Times of change
The world hasn’t changed. It’s always changing. And it always will be. Moreover, the pace of change isn’t linear, it’s exponential.
Consider technology. It took the telephone 75 years to reach a worldwide user base of 50m. It took radio 38 years and television “just” 13. It took the internet four years…
And what about internet products and services? Facebook reached 50m users in two years, while YouTube took only 10 months. Pokemon Go? 19 days.
What does this mean for your business? Well, if you think that the strategies you had in place a year ago, let alone 10 years ago, are going to work this year...think again.
Moments that matter
We can’t ignore the impact of digital disruption on our past, present and future customers, especially their decision journeys and buying habits. As a result, we need to consider the impact of technological change on the business development models we have in place.
Consumers now have access to such a vast amount of information, that the research and preference stages of the buying cycle can be much longer (and much shorter).
Per Google’s own research into the “moments that matter:"
As consumers now live online with their smartphones rarely more than a metre away from their hands, search, video and app usage continues to accelerate and evolve. In this environment, brands have the chance to take advantage of more audience signals than ever before.
As such, businesses need to be aware of where consumers are and how best to engage them at particular moments in time.
Modern marketing practices enable businesses to connect with potential customers in each of the moments that matter. Using techniques already available, it’s possible to connect the offline and online worlds, making the most of every opportunity not just to be seen, but to engage with buyers in relevant and authentic ways.
Key to this is the ability to measure the impact of various channels and understand their importance as part of your overall market mix. This is possible thanks to the data points that now exist everywhere, from smart home devices, to bluetooth beacons, to laptops and mobile phones.
What’s equally important is understanding that each channel has a particular purpose and needs to be treated with both specialist attention and a holistic understanding of how they all work together. By measuring each of them, brands can build a clearer picture of their customers and learn which channels to push and pull at which time.
The fact of the matter is that the same old routines just won’t cut it anymore. To survive, stand out and build sustainable revenue streams in the years to come will require a top-down rethink as to how your business engages both online and in the real world.
As the lines blur, measurement will become ever more critical and as you focus on doing what you do best, you’ll need to partner with leading technology and marketing firms to help keep you ahead of the competition.
What impact is technology having?