I write about this because although there is a lot of talk about technology and data and how marketing is changing. I’ve covered it in this column numerous times just this year alone. But what hasn’t changed is a ritual that happens every day – the pitch. It all comes down to one human being understanding the ideas of another. It may be in person, or via a website or e-mail, maybe a short video or a billboard outside their office window.

Spiker Insights

The most stressful moment in our lives happens daily, the pitch. We’ve all heard that the average sale begins with seven “nos.” So, a lot of us are getting it wrong. This is going to become a larger problem moving forward. Think of how the job landscape will change in the future. Jobs that can be replicated by an algorithm will disappear. Creativity is a vocabulary many more people and companies are going to have to learn to understand, and more importantly, value.

There is always a need for a continual source of new ideas. People get bored fast these days and are always wondering what’s next. So we as marketers are going to have to speak the language so we can create and shape the world we want. If we don’t, the world will be shaped for us and we know how that usually turns out for us.

WTF – What’s The Future? Good question. To us, there is no doubt that digital marketing is the future. Thousands of people join different social media communities and use different social media platforms to share and consume content − your content if you have mastered the skill of digital marketing.

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Every brand wants to develop a strong foothold in the online marketing world. But digital marketing is evolving every day and one must keep up with the latest trends in the world of digital media. But, most brands aren’t staffed to stay current, let alone look ahead to plan for tomorrow.

Digital marketing doesn’t require much investment like the traditional methods of collateral and magazine advertising did. There are many benefits of being present in the digital marketing world; the best one being lead generation. When you have an online presence, you are able to reach a huge targeted prospect base in one go, which would not be possible otherwise. The probability of getting maximum conversions and generating targeted leads from various social media channels increases tenfold, maybe even higher.

If we can be of assistance with a digital marketing program, give us a call as we are frankly pretty good at this, and getting better everyday.

The Facts

Weirdly we try to appeal to absolutely everyone in the universe, saying nothing that might alienate even the tiniest micro-segment, and this guarantees that we actually resonate with no one. Instead of widening your net, narrow it and focus on the audience who would be your best customers. These are your people and you need to communicate with them with what they expect and want to hear from you. Sounds simple, but time and time again marketers want everyone − and they can’t have everyone.

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Two things define your ideal prospects:

1. They’re the people MOST likely to purchase your product or service. Not a little more likely, dramatically more likely for a whole host of reasons.
2. They’re the customers most likely to love you once they do buy. This is not the same as the first group. They’re the people for whom your products or services are a perfect fit.

Ideal prospects don’t just differ from “pretty good prospects” in one or two ways; they’re different in about a dozen ways. Once you can focus in on who your best prospects are, every marketing decision you make becomes a lot clearer and you aren’t refusing to sell to anyone else, you’re just laser-focusing on ideal prospects. Others loitering nearby will hear that conversation, and some will be compelled by it to become ideal prospects themselves. Still others will continue to approach the edge of your sales funnel, and some will fall in.

If you need a little help in identifying and communicating with your best prospects, feel free to give us a call and let’s discuss your situation, as we may be able to help you

81% of individuals have been convinced to purchase a service or product by watching a brand’s video. Or when a video and text are used on the same page, 72% would rather use video to learn about a product or service. It’s time to switch up your video strategy, and implement one rather than waiting for an occasional drone footage that may come in from a customer.

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Humans are emotional, story-driven individuals that love to be emotionally stimulated. Laughter, excitement and curiosity are all evoked from videos, or as I like to call them “Films.” Even though video has been around for decades, there has never been more demand for video by consumers than what we see today. The problem is that much of it is terrible, boring and a picture book rather than using the power of video to entertain and inform. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then video is worth 1.8 million words.

A couple of facts on the strength of good, professional videos:

1. Four times as many people would rather watch a video than read.
2. Viewers recall over 90% more of a message after watching a video than reading.
3. Embedding video on landing pages can increase conversion by 80%.
4. Video content is 40 times more likely to get shared.

If we can be of assistance with a video or film, please feel free to contact us. You can see some film examples on our website: www.spikercomm.com.

Research studies report that half of all U.S. websites are over three years old and are so slow-loading that they are turning people off from even looking at them. Patience runs very thin in today’s “I want it now” mentality, with Amazon and others promising delivery by this afternoon.

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When your clients and prospects go online, it’s critical that they have a positive encounter with you. Today, your online traffic is being turned off by slow and outdated websites, intrusive banner ads, and an overall clunky user experience which defeats the purpose of getting online customers and prospects. Many of these issues can be addressed today if you are willing to invest in updating your online presence, anticipating their viewing habits, and understanding how they prefer to interact with you − which is online, if you can handle that.

98% of consumers and prospects start their conversation with you via online. Websites and social media have made cowards out of us all. We don’t want to talk to anyone until we spend a few minutes online to become “experts” on you and your brand before we even talk to you. Sad but true.

If we can be of assistance with this or any other marketing issue, please feel free to contact us.

The Facts

Amazon sold more than one million smart-home devices (Alexa) on July 17, the second day of its 36-hour Prime Day event, making it the biggest sales day for smart-home devices in the e-commerce giant’s history.

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Amazon has been pushing aggressively into the smart-home market. Some sources claim these devices are now in 25% of all U.S. homes. As I’ve written several times already this year, Alexa is getting smarter and smarter, and we are all getting more comfortable with allowing her to handle more tasks for us.

I can’t stress enough that it would be our recommendation to get on board with Alexa and get comfortable with talking to a machine, making requests of her, testing its limits. Your clients and potential customers will be relying on it for recommendations if not now, in the very near future. Buy a couple of them, keep one for yourself, and let your management team experiment with Alexa so everyone in a decision-making roll is comfortable with Alexa. Alexa is going to be game changer for all of us.