Marketing has evolved over the decades.

I've spent more than forty-five years in business. During that time, business has experienced many changes, innovations, breakthroughs, revolutions, and upheavals. I’ve had the chance to see the birth and evolution of the personal computer, and I worked at the company that pioneered the cell phone. Then I watched the “brick” phone transform into a computer that fits in your pocket. I’ve watched and evolved with the growth of the internet. I’ve experienced the world before browsers, email, websites, Google, Facebook, and YouTube, and watched in awe as these new technologies emerged to create a complete paradigm shift in how we conduct business.

Yet, you must factor in how that technology integrates into a system. A system that dates back to the dawn of time.

What has never changed is that you are dealing with the extraordinarily complex, adaptive, and creative information processing system that has constantly evolved over tens of thousands of years… the human mind.

Business used to be all about personalized service.

Before the internet, all business happened in person, by mail, or over the phone. People didn't have eCommerce, eBay, Amazon, FedEx, or cloud computing. People generally had to walk, use public transportation, or get into their cars to go to a store to buy products.

To receive services, you mostly had to venture out as well, but there was a time when a doctor or a service technician would come to your home.

Relationships were everything. If you shopped in your local downtown, you knew the store owners, and they knew you.

One of my first real jobs was as a shoe salesman at Joe’s Shoes in downtown Wheaton, IL. It was a family-owned and operated store that was known for two specialties: kids’ corrective orthopedic shoes and women’s oversized shoes (sizes 12-15). Those specialties were a big part of Joe’s brand and why people came to Joe’s from miles away.

We used to keep each client’s information on an index card in a box. When a previous client walked in, we knew what she liked or what that family bought last time. Those cards meant we could provide the customer service that Joe’s clients had come to expect. All of that service is what helped people justify paying the premium prices for specialty—and regular—shoes.

Even then, people had many other options: mall stores, K-Mart, Venture, and the other local or chain department stores operating in the area. Those places primarily competed on price.

Back then, specialty business was all about people and relationships. Getting to know the customers personally defined what customer service was all about.

Technology has changed the game.

Fast forward to today. We all have data and lots of it. We have databases, contact managers, spreadsheets, accounting systems, analytics, and more. Practically everything we do online is being recorded, processed, analyzed, and profiled. Big companies like Google and Facebook probably know more about you and your habits or preferences than you, your family, and your friends do. They know what you like when you sign into your computer, what you search for, roughly where you live, and more.

Companies like Zappos, an online clothing retailer, use this data to build a very loyal following of repeat customers who generate a huge buzz via word-of-mouth advertising. What makes them a standout in the online retailing industry is that they don’t view themselves as an eTailer that sells products. They view themselves as a customer service company that delivers products.

Getting mired down in all that data and technology is really easy to do. Some businesses have worked tirelessly to convolute the data we collect on people into segments, verticals, channels, avatars, and profiles. Then, they are happy to sell you that work as a premium data-based marketing tool, promising to provide you with leads and prospects.

They propose that you can predict buyer behaviors by categorizing the buying patterns through graphs and charts and organizing them into a searchable database.

What’s missing from all those equations is the fact that people are people and are not as predictable as we would like them to be

Marketing has many meanings and variations.

Generally speaking, marketing tries to marry customers with what you have to sell. To do that, marketers research to see what people want and use what they find to communicate why people should want what you offer.

Market research helps us determine the best type of customer for our product or service. We look for people in specific economic or business groups. Then, we look at buying patterns and try to position our product or service as accessible and attractive.

Marketing communications include branding and the creation of messages and advertisements that promote the features and benefits of our offerings. Often, these communications seek to differentiate us from our competition.

Internet marketing uses online tools and technologies to deliver our messages to people by way of websites, emails, text messages, social posts, instant messages, and more. The internet looks very attractive and valuable because it provides a fast, flexible, targetable, and generally less expensive (sometimes almost free) alternative to traditional media such as print radio and TV.

Social media has revolutionized personal-level marketing.

Many people view social media websites as excellent internet marketing tools because they allow you to create conversations and interactions. Social media sites also allow you to create marketing segments to promote specific messages to selected audiences.

The intrinsic problem with online marketing is that people have to want you to market to them. They must perceive your messages as personal, relevant, and actionable before they will be acted upon.

Businesses are at a marketing crossroads.

We have come to an exciting time in business. Large and small businesses find themselves at a crossroads of marketing tools, principles, and methodologies. The most significant change and challenge is being effective communicators when the audience gets to control (at least to some degree) the messages they receive.

People can choose to opt in to or opt out of your email messages. If you send unsolicited emails without giving the user a choice to join in or stop the madness, you may be breaking the law. You will undoubtedly annoy some of the people you are hoping to attract.

People choose which social networks they belong to and control their experiences there. They choose when to log in (or not), and, in most cases, they can and will block or de-friend you if you become an annoyance. The power to connect no longer resides solely in the marketers’ hands but has become more and more user-centric.

All businesses should examine what has worked in the past in light of what is working now. The real trick, though, is to figure out what will still work in the future. Some businesses will choose to stay with their current course, while others will turn on the blinker and make a sharp turn. Either way, you’ll need to ask permission to contact people to get them to listen to your messages about your products and services.

Relationship marketing means treating people as people.

Relationship marketing is a mixture of the old and new ways of marketing. It starts by simply treating people like people.

You get to know them on a one-on-one level. Then, they permit you to communicate with them on a social level. Finally, if they get to know, like, and trust you enough (those three key concepts, about which later), they may buy from you or recommend you to their friends and connections.

Like most of my blog readers and podcast listeners, I will assume that you run a small local or mid-sized regional business. You may be blessed with the opportunity to meet with your customers face to face, just like we did at Joe’s Shoes.

You can get to know your customers personally and connect with them in ways that make them feel respected, important, and genuinely valued.

If all you care about is making a sale, then you might as well put this book down right now. But this book will be enjoyable and fruitful if you want to establish the highest quality (and often lifelong) relationships with customers, vendors, employees, and the community.

The upcoming concepts we will explore have been curated from lessons learned from the last ten years and help you better understand the business through your customers’ eyes. Ultimately, you will learn that you’re no longer in control (or at least not as much as you used to be). The customer now chooses you, and you must work harder to convince customers that you are the right choice.

I hope this will help give you some perspective on internet tools and technologies that may or may not be suitable for you and your business.

B2c & B2b Rewinds

In this new and revised version of the book, I will do my best to give you better context about your type of business. Let me start by defining two major categories that transcend most all marketing subcategories.

For Consumer Business

Consumer businesses are usually built on people buying and consuming a product or service. These tend to be more transactional sales since they can choose to stay brand loyal or go in a completely different direction on a whim.

The relationship between consumer businesses and consumers is a tenuous one. Consumers are fickle. They like consistency yet appreciate diversity and variety. Very few people eat the same thing at the same time every day of their lives.

That means that your goal is to try to capture their attention, and often. You must be present and remind them why they chose you and your brand. Sometimes, you can know who your buyer is, but more often than not, they are an autonomous ameaba. Companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple may help you sell something but rarely tell you who bought from you.

It’s up to you to conceive of ways to capture buyers' personal information and use that without turning off your buyers.

For Business-to-Business

B2B marketing is built around people who work for companies that buy and consume a product or service. These tend to be more relational than transactional sales.

The relationship between business-to-businesses and their customers is much more long-term and very relational. Businesses purchase to solve a problem that requires more trust than consumers’ problems.

It generally takes longer for businesses to choose suppliers, but it also takes longer for them to make a change. Company profits and people’s jobs are on the line.

The big difference is that you can better capture information from your customers. You must know the company, department, and shipping address to deliver the goods. The person (phone number and email) who made the purchase is even more critical. The challenge becomes getting to know the decision-makers and the users and how to communicate with them.

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Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about business-to-business sales and marketing today! Do you have a sales or marketing communications strategy that works for you? What tips or techniques can you share that work for you and your business?

To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.