customers than
those who look only for a quick sale. Which path are you
following?
----------------------------------------------------
Daniel Sitter, author of both Learning For Profit and
Superior Selling Skills Mastery, has garnered extensive
experience in sales, training, marketing and personal
development over a successful twenty-six year sales career.
Visit his resourceful blog at http://www.idea-sellers.com
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