Don't Become Mr. Shoehorn - Approaching People on Their Terms

by Ron Daly 

There's one of those guys at every party. Nobody's sure whose friend he is. Nobody knows where he got that leisure suit. And he's trying to get in on everybody's good time - jumping into conversations, telling jokes nobody gets that aren't that funny anyway, and insisting everyone do the macarena. He doesn't just want to enjoy the party and get to know people, he's got to have everyone's attention or he. Will. Die. 

His name is Mr. Shoehorn, and he's spoiling it for everybody. 

Mr. Shoehorn gets an email address

Why bother talking about this guy? Because he's everywhere these days - the Internet has given him a new place to thrive. In the past 20-25 years, email has evolved from fun convenience to necessary communication channel. But the one thing that will never change is the presence of spam. Sure, change all the policies and add all the filters you want, but it's not going to stop spammers - they'll just keep shooting it out there. 

In a recent article from eMarketer, consumers were eager to share what they wanted from an email marketing messages. The results weren't surprising: 

 

Most folks want information that pertains to their lives and the things they want. If you don't have an offer tailored to them and you don't understand their buying/spending/living habits, don't be surprised when they trash your message. 

From the same article, a list of reasons most folks don't bother opening email marketing messages points to "Shoehorn" types of senders:

• "They come too frequently" - Have you specified to members/interested parties that they'll be getting a message every <x> days? Maybe you should. If members get used to a message once a week and you shift that frequency to once a day without warning, they'll get frustrated with all the new email. Find the sending rate that works for your message type and stick with it. 
• "I am not interested in the product or service" - This is where a credit union (or any financial institution, really) should excel. Why can't you use what you know about members to cut through the static and deliver a clear message about next steps for that person's financial future? 
• "I do not remember signing up" - Is it clear to the member why they're getting this message from you? Do you stipulate why anywhere in the email? It's important to include a line about why they're receiving the message, even if it's as simple as "you are a member" or "you have a checking account". And yes, you have to let them unsubscribe if they choose to. That's the law. 

Mr. Shoehorn wants to "friend" you

Social media is going through a change of its own. What was once thought of as a time-waster and a day-to-day distraction is now the hot topic of every blog, trade magazine and conference seminar in the country. How do we draw in social media users? Is it worth it to do so? How can you do it without being off-putting? 

Another eMarketer article suggests that you're going to get more online spending out of heavy social media users. But how do you snag those users without being just another annoying sales-pitch-gone-wrong or just some robot that spits out info on sales and products? 

There's a good article from Target Marketing about the "rules of the road" one should abide by in social media. 

Some choice exceprts: 

• Social media is not your space; it is the people's space. You are just invited to the party—for now. So the first rule of social media is that it's not all about business. If you think of social media as a party [odd, since that's how we started this post --ed], you can apply the rules of etiquette to your social media presence and you can't go wrong...
• Who is ruining social media? Everyone with the "e-mail spam" attitude. Everyone who holds events that are just a prelude to an upsell. Everyone in it only for themselves...
  
• It's about showing your personality. Hire people to create and expand your social media presence who understand the social media environment...
  

I take some issue with that last point. Sure, if you're not tech savvy and you're not on board for using the technology of social media, get some help to get started, but in terms of content? Someone at your company should already be singing your praises...put them on the job of being "the voice". 

Is there a great example I can point to of a company that lets people get the outcome they want via social media networks and email? Dozens. Is there an example I could give of "Mr. Shoehorn"? Thousands of millions. But I think it will serve you better if I just sum up this sermon thusly: 

1. Send people things that matter to them AND to you.

2. Speak to people in a friendly, approachable way that answers their questions without a lot of "fluff". 

3. When they've had enough of you, let them go. 

Please work hard to avoid being Mr. Shoehorn. There's something to be said for a person who's persistent and friendly, but there's so much less to be said for someone who's unrelenting in their message and way too aggressive in trying to get you to pal around with them. It's no different in business and in online communication than it is in life. 

Comments or feedback? Have YOU ever run into Mr. Shoehorn? Tell us about it in the comment section.