So much marketing advice and guidance is about how we take our message to our customers.
What if you want customers to come to you instead?
I'm not talking about 'inbound marketing.' That works, too, but this is something a bit different.
Let's call it the Oopsy Daisy.
If you want to have more customer conversations, but find it hard to get anyone to talk to you. Break something on purpose.
We've done this in software. I've done it with service reports. And I bet you can find a way to "break" something small that will make a customer think "I'm going to say something about this."
Do you send monthly reports to clients hoping they'll reply with praise and joy and wonder at how damn good you are? But then nobody says anything? Leave a section of the report blank. Oopsy daisy.
Need users to upgrade to the latest version of your software, but nobody replies to "URGENT" upgrade emails? Break a little link and when those holdout customers come to support to tell you about it, give them the easy fix: Upgrade! Oopsy daisy.
This is not a tactic to be taken lightly. It may piss off some people and you run the risk of reputational damage. But the next time you're banging your head against the wall trying to think of new ways to coerce people to talk to you, maybe break a little something.
When people contact you about it and you handle it with speed and grace, it can be a big win.
Peter
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A long PS: Here's a real-world example of the Oopsy Daisy in action. When you walk across the Galata Bridge in Istanbul, you'll see an amazing city, street vendors, and shoeshine boys. The shoeshine boys are masters of the oopsy daisy. In a hurry to get somewhere, a shoeshine boy rushes past you.
In his hurry, he shakes loose his wooden shoeshine brush. It clatters to the ground just in front of your strolling feet. You're a good person, so you pick it up. After tapping the boy on the shoulder, he turns and you realize what you've done.
With a wry smile, the boy offers you a discount on a shoeshine. Oopsy daisy.