Inbound Marketing Lessons from our Founding Fathers

By Laurel Miltner | Posted Jul 2, 2009 | 2 Comment(s) | Filed in: Business, Internet Marketing

All the chatter online this week about “free” (Chris Anderson’s new book, Malcolm Gladwell’s review of said book, and many others’ thoughts on free and the future of business models), really got my wheels turning.

With the 4th of July just around the corner (and thanks to a thoughtful Facebook post from a former professor regarding freedom of the press) I started thinking about the implications our freedoms, rights, and perceived rights have on business practices — particularly online.

I started wondering what a Bill of Rights would be like if it were written for consumers today, in a time when people basically have the world at their fingertips.  What rights do we have — or should we have — as consumers, and how can businesses cater to them?

The Consumers' Bill of Rights

For the sake of this blog post, let’s assume that our ideal business exists because it offers a product or service which the company’s executives and employees truly believe solves a consumer problem, improves the standard way of doing something, or otherwise betters quality of life in one way or another.

(If you don’t know what the actual Bill of Rights entails – see the United States Bill of Rights Wikipedia page.)

First amendment

Consumers shall have the right to information; your company shall provide helpful information about your industry and products or services.

The rise of the social Web has taken the freedom of the press and free speech beyond what our founding fathers ever could have imagined.  This gives consumers the ability to heavily research any topic of interest and seek out information as they need it.

Your job is to create and share information about your industry.  Blog, publish eBooks, case studies, whitepapers, thoughtpapers — and make them free.  Let your potential customers really get to know you, and your company.  Give them the information they need to make an educated purchase decision.  When they are ready to buy, if you are the best fit for them, they will know where to find you.

Second Amendment

Consumers shall have the right to not be “sold;” your company shall implement a smart sales strategy.

By integrating analytics into your Website, assessing visitor behavior and conversion rates, and gathering lead intelligence, you should be able to get a pretty clear understanding of who your best buyers are, and what makes a qualified lead.

Instead of cold calling or mass mailing laundry lists of people, use this information to cater to your potential customers’ needs.  Talk to them about their problems and what your product or service can do to help.  Sell smart.

Third Amendment

Consumers shall have the right to join groups and discussions on a given topic and know whom they are taking to; your company shall never allow representatives to pretend to be someone they are not.

People join online communities and post on discussion boards because they care about a particular topic, they want to learn and share information with others.  Some companies think that a great way to create positive buzz online is to have an employee pretend to be a customer and rave about their product or services in these community or forum discussions.

Not only is this shady, but people often see through it.  Nobody wants phonies in their communities.

Fourth Amendment

Consumers shall have the right to find the information they are looking for online quickly and easily; your company shall help them in this task, authentically.

Everyone knows that most people these days use search engines when looking for information.  Make sure that your Website is optimized for search engines and for searchers.  Don’t fall into the black hat SEO trap of trying to manipulate your rankings.  Eventually, the search engines will recognize this and penalize your site, but more importantly, your potential customers will not appreciate you trying to scam them into considering your company.

Fifth Amendment

Consumers shall have the right to know what your company truly stands for; your company shall operate ethically and stay true to its core values.

We’ve all heard stories about leaked memos, people saying things online without thinking, and other business horror stories.  When hiring, make sure you only invite people that you trust to join your team, and that your employees adhere to the company’s core values.  Don’t let phony people jeopardize your brand or incriminate themselves by acting foolishly.

Sixth Amendment

Consumers shall have the right to share their opinions about your company online; your company shall listen and join in conversation.

Remember that gross Domino’s video that hit YouTube a few months back?  Remember how long it took for the CEO of the company to respond?  Sure, it was only about two days later, but by that time, millions of people had viewed the video of Domino’s employees desecrating customer’s food.  Your company needs to monitor the Web, know what people are saying about it, and when necessary, respond in a timely manner.

Seventh Amendment

Consumers shall decide for themselves if you are helpful and interesting enough to tell others about; your company shall be rewarded for doing things smarter, better, faster, bigger and more creatively than your competition.

It’s widely accepted that the number factor in search engine rankings is inbound links to your Website.  In other words, if people like something you did enough to share it, you’re doing something right.  You will be judged by the value you create.

Eighth Amendment

Consumers shall have the right to choice; your company shall not talk poorly about competitors for the sole purpose of making your stuff look better.

Let’s face it — people can see through the crap.  Instead of bashing your competition, why not build relationships with them?  I’m sure that there are a lot of things that they are doing right.  As people in the same industry, why not share your thoughts and ideas?

There are millions of people in the world — if your company is right for someone, they will know it.  But your competitor might have a different approach that is right for someone else.  Embrace competition, tell them what they are doing right, and learn from their successes (and blunders) to help make your company better.

Ninth Amendment

Consumers shall have the right to disagree with you and your opinions, and make legitimate complaints about your company, product or service; your company shall allow people to air their grievances.

The social Web is about conversations and relationships.  Not everyone is going to think that your company is the best, the smartest or the coolest thing out there.  Other peoples’ opinions matter just as much, if not more than, yours.  If someone leaves a comment on your blog telling you that you’re wrong, or they disagree with your opinion, listen to them and see what you can learn.  Respond intelligently and thank them for their thoughts. 

If someone gives you a negative comment on Facebook, or a bad review somewhere, don’t try to take it down or push it away — engage your critics and see what you can do to improve their experience with, and opinion of, your company.

Tenth Amendment

Consumers, collectively, shall decide which businesses will succeed; your company shall innovate ahead of the crowd and be the best.

This is what it all comes down to.  Consumers are connected and collectively intelligent enough to do their research, sift through the scammers, and decide what companies they want to work with.  The only way to succeed in the world today is to be the best.  

If you try to push out a mediocre product or half-hearted service, offer decent customer service and don’t provide enough value for your buyer’s dollars, people will not want to do business with you again, and they will tell their friends not to do business with you, and word will trickle down, and your business will fail.

But, if you create and offer the best services or products in your industry, provide the best customer service and give great value to your buyers, then people will like you, and they will tell their friends about you, and they will tell their friends, and so on, and so forth… and your business will be a success.

The only question is — are you up for the challenge?

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