Members | Support This Site | Logout

Home   Newsletter   Tutorials   Columns   Articles

You May Already Have Access To Customer Secrets

Counter-Googling - the next marketing wave?!?. Counter-Googling is using search engines to do background research on individuals. [Roland Tanglao: KLogs]

I've integrated Google and numerous other search engines into my customer relationship management system, for years, it has helped me do background research before sales calls and meetings. I highly recommend you use public information to better understand the needs and desires of your customers.

Is this spying or even ethical? While this concerns some customers, it is totally ethical to use public information to improve your value to specific individuals. However, this isn't a tool for sending unsolicited sales pitches. If used incorrectly counter-googling can hurt business relationships.

Proper uses of counter-googling strategies:

• Verify claims made by individuals in job interviews, sales meetings, and common interactions,
• Monitor multiple media sources for details on a particular company, competitor, or product,
• To prepare for sales presentations, face-to-face meetings, incentive programs, and gifts,
• Complete contact information including address, website, phone numbers, and correct points of contact,
• Gather corporate actions through public records and corporate filings,
• Identify company interactions with target customers, partners, and other strategic media,
• Determine customer preferences before product delivery or offering a specific solution,
• To investigate additional details about an existing or new relationship,
• Discover general customer interest in a particular type of product, solution, or topical concern,

You will be amazed what you find, however, use modern research techniques to verify information and insure accuracy. When I do a search on Justin+Hitt, I find most of the articles I've published, old press releases, and some guy who runs track that is not me. Verify everything before you enter it into your system or use it for making decisions.

/ bi-crm | business-strategy /

By Justin Hitt at August 15, 2003 4:51 AM  Subscribe in a reader