Technology Is Killing Brand Loyalty and This Is What You Do About It
Times have changed dramatically. What worked yesterday in business no longer works today and you desperately need a new edge. There are so many marketing vehicles to choose from and each come with big promises so you don’t know what to do first, never mind how to do them effectively. You might be asking yourself, in order to get in more business do we spend more time on our social media campaigns or should we focus on email marketing- or maybe both? Someone tells you how big video marketing is becoming and you don’t know if that means to spend money on ads that run before other videos on YouTube or to create your own videos. The truth is, the vehicles you choose are not as important as your overall strategy. But before building the optimal strategy, it’s important to understand some of the challenges you face as a business owner or executive.
The Battle for Your Customer’s Attention
Whether you realize it or not, there is a war happening. A full onslaught for the attention of your potential and current customers. Those that do not know about this fierce battle are sure to lose, and those who do get the attention of prospects will also have the opportunity to win their hearts and minds which will lead to sales.
In the 1970’s researchers have said that the average person was exposed to roughly 500 commercial messages a day. The term commercial message could be commercial signs, brochures, emails, or any type of message from a business. In 1992 that number has grown to 3,000 commercial messages per day. Now, with all the technology available, the average person is exposed to as many as 30,000 commercial messages per day (according to Forbes).
This forces us to do two things as a consumer: 1) Ignore the majority of the messages, drowning out the noise. 2) Spend less time reading or listening to each message. The combination of these two approaches forces consumers to spend less time and attention on what your business has to say. Time and attention are two vital components in the relationship building process.
Think about it, as you’re reading this article your mobile device alone can be alerting you about an email, you might get a text message from one of your contacts, or you could be receiving a notification (advertisement) from one of the apps on the phone. As a matter of fact, we are constantly interrupted and easily distracted throughout our day… and so is your customer.
Customers Have More Options
The internet has connected your customer with every possible supplier, locally and globally. You’re no longer competing with 5 other companies that are listed in the yellow pages under your category, a simple Google search delivers your 4 million competitors right to your customer. If that seems troublesome, here are some additional stats worth paying attention to:
- 26,000 New products and brands are introduced every year
- 16-30% of consumers change brand loyalty in one evening of watching the commercials
- 74% of consumers buy outside of their favorite brand
We’re not just talking about spaghetti sauce. With technology costs lower than any time in history, your next competitor can be up and running in a day. Their website can be made in hours using Wix and it may even look better than yours if you haven’t made any updates in a while, they can have a vanity 800# with an auto attendant answering system through Grasshopper, and for a few pennies in a few hours they can look like a multimillion dollar company. Technology has created such a low barrier to entry in business that anyone and everyone can give it a shot and compete for your customer’s attention. More noise.
The Solution
Now that we understand the trend we also can clearly see where it’s going. Technology will only advance and as humans we will be sifting through even more information in even shorter amounts of time. As a business owner or marketing executive, it’s important that we change our approach to not only adapt to the current climate but to be able to thrive in future environments as well. I know the Gretzky metaphor has been over used and beaten to death in the world of corporate clichés, but I’ll do it anyway- We must skate to where the puck is.
Back to the beginning of this conversation. The dilemma isn’t “Which vehicle we should we choose?” Instead, the real question to ask is “What is our main marketing message?” You can throw away your USP because it’s not strong enough. You need to create a message that pierces through all the noise, grabs your prospect by the lapel so they know you’re talking to them, and tells them information that is so exciting it compels them to take action! What can be so powerful? Solve their biggest problem and simultaneously deliver their greatest fantasy- happiness.
Every product or service that every human purchases is just a vehicle that they hope will lead them to happiness.
Every email you send, every voicemail you leave, and every conversation you have with a new prospect should immediately appeal to their own self-interest. In a telephone conversation you have 3-5 seconds to create interest or at least pique curiosity to hear more. Same thing goes with all your communications. Attention spans will only get shorter and your message will have to continuously get stronger.
MindStorm will help you create a powerful message. Call 1-844-MINDSTORM (646-3786) and ask to speak with a Business Consultant today.