If I shout loud enough, will you stop and listen?
The traditional marketing purchase funnel works on that premise. If I shout at enough people, I’ll get a few responses and some business.
Today, the dynamics of marketing has changed. You see, attention used to be relatively easy to get, so I could shout at lots of people and receive some response.
Today, we live in a world of information overload. We have so much information, bombarded with so many messages, we don’t know what to do with it all, and there’s a direct cause and effect.
In a world where there is loads and loads of abundance of information, attention has now become scarce.
In order to get people’s attention, it’s no good just to shout. Your marketing has to provide your audience with value. In other words, marketing is no longer a means to an end, it is an end in itself.
Marketing has become a product in its own right.
What that means is simply this: Does your marketing provide your audience with value regardless of whether they’re going to buy from you right now?
So before you put your marketing together, make sure you give value to your customers!
There may be small changes to the spoken word in this transcript in order to facilitate the readability of the written English
Comments
The world is moving – from businesses shouting at their customers to the opposite!
Social media gives customers the chance to shout back – and not always, of course, in the most considered of ways!
I’m not sure these old or new ways of communicating are exactly perfect!
Thanks Adrian for your comments. I agree that today businesses need to ‘attract’ prospects and customers with value led communications. Social media has provided customers with their own media channels, that they will use to provide opinions on the experiences they have.
Interesting post, Grant. Will you please say more about “Does your marketing provide your audience with value? ” I understand it as “does the customer learn something or has a take away.” Am I on the right track? If yes, is that takeaway concrete (e.g., coupon, free book on topic, free session) or abstract (e.g., “a-ah moment which provides clarity, PLN expansion, learning a new skill).
Thanks!
Ariel
Hi Ariel, that is a great question. Value means, will they get something out of the communication regardless of whether a transaction is going to take place? In other words, even if I don’t want to buy from you right now, will I still find the ‘marketing’ useful. It could be tangible, for example a chance to ‘win’ a prize or a free download. On the other hand, it could be intangible, like an insight or a new idea. The key is that your audience will find whatever it is useful or interesting.
“Does your Marketing provide your audience with value regardless of whether they are going to buy or not?”
What a perfect summation of Marketing’s role in today’s information overload world.
Hi Chris, Absolutely. When running media channels, a business has to provide value to ‘the audience’ like any other media. Thanks for your comments.