Or maybe I should say customers have changed, and the marketing world is proving very slow to catch up. What worked last year and the year before, is no longer working. The new world of digital has gone and done it again, and the end consumer has evolved on us again and leaving many a train wreck in its wake.
I certainly don’t know what caused it
There are a multitude of things that have transpired in such a short time period that the people are very different from what they were 1-3 years ago
- Covid has had a profound influence on everything. One really interesting point of note is the profound shift in how people treat their time. It’s like a light bulb went off and time became super precious for all of us
- Clickbait – everybody is sick of the BS that comes with and it’s like there was a straw that broke the camel’s back and people are turning off it in droves
- Education overload – people discovered that they can go and find whatever information they want at their fingertips rather than having eBooks and white papers thrust upon them – if I Really want to know something I’ll search out myself thank you very much
- Trust – is hitting all-time lows! Nobody trusts a business’s claims of being the best! When you combine this with all the cyber break-ins and scams, people don’t trust anymore like they used to.
- Algorithm changes – google, apple and Facebook continue to play havoc with ongoing changes that this author doesn’t believe are much in anybody’s interests except Google, Apple and Facebook’s!
This is just a small taste of the complexities of today’s marketing, combine this with many more and this all means that the marketing tactics that companies used historically that drove good results are no longer working.
We’ve highlighted 6 core aspects that must be included in any successful marketing campaign that haven’t been nearly as important in the past
1. Time is significantly more precious for everybody today than it has been
I feel like the world has finally got it through its head what only a few have truly understood, that time is your most important resource, and as such we all need to treat it as such. Don’t expect me to spend 20 minutes reading through a 50-page eBook, give me the synopsis in 15 seconds of how you’re going to make my life better. Better yet make it a video (more on this point later!)
2. Start on the right foot!
People want a relationship! They want (and are now demanding) that you add some value to my life before I’m going to pay you. All successful marketing campaigns today are starting off on the business providing value to the customer before they even contemplate paying for it. You need to start a relationship of giving before you can receive.
3. I’m a person
Treat me as such. What’s been really interesting in studying recent marketing success is the shift away from automation. People are sick of receiving 20 automated emails that have gone out to 30,000 people. They want engagement, intimacy and individualism – If I’m as important as you say I am as a customer, make me feel that way. Don’t automate me like I’m a robot!
4. Long-term valuable relationship
Everybody wants good long-term relationships that add value – and they are happy to pay well for them. But it’s got to be a relationship – it’s built on honesty, accountability, trust and most importantly adding value in exchange for money. Keep adding value and people will keep paying you till the cows come home
5. Buy from people they like!
This has always been the way, but us mere mortal marketers seem to have forgotten this. Continuing on from people no longer trusting brands, people still trust individuals. The most successful marketing campaigns continue to communicate the individuals behind the business, the real experts who deliver what the marketers promise. They use videos, and resumes and tips and tricks, and how to’s from the very people who are the experts at what they do, who have spent decades honing their craft. It clearly shows that the company and target audience have aligned values and personality – and that I will buy from every day of the week.
6. I don’t trust you!
Of the 100 businesses we’ve analyzed in the past 3 months, over 60% of them use the word “Trust/ed” in their main marketing message… “The most trusted…..”, “The ones that XXXX trust”, well guess what – I don’t trust you and you can rest assured your target audience doesn’t trust you. Show me, don’t tell me. Social proof is more important than ever. And simple testimonials no longer cut the mustard. When my real estate agent who was vastly incompetent has 487 5* reviews on Google, you can rest assured that people don’t trust reviews these days either. They trust case studies, they trust awards, they trust industry engagement, they trust great content and advice that adds value to me, and they help me that little bit.
