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Marketers struggling with control

Message control. Marketers ask me about it every day. People keep telling me they are struggling to control the message. But they don’t like what I say next: “Give up.”


Marketers who want control need a new profession. I’m not sure that message control ever really existed to the extent we deluded itself that it did, but it sure ain’t here anymore. People rate your products, they comment on your blogs, they write blogs of their own, and they create hate sites if you really aren’t listening.
As The Cluetrain Manifesto predicted, marketing is a conversation.
And no one controls a conversation. When marketers start looking for influence over what their customers think, decide, and do, rather than seeking control over the message, that’s when they’ll be successful. Customers don’t want messages controlled, and they give no influence to those who try that. They ignore them.

Mike Moran

Mike Moran is a Converseon, an AI powered consumer intelligence technology and consulting firm. He is also a senior strategist for SoloSegment, a marketing automation software solutions and services firm. Mike also served as a member of the Board of Directors of SEMPO. Mike spent 30 years at IBM, rising to Distinguished Engineer, an executive-level technical position. Mike held various roles in his IBM career, including eight years at IBM’s customer-facing website, ibm.com, most recently as the Manager of ibm.com Web Experience, where he led 65 information architects, web designers, webmasters, programmers, and technical architects around the world. Mike's newest book is Outside-In Marketing with world-renowned author James Mathewson. He is co-author of the best-selling Search Engine Marketing, Inc. (with fellow search marketing expert Bill Hunt), now in its Third Edition. Mike is also the author of the acclaimed internet marketing book, Do It Wrong Quickly: How the Web Changes the Old Marketing Rules, named one of best business books of 2007 by the Miami Herald. Mike founded and writes for Biznology® and writes regularly for other blogs. In addition to Mike’s broad technical background, he holds an Advanced Certificate in Market Management Practice from the Royal UK Charter Institute of Marketing and is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. He also teaches at Rutgers Business School. He was a Senior Fellow at the Society for New Communications Research and is now a Senior Fellow of The Conference Board. A Certified Speaking Professional, Mike regularly makes speaking appearances. Mike’s previous appearances include keynote speaking appearances worldwide

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