Daniel Vaczi
Do you ever get the feeling that your marketing strategy is an annoyance to your target market? There is a good chance that you are correct.
"Audiences everywhere are tough. They don't have time to be bored or brow beaten by orthodox old-fashioned advertising. We need to stop interrupting what people are interested in & be what people are interested in.", says Craig Davis the Chief Creative Officer of the worlds 4th largest ad agency.
This may seem like a foreign concept to some. You may even be asking yourself, what does this mean for my company's marketing strategy? Let's explore Davis' statement, and see what it takes to be what your target market is really interested in.
Old Fashioned Advertising Gets Avoided
First lets look at television advertising. Do you remember the days when we were forced to rush home, or set our VCR to record to see our favorite shows. We have evolved as humans and so has the technology we use.
Today, all we have to do is click a few buttons and our DVR is set to record an entire TV series. We now watch our shows when it is convenient, and without the commercials. According to Guardian research 86% of people skip TV ads. Why do you think that is?
Is it because we don't watch TV to see the ads? We watch TV for the shows we like, not a self serving marketing message. These ads interrupt what we are really interested in, so we cut them out.
The story is no different for radio spots, magazine and newspaper ads, cold calls, "direct" mail, and email spam. These are all interruptions to our daily routines, and everyone is finding ways to delete them from their lives.
Internet radio, RSS feeds, do not call lists, gate keepers, and spam blockers are making the job of the traditional marketer more difficult. With every new method of blocking these annoyances to our daily lives, the every day consumer rejoices. There has to be a better marketing strategy to connect with these individuals.
Be What People Are Interested In
Now that we have looked at examples of what interrupting people's lives may look like, lets look at the marketing strategy of becoming a point of interest to people.
78% of people will research products and services online before they make a purchase according to the Pew Research Center. People searching online are comparing solutions, reading consumer reviews, and comparing prices.
Many of these "researchers" are still completing their purchases offline, but they still start their information gathering and decision making process online. If your marketing strategy positions you to become the provider of this information, you have become what people are interested in. You have also placed your solution in their set of considerations. If you are bringing value around their topic of interest, they will be grateful, and you and, or your company will become viewed as a valued resource.
Creating the content that solves your target market's problems is a solid marketing strategy that allows you to become what people are interested in. Valuable content can take many forms like blog articles, pictures, video or webinars. Your target market is interested in your solution. Are you interrupting them with your advertising message, or are you providing valuable content that people are actually interested in?
Interested in a marketing strategy that allows you to become a valuable resource to your target market? Download our e-book on Inbound Marketing.
