9 Responses to “customer relations”

1. Amber Says:
   
   January 11th, 2008 at 5:11 pm

   I think the word “relationship” is getting *way* over-used in the PR/marketing world. Same thing with “conversation.” They’ve both become just two more buzzwords; I guess the irony is lost on the people who toss them around so much.

   
   
2. Amanda Brooks Says:
   
   January 12th, 2008 at 8:50 am

   Amber,

   You’re right. Great point! I think I was working toward that but hadn’t figured it out yet. You got it right away.

   Very ironic indeed.

   XX

   
   
3. Nerraux Says:
   
   January 13th, 2008 at 9:19 pm

   I have the same discussions with my wife about people I only know from Internet contact. I think what it comes down to is the quality of the interaction you have and the intent behind the contact. From my years online and more recently through our podcast I have fostered many of what I would call relationships. We’ve never met, but the quality of the interactions I’ve had with people far exceed some people I see every day.

   Case in point, one of the guys we interviewed kept in contact with us, and we’ve talked through Instant Messenger, emails, myspace, and over the phone. We’ve never met in person, but I know more about his family then anybody at my workplace save one. I was a part of the fundraising for his father’s kidney transplant. I’m named in at least 3 of the songs he’s put on albums. To me, that’s a quality relationship.

   That being said, I market the show to a lot of people with whom I have relationships, but I wouldn’t claim to have a relationship to everybody I market to. Though, if you could consider the possibility of a uni-directional relationship, then I guess I could say that I have in some way affected the lives of most of those people.

   I don’t know. Depends on how you look at it.

   By the way, I think I’m now going to start referring to having sex with my wife as “marketing.” That ought to get her all moist.

   
   
4. Amanda Brooks Says:
   
   January 14th, 2008 at 7:53 am

   Nerraux,

   You do have a relationship with the man you haven’t met but know very well. I certainly have relationships with people I’ve never met except through email. However I’m not going to claim I have a relationship with 10K people (if I had that many on my newsletter list) because I’d spend all day long having a relationship and not getting work done.

   True, this whole business/relationship thing does depend on your perspective, but Amber pointed out that too many people toss the words around without thinking about the real meaning. “Relationship” is going to become as empty as “think outside the box.”

   I can’t wait for the reaction from your wife as you explain how you’re “marketing” to her and building a “relationship.”

   XX

   
   
5. Madison Hayes Says:
   
   January 16th, 2008 at 6:27 pm

   I think there would be a fair proportion of those people he claims to have relationships who feel the extent of that relationship is “f*ck, another email from this guy”, spam filter alert, delete.

   Absolute marketing jargon. It annoys me too.

   
   
6. Amanda Brooks Says:
   
   January 17th, 2008 at 9:43 am

   Madison,

   I agree. I sign up for newsletters all the time, but when they’re all about the next telemarketing seminar (or about their damn pets), I unsubscribe.

   Try not to do that with my newsletter readers. I haven’t found the balance yet but I sure don’t pretend I have a relationship with them all.

   XX

   
   
7. JW Says:
   
   January 17th, 2008 at 7:13 pm

   In most cases “relationship” = “acquantaince”. In his case, it’s a marketing ploy to impress probably.

   
   
8. Amanda Brooks Says:
   
   January 18th, 2008 at 9:37 am

   JW,

   But people take the terminology seriously. It’s all the rage in marketing stuff that I read and listen to. I agree with your take though.

   It’s just funny to me.

   XX

   
   
9. Amanda Brooks Says:
   
   May 9th, 2008 at 6:00 am

   Laura,

   I deleted your comment as spam. It was irrelevant to this post and was only about promoting your own blog. You’re welcome to try again, but please make your comments about the post (or the discussion following the post).

   XX