Comments on: Social media is free…but I’m not

By: Social Venom « Direct Marketing Observations

Social Venom « Direct Marketing Observations — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 11:10:28 +0000

[...] I wrote about Social Media might be free, but I’m not… [...]

By: marc meyer

marc meyer — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:32:47 +0000

@Sana I’m amazed, or maybe I shouldn’t be at the horror stories coming from people…

By: Sana

Sana — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:46:56 +0000

This strikes a cord Marc. I’ve had several conversations like the one you have described. One very smart developer/founder of a startup even said to me, I don’t understand what is so hard about social media, I mean I’ve set up my twitter account.

The best is when I ask do you have a social media strategy and get a yes. Once I look at their account you see lots of blog posts fed into twitter via twitter feed and absolutely no conversation. No wonder business doesn’t grow.

By: jak

jak — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:10:54 +0000

I have learned this lesson the hard way. Have seen my detailed proposals produce no firm business, only to see the marketing manager that said no, implement most of the ideas very poorly a month or two later.

I don’t do detailed proposals anymore either. But I have learned the art of throwing out a couple big ideas, always saving the biggest/most detailed ideas for later. For paid consulting.

I also feel like I am much better these days about knowing what kind of client they will be from an intro conversation. Some people just don’t want to pay for good ideas. If I get that sense, I cut them no breaks on price, even hoping sometimes that they move on because of the price. To me, it is a learning process, and less about learning not to give away everything first and more about learning how to spot good clients.

Great convo, thanks.

By: marc meyer

marc meyer — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:16:34 +0000

@Christine I know it’s not going to get better, but as I said in my reply to Diane. Something has to give, or maybe what I meant to say was, “someone has to give” other than the social media consultant…:)

@Toby Maybe we should write a book about social media client horror stories?

By: marc meyer

marc meyer — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:14:03 +0000

@Beth, I think we all still want to do right by social media and we definitely all are of the same mindset that, lets give them some, and they will most certainly want and or will pay for the rest. Heh, guess not…

By: marc meyer

marc meyer — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:12:09 +0000

@Diane What starting to strike another nerve here is that we all have very similar experiences. Which tells me that we either are doing something wrong collectively as a group or our clients are collectively wrong and we need to change that mindset. Can we all afford to wait for our clients or prospects to come back given the current economic climate? I want my clients and prospects to succeed, but with me at the helm..

By: Diane Court

Diane Court — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:13:50 +0000

Marc,
You definitely hit a nerve! There is a lot of pressure as Beth mentions for managers to look for ways to internalize projects and programs for which they’ve depended on consultants and specialized providers in the past. It does not have to be explicit; “Cut X%” can be incentive enough. As much as I find it frustrating when longtime clients decide they can go it alone, I’m convinced that providing the plan is a far cry from delivering on it successfully or more cost-efficiently without us. MarketingProfs article,”Caution: This is not a DIY project” referencing Richard King’s experience and his post on the EmailDirect Blog offers a perfect case in point.
To Nigel’s points, a friend once told me: “sometimes you have to let them go so they can find out for themselves.” Even clients who trust our unique capabilities and quality of service feel the need to test the added-value of the relationship, “Trust but verify”. I always find the process painful – not just because of lost revenue, but because I sincerely care about their success,and I hate to see them come up short even when they’ve left for a competitor or to do it themselves. Consistently, Nigel’s experience reflects my own: some may continue to go it alone, but most “usually do come back” and we’re all better for it when they come seeking help and simultaneously feeling more in control of their choices, and confident their trust is well-placed in us.

By: Beth Harte

Beth Harte — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:48:30 +0000

Marc,

I couldn’t say it any better than Christine did. She’s 100% right! After 15 years on the client side, I can tell you, this has been going on forever. Clients always want the how-to for free. And this just doesn’t happen with social media…it also happens with design, advertising, PR, direct mail, etc. Why? So they can do it themselves (like you said) OR, worse, have someone else implement the concept at a lower price.

Unfortunately, not all the folks you meet with are bad eggs… In my experience, the sad thing is that managers/directors usually get pressure from above to ‘steal’ the how-to’s. The notion that “anyone can do it” largely plays into it and, of course, budget. The key is to differentiate your company so much that NO competition or internal employee can do what you do.

The other issue is that because we give away SO much free advice on our blogs that potential clients assume consultants will do so on a phone call too. Trust me, even though I don’t think myself naive, I have fallen into that trap more than once. It’s just a conversation, right? Next thing you know an hour or more later they walk away with $$ worth of free consulting.

Beth Harte
Community Manager, MarketingProfs
@bethharte

By: Toby

Toby — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:35:17 +0000

Marc -thanks for your post .. nice to know that what I’ve been experiencing others have also. nice to have the support of our community too.

my latest was a major bank’s vp who wanted to meet me for coffee to talk about social prior to a training presentation that their new agency of record (a global interactive agency) was giving. after she let that slip she back tracked pretty quickly; acknowledged that there wouldn’t be any projects for me. we agreed not to sip java together at that point. thanks for letting me vent