I just finished reading the book The Heart of Marketing: Love Your Customers and They Will Love You Back by Judith Sherven, PhD & Jim Sniechowski, PhD. and I just thought it was what marketing books have needed for a long time…. a breath of fresh air.
Many companies in today’s business world have lost sight of what is most important to their customers and for their company internally and that is feeling the pulse of a heart beat. Actually caring about people, yes, people and not ideas, not money, not computers, etc.
People.
It’s a simple task but one that has been eroding from today’s speedy, cold world. The author’s remind the reader that behind the web site there is a company that cares and that company needs to let people know that they do. Judith and Jim target what they term soft marketing as their audience. These are companies in the service industry that typically view service before making money (therapists, counselors, etc.). They explain their need to address these companies is that most business people dealing in sales know of one way: the hard way.
The hard sell is business to business, an impersonal machine set up to make money regardless of product, service or feeling. It’s what everyone knows and what everyone feels they need to do to make the sale.
It’s not. In fact it’s far from it. Judith and Jim answer 45 great questions asked in a recent survey about putting the heart back in sales. And here’s a little secret: it’s really not just about soft marketers being able to do this. There’s cross over. I realized that even our company uses (and can use more of) their techniques to put soul into a company.
The informal way they cross the murky marketing boundaries and connect feelings to work is just a part of the book. it goes on almost like you’re listening in on a conversation between friends. They talk about their life, their passions, their work, and even down to why they picked Morgan James as their publisher. They also have free offers and web sites in the book for more information to refer to further explain their processes.
The Heart of Marketing is not an unattainable feature in sales, it’s actually a must for most businesses.
(P.S. – My favorite part of the book is what they say about ego in business – check it out!)
