We all have heard the adage that the only certainties in life are death and taxes… kinda depressing, huh? But ultimately this adage boils down to the fact that everything changes – think of your marketing program this time last year, the year before. What’s different – your budget? Sales have shifted and your consumer has definitely changed.
Gone are the days that Don Draper’s Mad Men would “sell the sizzle, not the steak.” Consumers are looking for the cold, hard facts not fluff. As a result, buying cycles have extended, consumers are reading the fine print and evaluating things a little more closely. Before you could have been an available option, but now you’re competing for something else. The proverbial steak may not be filet mignon over prime rib – it might be hamburger.
The only way to ride the next change, which will come, is to stay in tune with your customers and recipients. We’ve talked a great deal this week about analytics, what to look at and what to avoid as well as some new opportunities to consider. The next evolution centers around your connection with your recipients – use this extended buying cycle to connect with your recipients, they’ll thinks change again.
