Trendspeak

Love it or hate it, email is here to stay. In most B2B environments it is a way to communicate with teams, quickly get back to customers, check with sales, and approve the latest version of that press release that needs to be done for the trade show that starts Monday.But managing email rather than it managing you could be one of the most powerful marketing moves you make.Merlin Mann from 43folders.com explains how.He advocates “making sandwiches instead of just taking orders.” In other words, treat email as orders that need to be processed and thrown away rather than just collected as a task in and of itself. In this video, delivered as part of Google TechTalks, Mann speaks about a process that starts with basic but bold principle: getting your email box down to zero. He explains more about how to do that in the video and has suggestions on shaping the strategy around your own needs.But here’s the B2B marketing point: information is the mainstay of our business. If checking email, rechecking email, and checking it again dominates communication then something is wrong. What’s striking about Mann’s talk is how down to earth it is. He wants people to get past the inbox, and respond with a quick note, a phone call or (gasp) face-to-face communication. He also points out that most messages, while they seem urgent in the moment, really aren’t and could benefit from more focused thoughtful responses.This would bring sanity to any business, but in the world of B2B it could have a unique impact. Most people in B2B are wearing many hats and email tends to be the nexus for those roles to converge. By containing email as a communication tool rather than the main driver of tasks, you create time to focus on what’s really important in your business.In other words, while getting your inbox to zero may not reduce the number of hats you’re wearing, it may help you wear only one at a time.In addition to watching the video linked above you can also view the slides from Mann’s presentation. (Link)