The death of traditional marketing

2011-10-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

If like me, you work within the marketing industry, be ready for at least 5 years of massive change. The choice of channels and media has never been more diverse. We have the ability to deliver bespoke messages to highly targeted audiences, create online ads that follow people around the internet and then provide detailed response rates to our clients. So putting messages in front of people is the easy bit. Delivering reach is no longer much of a skill. What is more challenging is connecting with people in a way that turns them into customers. The ability to create campaigns that connect is now what is required.

The power of word of mouth marketing is a given but now it has evolved and become massively amplified. Imagine, you are about to enter a restaurant, and before stepping inside one of your mates leaps out of no where and tells you the food is terrible and the service is diabolical. After you have recovered from the shock I'm guessing you would immediately think about going somewhere else. What if he then suggested a great alternative close by? Chances are you'd give it a go. This behavior is exactly what is happening online every second of every day and is only set to increase.

SMART technology is making people smarter and more informed about what products and services are on offer anywhere in the world. They can also quickly learn what friends, followers and other customers have said about the quality and value of what they have purchased and experienced. The lazy mass marketing campaigns of the past that incorporated a standard formula of TV, Radio, Press, Outdoor and ....”Oh and we better knock up a little website as well” are over.

Look at the recent campaign for Old Spice - 200 YouTube videos produced by Wieden+Kennedy in 48 hours. Time to accept we are all going to have to do more with less or change our revenue models.What about being paid on results? With Google, the ad world’s frenemey, offering hugely powerful media buying and research tools, all for free, it is hard to see how existing agency models can survive.

Marketing companies need to think like businesses partners focussed on helping clients to create better products and customer experiences to differentiate them from their competitors. It is not about helping clients make their products look great, it is all about helping them make their products really great.

Focus your social media activity

2011-02-09T08:17:00.000-08:00

Recently, some business owners I have been working with have been questioning whether they should be spending time on social media. If they are not sure why they are doing it then they need to stop as you can quickly become a busy fool. If you are wondering what this is all about then try and bring it back to a form of communication we have all grown up with. Think what prompts you to write a business letter. I am guessing that before you put pen to paper or start typing you will have identified the recipient, what you are going to say and why you are writing to them in the first place. You may be responding to a letter that has been sent to you or just might want relate a piece of news or ask a question. From the outset the letter has a purpose.

The same should be true of the social media activity you undertake on behalf of your business. Before you blog, tweet or update your status, think about who you want to reach and what you want to achieve. It could be anything from lead generation to brand building - as long as you have identified why you are doing it then you will have the chance to measure whether it has been successful.

For some practical advice on how to avoid wasting time on social media have a look at this blog post by Katie Urbain from Xpond.com

8020 Consultants

The death of traditional marketing

Focus your social media activity