What's in it for me?

As marketers, most of our campaigns are focused on eliciting a response from a customer – a sale, a download, completing a form, posting a comment etc... Most of the time, you’ll get a better response if the outcome is mutually beneficial to both parties. A sale, for example, means the customer gets something they want, whilst the business brings in a nice bit of revenue.

All too often, however, businesses focus on pushing a customer into completing an action which is really only intended to meet business goals. There are two areas which I think are particularly guilty of this.

Sign up forms

They’re on all sites across the web, but how often do they actually promise something in return to the customer? With these actions, the value exchange is of paramount importance. “Sign up for updates” just doesn’t cut it so don’t be surprised if your plaintive call for names fails.

Give them something in exchange. A discount, a white paper (particularly appropriate in B2B), some information that only the privileged few gain access or even promise a donation to charity. Be aware that the bigger the incentive, the less engaged your prospect will be so it’s important to find the right balance.

Social media involvement

I find it a little perplexing when companies encourage users to send in a video/picture of them using their product.

Why should I? As a customer, what’s in it for me?

If you’re going to ask your “friends” to start participating in your brand, at least make it worth your while because, outside the committed few advocates, no one cares (a fact it’s often hard to lose sight of when your working day is filled with the products you sell).

Well done to Rowse Honey who at least gave some money to charity for each vote and seen to have bought over 10,000 social interactions (I hope they did the sums and this represents some VFM for them?).

Not so well done to Kingsmill whose “Confessions” campaign on national TV seems to have brought in fewer than 200 responses (some of which seems distinctly copy-written).