Our focus for the past few issues has been about the hot new strategy of “engagement.” Some gurus have gone so far as to suggest that CRM should be changed to CEM: Customer Engagement Marketing. I admit that I was leaning towards that idea because most consumers don’t want a relationship.

Guess what? Your customers don’t want engagement any more than they want a relationship. What they want is everything their way not our way. Marketers today are doing what marketers have always done and that’s to get in consumers’ faces to capture share of mind, voice and maybe market. We’re just trying to utilize all the new technologies to make it happen and it’s getting more and more difficult. We talk about micro-segmentation. We talk about being relevant. The challenge we are chasing is a new breed of consumer, who, frankly, does not want to be chased except on her terms.

Here’s a case in point… I am Chair of our Church’s Nominating Board. We have a relatively easy job. Find five members to serve on our Board of Deacons and five to serve on Church Council. We have over 1,200 families so this should not be difficult. We meet and discuss qualified church members, boil down a short list for each group and begin making personal contacts. And, that’s when we get the wake-up call. The number of rejections is staggering. The biggest reason we get as rejections is “I’m too busy.” We get it from retired people. We get it from men. We get it from women. Then we get the push-back that they will consider it if they can have certain assignments or if they can skip meetings and just stay involved via e-mail. The worse part is that when you call people they don’t answer their phones and take days to call back and then apologize saying they are so busy.

Dan Zak wrote a wonderful article in the Washington Post last week. He pronounced that we are a nation of entitled BRATS, comparing us to the characters in reality shows like The Real Housewives of Orange County.” He aptly notes “In real life we want what we want and we want it now. No delay. No aggravation. No hassle, pain-free, our way, right away.” Then he drove home his thesis: “Consider this paradox: Things are becoming more instantaneous in an era when delays are rampant and increasing. There are faster flights and cars but more people in airplanes and on the roads.”

While companies continue to put more emphasis on customer service, customer expectations continue to rise. Thanks to www.findanythingrightnow, where consumers can get quick turnarounds and instant gratification, we have identified the standard expectation.

The Marketing Implications

Engagement is not a marketing strategy that is going to bond your brand any closer to your customers. In fact, we could see the opposite effect. Try to get into the customer’s “space” when they don’t want you there and the risk of rejection is high. Those of you trying to sneak in to their space through social networks are at risk. Those trying to build private brand networks will get some early adopters, and trial, but few brands beyond Apple have solved the riddle. Come at them through unwanted technologies like mobile marketing and e-mail and there is not only a risk but the negative word-of-mouth discussions will do more harm than good to the brand.

Am I full of doom and gloom? Absolutely not.

The Sixth Star strategy we created four years ago when we launched these weekly e-newsletters is more relevant than ever. Reward your customers for their continued patronage and stay connected with them using creative analytics to drive home messages that will influence the next sale. Be upfront with your customers. And, above all, keep it simple and always make it easy for every customer to do business with you.

The other key point that everyone on your team has to realize is that some of your customers are smarter than they are. In marketing, we know that everyone we deal with is either a design genius or copywriter. I continually counsel our team that when a client calls with ideas on how to improve a creative or promotional piece, listen to them, thank them and don’t just pay lip service to them. The same is true in customer service centers. We sometimes have the attitude that customers are dumb or brain-dead when they call. Well, here’s the Brutal Truth… when someone calls, it’s because they have a problem. The cold hard fact is the problem probably exists because we, the company, did not do a good enough job explaining whatever it is that the caller does not understand.

If engagement marketing is going to work and if we want to really build relationships with customers, it’s not about pushing out our messages. It’s about pulling them in. Right now, too many marketers have it backwards.

This week, look for some entitled Brats. Start by watching your team and how they interact with your customers and between each other. Spend a day with customers and a day watching customer service interactions. Think about whether you are really making it easy for your customers to do business with you. If you’re not satisfied with your review, you know what to do.

It’s going to be an exciting week. Fill out your brackets and let March Madness begin.