The New Marketing Playing Field

It is becoming harder all the time to reach our potential customers, grab and hold their attention and then create within them the desire for action.

They are bombarded by messages from all angles and have heard all the tired rhetoric and sales jargon repeatedly and, frankly, they are becoming resistant to it. Like a flu strain that has been exposed to the vaccine too many times, they have adapted and are now resistant.

This means that our marketing has to become savvy and smart as well. Things are changing and we have to adapt – or die.

The age of the campaign is pretty much over.

One size will no longer fit all. With the wide choice of models and options available to buyers we need to create customised and almost personalised content and approaches to suit a closely defined target group.

A one message delivery method is not good enough.

Actually it never has been, but the large number of options now available to consumers to access information and opinion from is hard to keep up with. Not only are there new delivery methods appearing but popularity varies and changes between demographic groups significantly.

Sales and marketing now need to be working together in one unit.

In a world where prospects are anywhere from 57% to 90%+ of the way through their buying process before even wanting to see a sales professional, both the sales and marketing roles have changed dramatically. Working in silo’s will kill a business so they must have the same language, customer centric approach, be judged by the same results and sit next to each other in all things.

So what works?

1)      You need to stand out in the crowd. Experts in their fields that have the authority and reputation will win hands down. Your personality and message has become the key.

2)      Fine tune your brand so you stand for something they can identify with and need. People flock to a hero so do not be afraid to have an opinion and put it out there to be found.

3)      Once they have found use we need to demonstrate the numbers we have already put on the board as proof that we are the right person or company. Make it relevant to them in their situation. Give real reasons why their lives are better with us and be aware of the BS detector that everyone has built in. This is where you build trust.

4)      Stories are as powerful now as they ever were – tell them! Make them relevant and touch the prospect at a deep and meaningful level.

5)      Clients now find us so we have to be where they look. They are willing to get on your bus but they expect it to stop at the bus stop of their choice. Because of this we need to influence as many information sources as possible from social media to content rich articles to the traditional marketing material we have always handed out.

6)      Once we have attracted them we need to build integrated and seamless multiple marketing steps as they gain information and become more comfortable with us and our offering. Prospects are often shy of ‘sales pitches’ and will put away if not approached correctly.

All this means multiple smaller campaign style marketing actions aimed very specifically at different target markets. You need a good understanding of what makes a potential client tick and how they want to be reached and with what message.

One simple format we have used for many years is a ‘5 Step Sales Process’. Basically it is a simple ‘fill in the gaps’ document that allows you to build a multi-step process that can combine aspects of a marketing or sales process. It is based on a well-worn piece of research that says if you can connect with your prospect five times on the way to the sale, you will increase your chances of completing the business by 87%.

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