I’ve been taking some grief from people lately for not blogging and it’s true, it has been on my list but at the bottom as all these copywriting clients who were busy doing other things all summer all of a sudden realize they need a copywriter right now! Don’t get me wrong, I love my copywriting clients! But it is funny how one Seattle copywriter can be so quickly buried by an onslaught of work from clients, no matter how much she might love them!

Which is my segue into this blog post, which, I might point out to people like Brent, I’m not writing because I have time to, but because it’s easier than putting up with the comments about not blogging. (Said with affection, Brent. J)

This post has been sitting in my head for a few days now, and I hope I do it justice because I’m literally dashing it off in a few minutes…

Once again, I come back to marketing is like dating. Today it’s about you gotta keep courting the customer. Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis knows I’m single. It has come up a couple of times…at least. But dating is such a great analogy for marketing! And the dating/marketing lesson I just recently experienced was someone being very sweet and very attentive…and then not. What he doesn’t realize is, it was the sweetness and attentiveness that I liked about him, it set him apart from other guys. Take that away, and what do you have? Just another guy.

When you’re marketing, you’re (I hope) being sweet and attentive to that prospect. But once they give you their money and go from prospect to customer, should you stop courting them? Of course not! But companies do. There’s a marketing mindset that’s focused on lead generation, getting new customers, filling the pipeline, etc.

But what about the customer you already have? Do your sales people still pay attention after the invoice has been paid? How much of your marketing is focused on continuing to be sweet and attentive to the people who have said yes to you? Who have given you their money and become a bona fide customer? Or is your marketing focused on the next conquest instead?

Are you taking your customers for granted once they become customers? If so, do you think they’ll continue to “date” you? Probably not, because, like the guy referenced above, when you take away the sweetness, all you’ve got left is just another guy. They’ll go spend their money elsewhere next time, because you’re no longer anything special.