In the previous post, we looked at hot marketing trend #1 – Use Stories to Cut the Clutter – presented by expert panelists at the NJ MarComm Summer Networking Event. Here are a two more of today’s most important marketing trends that were revealed during the discussion:
Trend #2 Winning the Moments that Matter
When my sister-in-law KK and I get together, one of us will eventually say, “I wonder about…” or, “I can’t remember where I saw it, but…” at which point she’ll say, “Wait! I’ll Google it,” and whip out her smart phone.
KK is a perfect example of what NJ MarCom panelist David Blair, a Google digital marketing solutions executive, described as “a monumental shift in behavior,” one in which people are increasingly online to find information and solutions. He presented these statistics:
- One-third of media consumption is online
- Over 1 billion searches are conducted every day
- 72 hours of video are uploaded every minute to YouTube
- 400% increase in mobile searches in the last year
- 71% of web users watch online video
- 39% of web users spend 1-5 hours watching video
- YouTube is the #2 search engine
- YouTube is inherently social: people share videos as well as make them
What this means, said David, is that the old way of marketing is completely obsolete. The traditional sales and marketing funnel is now twisted. There are many more touch points where you need to have a presence, engage your audience, but not constantly push your message.
People are not only looking online for information, they’re looking for insight, inspiration, empathy, and a solution.
To make the web work for you, you need to connect with your audience at the right time, at the right place, and with the right message. At Google, they call this “winning the moments that matter.” What this means is that your communication pathways have to be well thought out and you need to actively orchestrate connections across key touch points.
Trend #3: Customers Are in Control
If it’s so easy to look things up – just Google it, like KK does – what is getting lost? Retention, said David, and comprehension of what we marketers would like the audience to understand. The control is in the customers’ hands, not ours.
Search comes first, before purchase – so, for starters, you need good search engine optimization (SEO). But you also need to look at where the communities are who are interested in your products or services. Segment these communities, look at each segment’s behavior and then put yourself in that segment’s mindset. Think about what you want community members to do with the information you’re providing. Then tell stories to start the conversation with that community.
The key here, noted David, is that organizations need to listen to the community and then start the conversation.
The Marketing Advantage Takeaway: You need to understand your customer’s buying process in depth and know where they’re getting their information. What do people need to see or read from you and when? In the Marketing Advantage post, Letting Customers Have Their Say, you’ll find tactics for starting the conversation and listening to your customers.\
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