Recent Trends in Marketing

By Carl Woolston • March 9th, 2009 • Email This Post • Print This Post

This last weekend I had the opportunity to speak to a group of entrepreneurs and business professionals at The Thomas Jefferson Education Forum in Salt Lake.  I want to give you some insight as to what I talked about, but first I wanted to welcome those of you who were at the event to the blog.  It’s good to have you around.  I know I speak for Steve as well, when I welcome you to the community.  For those of you who were not there, there was an amazing atmosphere of growth and vision.  It really charged me.

Three things have weighed heavily on me over the last few months and with this opportunity to speak, I took the time to share some of my thought on significant trends, and what we can do to adapt to these trends, and not react.  I spoke the the three points that I mention shortly below.

Technology has transformed relationships between businesses and customers

The rules of business have changed.  We used to go to the yellow pages to find information, now we go to the internet.  We used to read the newspaper that was delivered to our front porch, now we read news on-line.  If you’re playing the old game, wake up.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to catch the eyes of the consumer

With the change in technology, customers now have a choice.  In the old days, based on location and availability, you only had a few menu options.  Nowadays, if you have an internet connection, you have an all you can read and access buffet, anytime, anywhere.  For example, I’m writing this post from Cancun, Mexico.

A powerful example of this is in the financial services industry.  For the last ten years or so, advisers have marketed to consumers by sending a postcard or nice letter inviting them to a free dinner.  The dinner of course was so that they would have your captive attention while they talked to you about finances.  This model has changed in the last year, even before the economic downturn and the turmoil of the financial markets.  Now,it just isn’t working anymore.  As a side note, financial advisers should have been implementing the Hub Mentality so that they had engaged networks of followers they could be leading through the change.

Once you have eyeballs you have to keep them

The game and trends in marketing and business success have been lead to a significant point of leverage.  And that leverage is database. Database is king and it isn’t going anywhere soon.  You have to seize every opportunity to get permission to connect and then continue to build relationships through your hub.  Note, that technology is a facilitator of relationships and not a replacement for people.

Technology is a massive tool that allows us to connect, stay in touch with, and to influence.


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