March 28, 2008 61 Comments

Do You Know Who Your Customers Are

For those of you looking to use social media towards a business end, do you really understand your customer base? Do you understand how things like conferences and blogs and making media relate to bringing in business?

In media making, there is often a triangle:

  1. The people who want what you’re talking about.
  2. The people who want to know those people.
  3. You. The media maker.

On this list, your customer is #2.

#1 is your community.

You can sell into your community, but in media making, the bigger opportunities are in the folks who want to know your community.

And then, there’s the rub, because unless you’ve built that covenant with your community, you cannot just let loose #2 all over your community. It would be BAD. Capital B. Know whether you’re building a community or developing a marketplace. SOMETIMES you can do both, but that’s not the norm.

Food for thought.

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  • http://homeofficewarrior.com Grant D Griffiths

    Chris — Call me hard headed. But, why is #2 the customer and not the description in #1? It seems to me that those who want what I am talking about would be the customer and those who want to know #1 would be the community. Sorry for my confusion!!

  • http://homeofficewarrior.com Grant D Griffiths

    Chris — Call me hard headed. But, why is #2 the customer and not the description in #1? It seems to me that those who want what I am talking about would be the customer and those who want to know #1 would be the community. Sorry for my confusion!!

  • http://homeofficewarrior.com Grant D Griffiths

    Chris — Call me hard headed. But, why is #2 the customer and not the description in #1? It seems to me that those who want what I am talking about would be the customer and those who want to know #1 would be the community. Sorry for my confusion!!

  • http://homeofficewarrior.com Grant D Griffiths

    Chris — Call me hard headed. But, why is #2 the customer and not the description in #1? It seems to me that those who want what I am talking about would be the customer and those who want to know #1 would be the community. Sorry for my confusion!!

  • http://www.twitter.com/neelienotes Neelie

    Yes, help! I too am confused. I was thinking the same thing as Grant while reading your post.

    On a side note, I started using Twitter last week and found you that way; I’ve been following you there and here since. In such a short time, I’ve become such a fan of your work, the example you lead, and learned so much. So, I wanted to thank you!

  • http://www.twitter.com/neelienotes Neelie

    Yes, help! I too am confused. I was thinking the same thing as Grant while reading your post.

    On a side note, I started using Twitter last week and found you that way; I’ve been following you there and here since. In such a short time, I’ve become such a fan of your work, the example you lead, and learned so much. So, I wanted to thank you!

  • http://www.twitter.com/neelienotes Neelie

    Yes, help! I too am confused. I was thinking the same thing as Grant while reading your post.

    On a side note, I started using Twitter last week and found you that way; I’ve been following you there and here since. In such a short time, I’ve become such a fan of your work, the example you lead, and learned so much. So, I wanted to thank you!

  • http://www.theviralgarden.com mack collier

    Still not following you Chris. When you mentioned conferences I thought you might have been saying that you make an impression there on a guy like Scoble or yourself, because you want them to blog about your stuff, because their readers are your customers?

    Don’t think that’s exactly your point…but interested in hearing more.

  • http://www.theviralgarden.com mack collier

    Still not following you Chris. When you mentioned conferences I thought you might have been saying that you make an impression there on a guy like Scoble or yourself, because you want them to blog about your stuff, because their readers are your customers?

    Don’t think that’s exactly your point…but interested in hearing more.

  • http://www.theviralgarden.com mack collier

    Still not following you Chris. When you mentioned conferences I thought you might have been saying that you make an impression there on a guy like Scoble or yourself, because you want them to blog about your stuff, because their readers are your customers?

    Don’t think that’s exactly your point…but interested in hearing more.

  • http://www.theviralgarden.com mack collier

    Still not following you Chris. When you mentioned conferences I thought you might have been saying that you make an impression there on a guy like Scoble or yourself, because you want them to blog about your stuff, because their readers are your customers?

    Don’t think that’s exactly your point…but interested in hearing more.

  • http://twitter.com/mjbruder Mike Bruder

    This is an interesting discussion. Just recently finishing a course in marketing, and this makes me think of a discussion on customers vs. non-customers, and how it is important to look at who your non-customers are (sometime more important that your current customers). I wonder if the idea of non-customer would be synonymous with the community you mention in this case?

  • http://twitter.com/mjbruder Mike Bruder

    This is an interesting discussion. Just recently finishing a course in marketing, and this makes me think of a discussion on customers vs. non-customers, and how it is important to look at who your non-customers are (sometime more important that your current customers). I wonder if the idea of non-customer would be synonymous with the community you mention in this case?

  • http://twitter.com/mjbruder Mike Bruder

    This is an interesting discussion. Just recently finishing a course in marketing, and this makes me think of a discussion on customers vs. non-customers, and how it is important to look at who your non-customers are (sometime more important that your current customers). I wonder if the idea of non-customer would be synonymous with the community you mention in this case?

  • http://twitter.com/mjbruder Mike Bruder

    This is an interesting discussion. Just recently finishing a course in marketing, and this makes me think of a discussion on customers vs. non-customers, and how it is important to look at who your non-customers are (sometime more important that your current customers). I wonder if the idea of non-customer would be synonymous with the community you mention in this case?

  • Anonymous

    Chris, I have been thinking along these same lines, probably no surprise there.

    The community of people who visit and participate at my site are small town small business people (and those who aspire to be either).

    The most profitable group of customers for me to target are the B2B groups who are actively looking for small business. The B2B companies are my customers for advertising, sponsoring of products, etc.

    The focus of my thinking and writing is still on group #1, my small town folks. The focus of how to create business opportunities is on group #2.

  • Anonymous

    Chris, I have been thinking along these same lines, probably no surprise there.

    The community of people who visit and participate at my site are small town small business people (and those who aspire to be either).

    The most profitable group of customers for me to target are the B2B groups who are actively looking for small business. The B2B companies are my customers for advertising, sponsoring of products, etc.

    The focus of my thinking and writing is still on group #1, my small town folks. The focus of how to create business opportunities is on group #2.

  • Anonymous

    Chris, I have been thinking along these same lines, probably no surprise there.

    The community of people who visit and participate at my site are small town small business people (and those who aspire to be either).

    The most profitable group of customers for me to target are the B2B groups who are actively looking for small business. The B2B companies are my customers for advertising, sponsoring of products, etc.

    The focus of my thinking and writing is still on group #1, my small town folks. The focus of how to create business opportunities is on group #2.

  • http://www.smallbizsurvival.com Becky McCray

    Chris, I have been thinking along these same lines, probably no surprise there.

    The community of people who visit and participate at my site are small town small business people (and those who aspire to be either).

    The most profitable group of customers for me to target are the B2B groups who are actively looking for small business. The B2B companies are my customers for advertising, sponsoring of products, etc.

    The focus of my thinking and writing is still on group #1, my small town folks. The focus of how to create business opportunities is on group #2.

  • http://michaelohara.co.uk Mike O’Hara

    Cheers Chris for another thought-provoking post.

    I just love triangles and the symbiotic relationships between the three points.

    You are absolutely right, in media making there often is a triangle, but I think it’s so much more powerful when the three points are:

    1. The people who are interested in what you’re talking about (your community or “the audience”)
    2. The people who want to know those people (your customer or “the sponsor”)
    3. The people who #1 trust and whose opinions #1 would typically seek out on the subject, given that they don’t yet know #2 (let’s call this “the expert”)

    As a media maker, if you can sit in the middle of this triangle facilitating the whole thing, the results can be a lot more powerful than if it’s just you and your customer producing the content for a target audience.

    Think about it. Which is a viewer/listener more likely to seek out – content featuring a media firm and a vendor they don’t know (all too often “pitchy” in nature) or content featuring one or more known and trusted sources of information on their topic of interest (usually much more impartial and informative)?

    Food for thought indeed.

    Keep up the great work Chris, love your posts.

  • http://michaelohara.co.uk Mike O’Hara

    Cheers Chris for another thought-provoking post.

    I just love triangles and the symbiotic relationships between the three points.

    You are absolutely right, in media making there often is a triangle, but I think it’s so much more powerful when the three points are:

    1. The people who are interested in what you’re talking about (your community or “the audience”)
    2. The people who want to know those people (your customer or “the sponsor”)
    3. The people who #1 trust and whose opinions #1 would typically seek out on the subject, given that they don’t yet know #2 (let’s call this “the expert”)

    As a media maker, if you can sit in the middle of this triangle facilitating the whole thing, the results can be a lot more powerful than if it’s just you and your customer producing the content for a target audience.

    Think about it. Which is a viewer/listener more likely to seek out – content featuring a media firm and a vendor they don’t know (all too often “pitchy” in nature) or content featuring one or more known and trusted sources of information on their topic of interest (usually much more impartial and informative)?

    Food for thought indeed.

    Keep up the great work Chris, love your posts.

  • http://michaelohara.co.uk Mike O’Hara

    Cheers Chris for another thought-provoking post.

    I just love triangles and the symbiotic relationships between the three points.

    You are absolutely right, in media making there often is a triangle, but I think it’s so much more powerful when the three points are:

    1. The people who are interested in what you’re talking about (your community or “the audience”)
    2. The people who want to know those people (your customer or “the sponsor”)
    3. The people who #1 trust and whose opinions #1 would typically seek out on the subject, given that they don’t yet know #2 (let’s call this “the expert”)

    As a media maker, if you can sit in the middle of this triangle facilitating the whole thing, the results can be a lot more powerful than if it’s just you and your customer producing the content for a target audience.

    Think about it. Which is a viewer/listener more likely to seek out – content featuring a media firm and a vendor they don’t know (all too often “pitchy” in nature) or content featuring one or more known and trusted sources of information on their topic of interest (usually much more impartial and informative)?

    Food for thought indeed.

    Keep up the great work Chris, love your posts.

  • http://michaelohara.co.uk Mike O’Hara

    Cheers Chris for another thought-provoking post.

    I just love triangles and the symbiotic relationships between the three points.

    You are absolutely right, in media making there often is a triangle, but I think it’s so much more powerful when the three points are:

    1. The people who are interested in what you’re talking about (your community or “the audience”)
    2. The people who want to know those people (your customer or “the sponsor”)
    3. The people who #1 trust and whose opinions #1 would typically seek out on the subject, given that they don’t yet know #2 (let’s call this “the expert”)

    As a media maker, if you can sit in the middle of this triangle facilitating the whole thing, the results can be a lot more powerful than if it’s just you and your customer producing the content for a target audience.

    Think about it. Which is a viewer/listener more likely to seek out – content featuring a media firm and a vendor they don’t know (all too often “pitchy” in nature) or content featuring one or more known and trusted sources of information on their topic of interest (usually much more impartial and informative)?

    Food for thought indeed.

    Keep up the great work Chris, love your posts.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com chrisbrogan

    For the folks who didn’t follow, let me say it another way:

    If you’re trying to make money from social media AS A MEDIA PLAY (like pro blogging, video, whatever), the money comes from the sponsors/exhibitors, not the audience. To that end, it’s important to work with the sponsors to build what they need on one side, and to attract an audience that cares about what you’re talking about on the other side.

    But you’re not trying to sell into that audience. You’re only selling up to those sponsors. I don’t want Mack Collier thinking he has to buy things for me to stay in business. I want Mack Collier to be intrigued by the sponsors I’ve brought to the experience, and potentially buy things from THEM, should the mood strike.

    Make sense? Does that clarify?

  • http://chrisbrogan.com chrisbrogan

    For the folks who didn’t follow, let me say it another way:

    If you’re trying to make money from social media AS A MEDIA PLAY (like pro blogging, video, whatever), the money comes from the sponsors/exhibitors, not the audience. To that end, it’s important to work with the sponsors to build what they need on one side, and to attract an audience that cares about what you’re talking about on the other side.

    But you’re not trying to sell into that audience. You’re only selling up to those sponsors. I don’t want Mack Collier thinking he has to buy things for me to stay in business. I want Mack Collier to be intrigued by the sponsors I’ve brought to the experience, and potentially buy things from THEM, should the mood strike.

    Make sense? Does that clarify?

  • http://chrisbrogan.com chrisbrogan

    For the folks who didn’t follow, let me say it another way:

    If you’re trying to make money from social media AS A MEDIA PLAY (like pro blogging, video, whatever), the money comes from the sponsors/exhibitors, not the audience. To that end, it’s important to work with the sponsors to build what they need on one side, and to attract an audience that cares about what you’re talking about on the other side.

    But you’re not trying to sell into that audience. You’re only selling up to those sponsors. I don’t want Mack Collier thinking he has to buy things for me to stay in business. I want Mack Collier to be intrigued by the sponsors I’ve brought to the experience, and potentially buy things from THEM, should the mood strike.

    Make sense? Does that clarify?

  • http://chrisbrogan.com chrisbrogan

    For the folks who didn’t follow, let me say it another way:

    If you’re trying to make money from social media AS A MEDIA PLAY (like pro blogging, video, whatever), the money comes from the sponsors/exhibitors, not the audience. To that end, it’s important to work with the sponsors to build what they need on one side, and to attract an audience that cares about what you’re talking about on the other side.

    But you’re not trying to sell into that audience. You’re only selling up to those sponsors. I don’t want Mack Collier thinking he has to buy things for me to stay in business. I want Mack Collier to be intrigued by the sponsors I’ve brought to the experience, and potentially buy things from THEM, should the mood strike.

    Make sense? Does that clarify?

  • http://maximumcustomerexperience.typepad.com Kelly

    Chris,

    Yes, though I misunderstood too, now it makes perfect sense. Thank goodness for comments! Especially the BAD part, I get it now. Why it’s awkward to see a very new site with lots of ads on it… and also why it’s not that likely, because #2 isn’t interested until your #1 is seriously engaged. A great point.

    Regards,

    Kelly

  • http://maximumcustomerexperience.typepad.com Kelly

    Chris,

    Yes, though I misunderstood too, now it makes perfect sense. Thank goodness for comments! Especially the BAD part, I get it now. Why it’s awkward to see a very new site with lots of ads on it… and also why it’s not that likely, because #2 isn’t interested until your #1 is seriously engaged. A great point.

    Regards,

    Kelly

  • http://maximumcustomerexperience.typepad.com Kelly

    Chris,

    Yes, though I misunderstood too, now it makes perfect sense. Thank goodness for comments! Especially the BAD part, I get it now. Why it’s awkward to see a very new site with lots of ads on it… and also why it’s not that likely, because #2 isn’t interested until your #1 is seriously engaged. A great point.

    Regards,

    Kelly

  • http://maximumcustomerexperience.typepad.com Kelly

    Chris,

    Yes, though I misunderstood too, now it makes perfect sense. Thank goodness for comments! Especially the BAD part, I get it now. Why it’s awkward to see a very new site with lots of ads on it… and also why it’s not that likely, because #2 isn’t interested until your #1 is seriously engaged. A great point.

    Regards,

    Kelly

  • http://www.babyspot.com James from Babyspot.com

    Chris,

    I am new to your blog and I am very impressed to say the least!

    I totally agree with you when you say that #1 priority is your community, throughout our team at BabySpot.com we make this rule. Once you build the confidence within your community then you can create brand awareness programs for your partners..
    Thanks and I am looking forward to your reading more of your blogs.
    James

  • http://www.babyspot.com James from Babyspot.com

    Chris,

    I am new to your blog and I am very impressed to say the least!

    I totally agree with you when you say that #1 priority is your community, throughout our team at BabySpot.com we make this rule. Once you build the confidence within your community then you can create brand awareness programs for your partners..
    Thanks and I am looking forward to your reading more of your blogs.
    James

  • http://www.babyspot.com James from Babyspot.com

    Chris,

    I am new to your blog and I am very impressed to say the least!

    I totally agree with you when you say that #1 priority is your community, throughout our team at BabySpot.com we make this rule. Once you build the confidence within your community then you can create brand awareness programs for your partners..
    Thanks and I am looking forward to your reading more of your blogs.
    James

  • http://www.babyspot.com James from Babyspot.com

    Chris,

    I am new to your blog and I am very impressed to say the least!

    I totally agree with you when you say that #1 priority is your community, throughout our team at BabySpot.com we make this rule. Once you build the confidence within your community then you can create brand awareness programs for your partners..
    Thanks and I am looking forward to your reading more of your blogs.
    James

  • http://fortifyservices.blogspot.com Rowan Manahan

    Hi Chris,

    The wonderful Granny Mar has arched her eyebrow at me and tagged me with the 6 word memoir meme. I do hope you’ll come out to play …

    http://fortifyservices.blogspot.com/2008/03/pithy-memoirs.html

    :) Rowan

  • http://fortifyservices.blogspot.com Rowan Manahan

    Hi Chris,

    The wonderful Granny Mar has arched her eyebrow at me and tagged me with the 6 word memoir meme. I do hope you’ll come out to play …

    http://fortifyservices.blogspot.com/2008/03/pithy-memoirs.html

    :) Rowan

  • http://fortifyservices.blogspot.com Rowan Manahan

    Hi Chris,

    The wonderful Granny Mar has arched her eyebrow at me and tagged me with the 6 word memoir meme. I do hope you’ll come out to play …

    http://fortifyservices.blogspot.com/2008/03/pithy-memoirs.html

    :) Rowan

  • http://fortifyservices.blogspot.com Rowan Manahan

    Hi Chris,

    The wonderful Granny Mar has arched her eyebrow at me and tagged me with the 6 word memoir meme. I do hope you’ll come out to play …

    http://fortifyservices.blogspot.com/2008/03/pithy-memoirs.html

    :) Rowan

  • http://www.theviralgarden.com mack collier

    Thanks Chris, that makes perfect sense! I knew you had a great point, just couldn’t figure out what it was!

  • http://www.theviralgarden.com mack collier

    Thanks Chris, that makes perfect sense! I knew you had a great point, just couldn’t figure out what it was!

  • http://www.theviralgarden.com mack collier

    Thanks Chris, that makes perfect sense! I knew you had a great point, just couldn’t figure out what it was!

  • http://www.theviralgarden.com mack collier

    Thanks Chris, that makes perfect sense! I knew you had a great point, just couldn’t figure out what it was!

  • http://chrisbrogan.com chrisbrogan

    @Mack – thanks! Glad I at least had a chance of making sense in there.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com chrisbrogan

    @Mack – thanks! Glad I at least had a chance of making sense in there.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com chrisbrogan

    @Mack – thanks! Glad I at least had a chance of making sense in there.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com chrisbrogan

    @Mack – thanks! Glad I at least had a chance of making sense in there.

  • http://www.bizunite.com Sonciary Honnoll

    Chris, I think it’s interesting to note that by writing a slightly vague and unclear post, you were able to engage us (the reader) in some thought provoking discussion! If the post was ‘clear as day’, then there probably would’ve been a couple of ‘great post!’ comments. :)

  • http://www.bizunite.com Sonciary Honnoll

    Chris, I think it’s interesting to note that by writing a slightly vague and unclear post, you were able to engage us (the reader) in some thought provoking discussion! If the post was ‘clear as day’, then there probably would’ve been a couple of ‘great post!’ comments. :)

  • http://www.bizunite.com Sonciary Honnoll

    Chris, I think it’s interesting to note that by writing a slightly vague and unclear post, you were able to engage us (the reader) in some thought provoking discussion! If the post was ‘clear as day’, then there probably would’ve been a couple of ‘great post!’ comments. :)

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