David Adesokan Damilare

The “Gains” by knowing your second customer The customer is that lovely, wise person who buys our stuff. Whether we sell a product, a service, an idea, a candidate, the customer is the one who buys. If we don’t have customers, we don’t have a business. When you’re doing business online, particularly using content as part of your marketing strategy, you need another customer. One who might never take out a credit card to buy from you but can still help take your business to amazing places. I call it the second customer. This is the person who shares your content, tweets your post, talks up your product, gives you a great review on services rendered, and helps let the rest of the web know they should be paying more attention to you. What the second customer can do for you The second customer has always been important-it’s that social connector who tells all his friends what a great job you do, or the fashion icon who makes your product an “overnight” But in the age of the internet, we have lots more connectors, each of whom has an audience, large or small, that they might share with you. ● A second customer might share your thoughtful content on Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Google+ ● A second customer might link to you, or run your guest blog post, and find you a whole new audience. ● A second customer might write a witty, compelling review that convinces buyers you’re terrific. ● A second customer might introduce you to the business partner who can turn everything around for you. Don’t great ideas just spread themselves? It’s lovely to think that the absolute best content we can possibly create, that our content will fly around the web on magic wings and find an audience. It’s lovely to think that, but it doesn’t work. The web is social. Always has been, always will be. It’s people who share content, people who talk up the best businesses, people who create the businesses worth talking about. Evernote did their part by creating a useful, well designed little application-it was customers (including lots of non- paying second customers) who let the world know how great it was. Apple did their part by designing the i pod- it was customers who spread the word. Then they did it again with the iPhone, the MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air. Second customers are tireless. They’ll roam the web - the entire web, not just your comfortable little corner of it - to find the perfect customers for your business. But you need to give them what they want. What the second customer needs from you The content connector needs some things from you. ● ● ● Your content needs to be good. Really good. Thin, weak, generic stuff won’t do it. If you don’t know how to create something epic, partner with someone who can. Your website needs immediate appeal. If it looks spammy, shady, or just plain hideous, connectors won’t want to send their audiences there. Above all, your content need to make connectors look incredibly smart and cool for sharing it. Smart connectors know that their first duty is to their audience. When you help connectors by giving their audience a great experience, you will be rewarded. In this globally hyper-connected world we’re in today, second customers are an invaluable way to find those perfectly lovable first customers.