Your Customer Loves Superman, Hates Psychic Superman

With all the digital, social and one-to-one marketing tools available today, we can anticipate customers needs almost before they know they need them. Customers love when they find an answer to a problem or an offer for a product, right when they need or want it. But they're not as crazy about it when you anticipate a need before they perceive they're ready for it. By now you've probably heard about Target extrapolating from shopping data that a girl was pregnant and starting to send her coupons for baby stuff before her folks even knew she was pregnant. This was not a happy customer about that. Target has since tweaked their program to make it feel, well, less targeted. Because, you may be giving the customer useful stuff, but if they're not ready, they won't be happy about it.

I was talking with our digital strategist, Jen Wright, the other day and she had a great analogy for this. Everyone loves when Superman swoops in and saves the day. If you're falling off a building and Superman nabs you just before you hit the ground, you are super appreciative. You can't say enough about how much you love Superman for saving your life, just in the nick of time.

However, suppose Superman was psychic and knew you were going to fall off a building in two minutes. You're just sitting at a rooftop restaurant, nibbling at some tasty summer fare, tropical cocktail in hand and all the sudden Superman swoops in and whisks you away. When he deposits you safely on the ground, you're probably not happy about it. You may even think he's gone mad. "What the hell, Superman? I didn't even get through the salad course!"

Superman can explain to you that he knew you were going to be knocked off the roof and he just saved your life. The facts are the same as in the first scenario. But in one, you're extremely grateful. In the other, you're extremely annoyed. Even if you begrudgingly accept psychic Superman's story, you don't feel the same sense of gratitude.

In today's real time, data-rich, hyper-connected world, you can find customers who need what you have to offer and serve it up right when they need it. The trick is making sure you come across as Superman, not Psychic Superman. Say you run a golf course. Well, now you can mine Foursquare and Twitter data and see who has checked into 3 to 5 different golf courses in the last month. Now you know this is someone who is currently an active golfer in your area who is not married to one particular course. You can serve up an offer to that high volume golfer to try your course and chances are good they will react positively.

We've been doing database management and direct marketing for clients for years with good success. But now with real time and social tools, we're developing Social CRM for clients that will help them come swooping in and save customers at the right time, in the right place. And if you look at the recent acquisitions of Radian6 and Buddy Media, you can see that a lot of big data companies are looking to create their own Social CRM programs. It's clearly an idea whose time has come. Used right, these tools will make you the hero over and over again. And wouldn't we all like to be seen as heroes to our clients?

So, are you being Superman, Psychic Superman or merely Clark Kent? Have you found your own ways to connect with your customers one-to-one and serve up what they need, when they need it? What's working for you?

Mike "I believe I can fly" McClure