Why the traditional marketing playbook is no longer working

Just about every conversation I’m having these days is about much the same thing.

2022 has been a big year.

The world has changed. Society has changed. People have changed.

I would say more change than any year previously.

Right now, every single person I know is trying to process raft of challenges that impact at a global level and in their day-to-day world.

Post-Pandemic life. Economy. Politics. Social Issues. Mental Health. Burnout. Fatigue.

Not being able to buy eggs at the supermarket this week.
(In my case anyway, your local is probably out of other things!)

But at the same time, people are looking for hope, caring about the deeper things, travelling more, reconnecting IRL, and holding out for a better tomorrow.

Lots of flow on effects businesses need to consider as they share their message to attract new customers and grow their business.

People’s capacity to receive and process information has changed

(just think about yourself and all the things on your plate right now and how that’s impacted your mental state)

YOUR behaviour has changed.

How YOU are making decisions has changed.

So this means we need to DO things differently for our audiences as well.

People's habits, mindsets and purchasing behaviours have changed so much in the last 6-12 months.

This is so important to factor in when marketing your products or services (particularly in a digital environment).

Right now I’m encouraging businesses to stop relying on data from 1+ years ago to inform marketing decisions.

Another big mistake I'm seeing a lot of people make implementing tactics based on results and outcomes generated 2+ years ago.

Wondering why they don't get those same results today.

Unsure what else to do.

The need to "think different" (nod to Steve Jobs) and be ultra-strategic has never been more important than today.

And I would add to that to "think like your audience" is a great place to start.

How?

By listening to them, and putting yourself in their shoes.

Or as I like to say, putting yourself "behind their screen".

Imagine them sitting there, engaging with your stuff.

What are they feeling? What are they thinking? Where is their headspace at?
What else is clamouring for their attention?

OK let's zoom in and get super practical as we close this out. 

Think about:

1. Who you ideally want to be in front of?

Because the reality is it won’t be everyone.

Unless you’re super relevant, you’re going to be screened out.

So you need to dial in your messaging to be relevant to your specific audience instead of trying to appeal to everyone.

This is the era of ultra-succinct messaging.

2. How can you make your brand the desirable solution in that space?

Consider a three-fold approach so that you are:

"front of mind"
(think social media, media, email etc.)

"findable"
(how and where will you pop up when people are looking for what it is you do)

"favoured by fans"
(people who share your brand message with others – because people expediting their research and due diligence, and making decisions based on trust and referrals alone is a big thing these days.)

3. What can you do to make it "easy" to do business with you?

What do they need to know? What step do they need to take?

Don’t make them ask you for the basics.

Gartner recently published research indicating that 83% of business decision-making is made OUTSIDE of personal contact (i.e. face-to-face, email, phone interactions).

Are you giving people enough information What will they get from that?

Do they have to jump through hoops to find it out?

Make it EASY.

Finally, resist the temptation to follow cookie-cutter formulas or tactics – your audience can see right through that and it's putting them off. 

And that two-year-old marketing strategy that was done pre-Covid? 

Not saying ditch it completely , there’s probably a lot of valuable insights in there, but overlay it with a lens of what’s going on in the world right now.....

....and how people are feeling and behaving in the light of all the economic, political, social and lifestyle shifts that are happening at a global level.

Which brings us to the QOTT (question of the day).... 

How you could you be more creative, more targeted, more focused, more generous in your efforts to get your message to more people and build genuine connection?

The time to "think different" is now.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nina Christian is a Marketing & Brand Strategist who is all about doing marketing in a more connected and human way. She helps business leaders and social-change-makers use thought leadership content to build their authority and widen their impact.

She is the Director of Braveda, (est 2000), which was recognised as  "Best Marketing Agency" at the Australian Marketing Excellence Awards.

She is a Certified Practicing Marketer (CPM), a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute & AMI State Chair (Vic) and runs two businesses of her own.

She has a knack for simplifying the complex which comes from being a hands-on mum to five young children, and uses this to turn time-sucking activities into easy to follow systems and processes that get outcomes fast.

If you're in business or leadership I'd love to help you! Here's what we can do together. 

️ Get your message in front of more of these "right people" consistently by creating high-quality content that stands out, is strategic and moves people towards you.

 Infusing the right energy into your brand so it has all the feels and draws in the right people.

 Set up rinse-and repeat-marketing systems that work, and just make life and business growth so much easier. 

There are different ways to work with me based on your situation and with all of them you'll see rapid transformation in a month (Hybrid 1:1/group program, 1:1 Intensive, team training, corporate workshop). Book a chat with me here.