Pull-ometry: magnetic marketing for your business

When was the last time you picked up a brochure at a rest stop and started an actual conversation about it?

I don’t know about you but I’d have to say “Never.” At the most, I pick one up, look it over, and if it’s interesting enough, I’ll stick it in my pocket and tell myself I’ll go back and look at it later.

So, how’s that static “brochure-ware” website doing for you? Getting any good conversations going? Making continuous sales from repeat customers?

You can call it whatever you want—engagement marketing, relationship marketing, social marketing, or Pull marketing. It all boils down to one thing, conversations. Gone are the days when you could put up a standard website with “News” “About Us” and “Contact” tabs and expect to bring in customers.

It’s a brave new world out there. Web 2.0 is all about fresh, engaging, interactive content. You spend loads of money and time driving traffic to your site. You cannot afford to let those people get away.

Here’s the freaky part…once they find your site, you have between 4 and 8 seconds to capture their attention and get them to talk to you. Wow. That’s a lot of pressure. But it can be done, if you are willing to forget about the old ways of thinking and try something new.

I’m not talking about a big, shiny, expensive advertising campaign. I’m not even talking about a total overhaul of your website.

I am talking about finding ways to get people’s attention and start a conversation.

There are lots of great new things that get people’s attention—audio blasts, video clips, podcasts, surveys. In other words, New Media. (stop hyperventilating, it’s not that scary!) All these things can be added to your website simply and inexpensively. Including even one piece of moving, talking, interactive media at the top of your website can make a huge difference to your bottom line.

You’ve captured their attention and now they want to read more about your company and what you offer. Maybe they’ll leave a comment, maybe they’ll give you a call, maybe they’ll sign up for your newsletter. All these things are signs that your prospect wants to talk. And that’s the start of a great business relationship.