Is it customer acquisition, customer retention, customer referrals, or surprise and delight?
25 years ago, marketing was simple. You would take out an ad in the Yellow Pages, big or small depending on your budget, and then you would wait for the phone to ring. You might have some salespeople seeing customers face to face, or you might participate in an expo or conference. If not, that was your marketing plan for the year.
Would you agree that marketing in 2023 is very different? I’m not going to list all of the channels available as well as the endless tools. It’s a lot of noise, confusion, and changes that happen so fast that even experienced marketers find it challenging.
I was in Melbourne at The Customer Show last week and was very surprised that most things on offer are digital and AI-oriented. After spending a day at the show, seeing clients, and meeting with old friends as well as new ones, I walked away thinking that regardless of the era, human connections and interaction are irreplaceable and very valuable. Regardless of what we sell, we are all in the relationship business. I love using clever tools to facilitate meaningful conversations, hence I have been called Mary Poppins on many occasions.
I always ask myself: would they remember me when I walk away? What about 1 or 3 months later? What do I need to do to stay in touch with the right people?
The favourite part of my role is coming up with ideas and creating tools for our clients to stand out, be memorable, and stay top of mind. When you are top of mind, you are the tip of the tongue, right?
Creativity and original thinking are very important in this process. We can’t simply copy what our competition is doing or produce the same old, same old.
With the end of the financial year just around the corner, would you take this opportunity to add a human touch to your marketing? Why wait until Christmas when everyone else is doing it and it’s predictable?
PS: “Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else ever thought.” – Albert Einstein