A Deliverable Email Address Does Not a Relationship Make

Author:

Stephanie Miller

Source:

Does anyone else lament the commoditization of "friend" amid our socially connected, digital lives? I can like you on Facebook, follow you on Twitter, subscribe to your email program and join your community.
 
But that doesn't mean I want a relationship.
 
And that is a problem for marketing and sales people. There are lots of ways for people to connect with brands, but there are not many actual connections. Consider these stats from a national e-commerce retailer with a social forum on its website:

• Only 2 percent of customers participate (e.g.: visit, post, comment, download) in the forum, although 35 percent of customers signed up.
• 37 percent of the email file has not opened or clicked or purchased in the past 180 days, even though 100 percent of the file gave active (single opt in) permission. Complaints are below a half a percent (clicks on the "report spam" button) and unsubscribe requests are rare (less than 0.5 percent).
• 82 percent of all Twitter followers have never clicked on a link, sent a direct message (DM'd or replied) or re-tweeted (forwarded) a post. Of the 18 percent who have engaged on Twitter, the number of followers they have (a measure of influence) is generally below 35 people, but there are a couple who have more than 1,000 followers.

 
Your mileage may vary on those engagement stats, but the point is probably applicable to every marketer. Our challenge is no longer to be present, but to be valuable...