I had a great conversation with a friend of mine back east today who is a traditional Direct Marketing guy. He works for a great company that has all the iron you could want to develop amazing and intricate campaigns, but there are many that would consider him old school and even a dinosaur.
So the question has to be asked, in marketing, is technology a tool or a crutch? We live in a world that assumes we spend 24/7 online and should be marketed to accordingly. But in reality is this assumption correct?
Looking at this infographic from Mashable, you would think that the above statement is an absolute. But think about it, there are over 7 Billion people in the world and if only 2.27 Billion are online, that means 66% of the world is not.
Yes, Facebook can claim 900+ Million viewers, but that means that 6.1 Billion (myself included) are NOT on Facebook.
As we assume more and more that people don’t want to be marketed to other than online, we are opening up vast doors for our competition to capture greater market share. I am not arguing that digital, online marketing is dead or should not be part of an overall strategy, far from it. The ability to capture data and market share has been proven through this medium. What I am saying is that it cannot be a crutch or the only type of marketing one initiates.
The average person still needs to see your message 7 times before it registers and if they can see it through a variety of messaging channels and in different ways, they will be far more open to your call to action and become brand ambassadors for you.
Have a look at your marketing strategy as you head into Q4. Is it well rounded? Is it consistent? Does it truly represent your brand? Does it truly Get YOU Noticed!