The world of business absolutely fascinates us because it is all about customers.
We also love technology because it helps us find, remember, serve and continually woo and wow our customers. CRM (customer relationship management) principles, systems and software are beginning the boom period among smaller businesses. (We prefer the term “smaller” because that is a way to say “less than midsize or large.” It’s 300 employees or fewer. The truth is, most of the smaller businesses I visited had 7 to 30 people --or their decorated work stations, there.)
While CRM is nifty and cool, it is often APO (the Art of the Painfully Obvious) that tells us what customers want or will do next. It was just a few years ago when we saw the first iPod. In fact, it was the month after our national tragedy on 9/11/2001, when iPod came into customers' hands and ears. More and more, you saw those iPod players and earphones attached to customers. Now there are millions.
Why, then, would we wonder what podcasts are all about? They are here.They are now. Again, let’s apply some APO. One of the most mainstream and respected journalism products, The Christian Science Monitor presents a primer on podcasts on December 10, 2004—“Podcast Your World."
If you want to get 5% smarter by the time you finish this blog, get up to speed on podcasting and check out the links in the story for The Podcast Directory that neatly organizes the thousands of podcasts for you by interest area and gives you the instructions for dowloading special software (free) to tune in to podcasts.
If you want to boost that number to 10% smarter today, depend on our own Duct Tape Marketing Channel champion Zane Safrit to demonstrate exactly how and why podcasting will redefine and boost your smaller business.
Our heros of journalism over at the Christian Science Monitor write: "Many observers expect podcasts to become as diverse and niche-oriented as the world of blogs. In theory, listeners will be able to pick and choose from a menu of shows that cater to their interests. They'll also be able to subscribe to downloads that provide news from the stock market or updates on developments in a particular industry. And one will soon be able to access podcasts on a standard-issue cellphone.”
Did someone say cellphone? Now you, dear blog participant can play the APO game. How many cellphones have you noticed, lately? Can you put the two concepts together now? Podcast plus cell phone is information for the people, by the people and completely wrapped around the needs, interests and time to listen, of the all-powerful customer.
This how customers are going to get information-- their way. In case you slept through the dawning of the Information Age, here’s a news flash. The customers took over the world. They are now in charge. Everything is their way, or else.
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