Author’s Note

I had originally intended today’s posting on consumer privacy issues to be the second of a three part series. But after last week’s discourse , response from the public was immediate and massive. “We can’t possibly wait two entire weeks to hear about HIPAA or the Final Word on RTCRM’s baseline approach to managing PHI!” they shrieked, frantically wagging their thin claw-like fingers at me. “Post both remaining chapters next week — or else,” they threatened.

“Or else what?” I asked, wishing quietly for the millionth time that I’d gone to librarian school.

“Just finish the post, pretty boy. Don’t make us hurt you,” they said.

“Okay, okay,” I acquiesced. “I’ll finish it up next week. Jeez, Mom.”

Thanks for reading.

ZR

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Data is the lifeblood of relationship marketing and we live and breathe it. Industry studies and sales numbers are starting points, but a more profound understanding of consumer behavior requires insight at a more granular level. So we assimilate, study and mine data provided to us by our clients to inform how we segment, target and position marketing communications. And when existing data about our clients’ customers is not enough, we go directly to the customers themselves through the administration of surveys and the integration of transactional data. We build upon and enhance our data – constantly seeking better means of nurturing the delicate relationship between a brand and its customers.

Use and possession of this type of data brings with it a solemn responsibility to protect individuals’ privacy, and nowhere are these issues more important than in the pharmaceutical industry. Customer data related to health is not only inherently more private, it is also protected by a host of industry ethical guidelines and legal statutes. (more…)

I’ve spent much of my professional life trying to figure out how digital media can enhance relationship marketing programs - backed by the evolving conventional wisdom that “digital changes everything ” (for the better…presumably).

So it’s not without a smirk that I often see the best relationship marketing principles at work in completely offline situations, from unlikely sources:

On Christmas Day our mailman delivered a package from a relative - and, responding to my rather surprised stammer “you guys are working today?” he replied “yeah, today we try to deliver all the packages with hand-written addresses that we couldn’t deliver before; the printed labels we do afterwards.”

A hand-written address means personal , and, to the US Mail , personal means “priority.” If it sounds simple, that’s because it is simple. Take the trouble to understand your customers, identify opportunities to reward their involvement, and execute simply and consistently - this communicates “you’re a priority” - and engenders goodwill (and, inevitably, repeat purchase) arguably the holy grail of relationship marketing.

So I guess that digital doesn’t change everything - the fundamentals of relationship marketing are the game changers…

The December comScore data for the United States was released recently and has set bloggers all a buzz. Most seem to crying out about how online social networks are slowing down , because growth on several of the largest networking sites has slowed and MySpace’s numbers have dropped a bit. I’d like to offer a different perspective.

The slow down in growth on the largest social networking sites is not the death knoll of the whole concept of social networking sites. It is, however, a wake up call to reality.

The issue isn’t really that these sites are slowing down, it’s that more targeted niche sites are heating up. MySpace’s numbers boomed when the press discovered it and everyone, including your mother, decided to check it out. The level of growth that site saw could never be supported. As the media is fickle and always looking for the next big thing to write about, it quickly moved on to Facebook. Once again many people, including your mother, moved on to Facebook.

But what the press doesn’t really talk about, and the comScore numbers don’t reflect, is all of the other niche social networking sites that are out there. These affinity-based social networking sites provide users with a group that has common ground. MySpace and Facebook don’t really do that, unless you are actually friends in the real-world definition of the word. People who may have spent time on MySpace may now be found instead on BakeSpace , Ravelry , Mashable , LinkedIn , Gather , or any of thousands of other options. Why spend time turning down “friend” requests from spammers when you can talk about what you are really interested in on these other sites? And you can’t leave out the fact that many retail sites that at first glance don’t seem like social networking sites, like Amazon and Etsy , actually have very strong community features to keep users engaged longer and more often.

The situation is simply akin to the development of cable networks and the proliferation of niche broadcast channels. Marketers have had to deal with a constantly fragmented television viewership over the years — why would they think it would be any different online? As the hype wears down, MySpace and Facebook’s numbers will level off and probably see ups and downs. Some new huge player we can’t even imagine will come onto the scene and we’ll all be talking about it. And at the same time, all of these smaller little sites with strong niche affinity groups will continue to flourish.

Welcome to the new normal of the social Web.

Technorati Tags: myspace , facebook , social networking , marketing