The Seven Deadly Sins of Marketing: WRATH

We all agree that the customer is king. But we sure don't always act that way.  There's lots of way we're tempted to put other things ahead of the customer.  Let's talk about the Deadly Sin of...

CUSTOMERS!  GAWL!!

WRATH: Hating your own customers

This is a big one, and it manifests itself in many ways.

Do your employees make fun of your customers?  I mean, more than just the "oddball" story now and then (we all have those).  Check out this guy here: Undercover Boss: Boston Market interview with Ronnie.

It is impossible for a culture that values customers and is customer-focused to have people believe this about their customers.

There are a number of "I Hate My Customers" blogs out there, mostly from people in service and freelancing industries.  I have empathy - I've worked those jobs myself - but it just shows you how pervasive this problem is out there in industries that depend most on excellent customer service and being customer focused.

I think, however, this attitude flows into the marketing and advertising industry and permeates our marketing campaigns.

How many times have you attended a gathering of marketers, get talking about customers, and heard a lot of negativity, especially if the customer base isn't "cool" enough?  Too old, too poor, too suburban, too rural, too uneducated, too "low brow", too [insert whatever human characteristic you disdain here].

How many marketing leaders have you met that can discuss marketing campaigns for hours, but do not once mention what the customer wants and needs from his or her organization, or how customers are delighted by what they hear and see from the company?

How many product and campaigns have been launched with zero prior customer research and testing?

How many sponsorships have been created, not because customers have a connection with the person, event or cause being sponsored, but because it was something the marketer personally liked or benefited from?

If you or anyone in your organization regularly bad-mouths your customer base, never listens to customer feedback (or dismiss it), and does not keep the needs of your target audience in mind in all you do because you think it's stupid, uncool, or worthless... you should look for another line of work.

Because being wrathful towards your customer is a sin.

For other sins, check out LUST and GLUTTONY and GREED and SLOTH.

The Seven Deadly Sins of Marketing: SLOTH

Customer centricity is a big topic with marketers.  Yet, it seems like we have to constantly talk about it, because we're not actually doing it.

I'll have you know, I'm the hardest
worker in this forest.

We're getting tempted into committing the Seven Deadly Sins of Marketing.  Today, let's dial it back a notch....

SLOTH: Doing just enough to not completely suck

I'm using "sloth" in the meaning of plain old "lazy".

We know that our web site could be easier to use for our customers, but we just aren't willing to put forth to effort to prioritize it.

We understand that our customers dislike our customer service process, but it's too hard to get everyone in the organization together to improve it.

We know our customers really prefer to use a specific technology, but it's just too hard for us to figure out and use.

We can't be bothered to properly onboard our new customers and thank them for their business, say, via email or direct mail.

We certainly never take the time to recognize our current customers for their loyalty.

It's just too hard to figure out - we just can't afford to take the time and effort.

And it probably wouldn't matter anyway.  Our customers wouldn't notice these things - we'll just make the same amount of money (or less, once we make these efforts).  They only care about getting the best price, nothing else.

Of all the sins, this one is my favorite  - or rather, the one that annoys me most.  It seems to be the easiest to solve on the surface, but I think it's the hardest to actually fix if you've really settled into this mindset.

Of course, this apathetic viewpoint in regards to customer engagement also creates a company culture that is averse to innovation and risk.  That's a fast way to kill a company.

For other sins, check out LUST and GLUTTONY and GREED.