Staying Ahead of the Marketing Bandwagon
WHERE HAVE ALL THE PIONEERS GONE?
Who's taking marketing risks these days? And are you monitoring their success? I consider myself an early adopter of technologies, though I confess I spent endless hours building a now-obsolete MySpace.com business site and ACT customer database. To avoid wasted time on potentially obsolete technologies, many marketers find themselves dabbling a little bit in a lot of different marketing programs, social networks, and word-of-mouth campaigns. After all, you can take the same amount of dollars you might have poured into a single direct mail campaign 10 years ago and spread that out over a dozen or so media tools today. Of course, given the imminent burn rate of time and resources, you'll likely find yourself being the jack of all campaigns, but the master of none.
I attended a workshop in February, sponsored by Kelly King Anderson of StartupPrincess.com and featuring Keynote speaker, Seth Godin. During Q&A, Seth was asked, "Which social marketing programs are most worthwhile, and which ones will eventually go away?" Seth's response: "Many of them are worth while...but not all at once." He went on to say, "Pick the tool that fits you best and offers the most value to your customers, and master it." For many, this notion can take on a lot of resistance. After all, nobody wants to sink all their time into a tool that might get gobbled up by a different tool in 6 months.
RISING ABOVE THE CLUTTER
For me it comes down to the noise factor. Similar to the cereal aisle that screams for attention, but only increases the white noise of clutter, companies trying to "have a presence" in so many marketing programs will simply be overlooked, thereby weakening the perception of their overall brand. To this, I say, 'Take heart that every technology today will one day be obsolete.' Good companies and brands become good because they endure by adapting. As an experiment, think of your favorite product... that same product likely utilizes a very different technology today than where it started. When a product or service goes dark, it's because it didn't provide value at a level that its audience expected it to. Good marketing is conceived independent from technology, and only then can technology accelerate it and help break down cost barriers of getting to market and staying in the lead.
IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO THIS
So then, what single tool will you master in order to get your message to resonate? Is your sales cycle too lengthy for Facebook? Is your sales team competent with virtual events? Is your management team adept at blogging? Can you reach your best audience on mobile/SMS devices? If so, maybe Twitter or a mobile app is the right tool. YouTube business channels can leave a lasting business impression...for better or worse. Newsletters or podcasts can be timely, but only if you commit ample time to quality content.
I concur that it makes good business sense to monitor several marketing channels to better listen to the voice of your best customer, but being the best at the best channel will move you well ahead of the vacuum of the marketing bandwagon.
By Jason Steed :: Bio
@jasonsteed On Twitter
linkedin.com/in/jesteed On LinkedIn
Jason is the President and CEO of Targa Media Inc., a Utah-based marketing and design firm. Jason places emphasis on customer profiling and relationship marketing through Web and print loyalty campaigns, social media, and events. Clients include Logitech, Women's Business Center, Departments of Health and Education, Yale University, Allegiance, Lifetime Products, and others. Jason is an active participant with the Women Technology Council and heads a Talent Pool of 30 individuals who share the same client loyalty-centric philosophies.
Who's taking marketing risks these days? And are you monitoring their success? I consider myself an early adopter of technologies, though I confess I spent endless hours building a now-obsolete MySpace.com business site and ACT customer database. To avoid wasted time on potentially obsolete technologies, many marketers find themselves dabbling a little bit in a lot of different marketing programs, social networks, and word-of-mouth campaigns. After all, you can take the same amount of dollars you might have poured into a single direct mail campaign 10 years ago and spread that out over a dozen or so media tools today. Of course, given the imminent burn rate of time and resources, you'll likely find yourself being the jack of all campaigns, but the master of none.
I attended a workshop in February, sponsored by Kelly King Anderson of StartupPrincess.com and featuring Keynote speaker, Seth Godin. During Q&A, Seth was asked, "Which social marketing programs are most worthwhile, and which ones will eventually go away?" Seth's response: "Many of them are worth while...but not all at once." He went on to say, "Pick the tool that fits you best and offers the most value to your customers, and master it." For many, this notion can take on a lot of resistance. After all, nobody wants to sink all their time into a tool that might get gobbled up by a different tool in 6 months.
RISING ABOVE THE CLUTTER
For me it comes down to the noise factor. Similar to the cereal aisle that screams for attention, but only increases the white noise of clutter, companies trying to "have a presence" in so many marketing programs will simply be overlooked, thereby weakening the perception of their overall brand. To this, I say, 'Take heart that every technology today will one day be obsolete.' Good companies and brands become good because they endure by adapting. As an experiment, think of your favorite product... that same product likely utilizes a very different technology today than where it started. When a product or service goes dark, it's because it didn't provide value at a level that its audience expected it to. Good marketing is conceived independent from technology, and only then can technology accelerate it and help break down cost barriers of getting to market and staying in the lead.
IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO THIS
So then, what single tool will you master in order to get your message to resonate? Is your sales cycle too lengthy for Facebook? Is your sales team competent with virtual events? Is your management team adept at blogging? Can you reach your best audience on mobile/SMS devices? If so, maybe Twitter or a mobile app is the right tool. YouTube business channels can leave a lasting business impression...for better or worse. Newsletters or podcasts can be timely, but only if you commit ample time to quality content.
I concur that it makes good business sense to monitor several marketing channels to better listen to the voice of your best customer, but being the best at the best channel will move you well ahead of the vacuum of the marketing bandwagon.
By Jason Steed :: Bio@jasonsteed On Twitter
linkedin.com/in/jesteed On LinkedIn
Jason is the President and CEO of Targa Media Inc., a Utah-based marketing and design firm. Jason places emphasis on customer profiling and relationship marketing through Web and print loyalty campaigns, social media, and events. Clients include Logitech, Women's Business Center, Departments of Health and Education, Yale University, Allegiance, Lifetime Products, and others. Jason is an active participant with the Women Technology Council and heads a Talent Pool of 30 individuals who share the same client loyalty-centric philosophies.
posted by Jason Steed at
1:54 PM
