One-To-One-To-Many Marketing

Search for the Holy Grail
I have previously written about what I called the "Holy Grail" of marketing: one-to-one marketing. One-to-one marketing is simply the idea that marketers will achieve optimum results if they are able to engage consumers with messages and touch points on an individual customer basis. Well, after hearing Jason Choi from Cheil Communications speak in South Korea, I have now realized that the true Holy Grail of Marketing is what Jason calls "one-to-one-to-many marketing."

Building individual relationships with customers is effective but expensive. The goal for marketers must be to build individual relationships with customers who then tell their friends about those relationships. If every customer with whom your business has an individual relationship would tell one friend about your business, you would cut in half the cost of your one-to-one marketing efforts. If each customer tells five friends, then you're really cooking with gas. That's one-to-one-to-many marketing. It's not easy, but that's the goal.

Add This To Your To-Do List
If you're well on your way to achieving one-to-one marketing, then simply ask yourself, "would anybody tell a friend about this?" (thanks, Andy Sernovitz). If not, then make your messages more memorable. If you're still struggling to build a marketing approach that targets consumers on a personal basis, start with your email communications. That's one of the easiest places to start building personalization. It's as simple as starting with a customized greeting for each customer. Start there and over time, aim for one-to-one-to-many marketing.

There's never a lack of ideas.