The BV Blog

Has the time come to adjust the thought process behind your business plan?

My first job after college in 1973 was in the semiconductor industry. My second job was selling computer supplies door to door in New York City.

When I think back on that time in my life, I realize that it was pretty simple. We had no cell phones or e-mail, and only substantial companies could afford computers. The only way to grow my client base was to organize my prospect list and knock on doors. In the 1970s, the way we sold was very personal: door to door, face to face.

Fast forward 35 years. The information age, supercharged by the birth of the Internet, has consumed us. We are inundated with thousands of e-mails every month, computers call us on the telephone, and there are hundreds of channels available via cable and satellite. Information is everywhere - in our cars, on our cell phones, laptops, desktops, and PDAs. Acquiring information is no longer a problem, which also means that the ability to do so does not represent a competitive advantage. So, it’s safe to state that the communications infrastructure has been built, and the Information Age is over.

My claim is that the Age of Commitment is now here and, in a way, we’ve come full circle. To clarify, if you have all the information you need to run a business and the same is true for your competitors, customers and prospects, the playing field is level. The thing to do now is work on building more meaningful, long-term relationships, just like we did in the 1970s and for many generations prior.

The quality of the relationships you develop and nurture with people is still the most important piece of the business puzzle. It always has been. Most of us have just been a little too distracted by the flash and fast pace of the computer revolution to remember that.

Succeeding in the Age of Commitment requires that you learn all you can about the nature of commitment and what it takes to truly serve your current and prospective customers. It’s that commitment that will help you succeed in this new age.

Dan Molloy heads Molloy Business Development Group and has created a series of very unique and effective training programs designed to improve sales and leadership competencies. To learn more about Language Of Commitment training, read this or call 866/473-9000.

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Reading: it’s something you learned to do a long time ago. (I can barely remember learning the alphabet and how to sound out difficult words.)

When I was a kid, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were some of my favorite characters. I would stay up late at night, hiding under my covers with a flashlight just so I could finish one more chapter about them.

That enthusiasm waned a bit as I got older. Magazines replaced books and television replaced newspapers.

But reading is important, and not just for enjoyment. It’s important for success on the job too.

Think about your industry. How do you find out about trends or breaking news? Where do you turn to learn about new technology or applications? Do you have clients? How do you learn about what’s happening in their industries?

In our office, nearly everyone subscribes to several e-newsletters. Some are about marketing, like AdAge and MarketingProfs; others have a telecommunications focus. We also subscribe to client-specific items, such as health and sciences RSS feeds for our healthcare clients, or FMI daily Lead to keep abreast of changes in the supermarket industry.

A quick Internet search can yield a lot of great information, and most of it’s free. And don’t forget about the blogs! Your peers, clients, and even your competitiors are writing content that you should be reading.  

Yes, reading takes time, but the reward is being well-informed, and that puts you and your company in a better position to succeed.

Build some time into your day for reading. Peruse industry blogs while you enjoy your first cup of coffee. Scan newsletters for pertinent headlines before you zip off to lunch. And since you don’t really get anything done after 4:30 anyway, take the last half hour of the day to catch up on industry gossip.

 

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People who own DVRs (Digital Video Recorders) and access television programming online watch fewer commercials. A lot fewer, according to an Adweek article by Brian Morrissey:

“The TV industry often touts the fact that DVR owners watch more TV than those with only ‘live’ programming. Yet DVR viewers frequently skip the commercials. Over 50 percent of respondents said they ‘always’ fast-forward through commercials, and another 36 percent said they skip them at least three-quarters of the time. Fully 85 percent of respondents said they watch fewer commercials since they got their DVRs.”

Traditional radio is struggling with the same problem. Satellite radio and music services, along with the iPod and similar devices, have made it much easier for listeners to actively avoid, not just radio advertising, but its programming as well.

These examples serve as another argument for intensifying the focus of your marketing messages on existing customers. Concentrate your marketing efforts on an audience that’s more open to what you have to say, not those trying to avoid your message. Those folks already in your database don’t need to be convinced that you’re a fine, upstanding company. They already know it.

Chances are good, though, they don’t know everything you can do for them. So work to educate them about all that you offer with the intent of increasing customer share, not market share. You can do this easily with On Hold Marketing, TeleGreeting and Point-Of-Purchase Audio. These tools allow you to communicate cost-effectively with your captive audiences - those that can’t change channels or fast forward: your callers on hold and the shoppers in your store.

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A few weeks ago, A&E launched an unusual marketing campaign for their new “Paranormal” program.

See the article detailing the techniques here– Hear Voices? It May Be an Ad.

One technique that struck me is the use of Audio Spotlight technology. The name implies just that–an audio track is narrowly transmitted to a location, and only the individuals occupying the space within that “beam” can hear the message.

There’s been a lot of response to this particular method, and reviews have been entirely mixed. According to a poll conducted by AdAge, respondents were split 50/50 as to whether or not the technique was a good idea.

Personally, I think it is a GREAT idea.

It’s a genius way to use the Audio Spotlight technology in an interesting fashion. It’s not an effort at mind control or a some other dark purpose. It’s just a clever way to use clever technology to generate awareness. Marketing at its finest.

A&E found a terrific application for something that grocery stores and gas stations have been using for years. This type of audio technology, sometimes referred to and applied as point-of-purchase audio, has been cutting through the visual clutter of print and television ads, and reaching out to remind people that the detergent is on sale, or when they’re done filling up, to come inside and grab a beverage for the road.

Although, I must admit, had I experienced the A&E application, I would have felt slightly schizophrenic.

But most applications won’t have that effect. They will, however, produce results.

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