Stimulus-Response Marketing

I always give pause when I wade into the marketing arena.  I am a psych major by education and a salesperson by experience.  Clearly that combination validates my marketing mojo!  Ok, maybe not but I’m still pressing forward.

I’ve seen a trend in the older sales/marketers I talk to about marketing campaigns – they seem to have a direct-response mentality.  To put it in psychological parlance, it is a stimulus-response mindset.  “I completed this one marketing thing and now I want to see monetary responses from the market.”  I am all for that response too, but it is far less common today.

Marketing in this present Information Age (or whatever the present descriptor is) requires a consistent message over time in multiple mediums.  Perhaps a better description is stimulus-stimulus-stimulus-stimulus-response.  Or even more stimuli.  You get the point.  Method has become as important as message.

One-off, laser-focused campaigns are not effective in today’s world of instant, ubiquitous information.  The better approach is to use a consistent message over multiple mediums.  A simple example would be a focused campaign carried out over email blasts, videos and websites.  We can help with these items.

The key is to put together a plan, lay it out on a timeline and be realistic about each step.  Some steps are simply for exposure while others are for response.  Realize that it is probably going to take some coordination and patience to execute a successful marketing campaign in today’s business world.

Bleeding Edge

I am a technology geek with one defining point – I am a fan of Microsoft.  I have been using their operating systems since Windows 3.1 and have migrated throughout the subsequent releases.  Every release including the abomination known as Windows ME.  I type this post on a laptop using Windows 7 which I have had since last year.  My opinion…it rocks.

Anyway, my enjoyment of bleeding edge technology has left me cut and bleeding many times.  That is fine for my business but unacceptable for one of my customer’s businesses.  This fact is something for which I am always cognizant in helping them make technology decisions.

Here’s the truth, most companies do not need bleeding edge, newly released, sparsely tested technology.  The liability (not to mention sheer effort) of changing technology leads to headaches of the highest order.  That is why our approach to IT is to look for the best return on investment.  Spending for spending’s sake is a poor technology strategy for any business.

Our approach is focused on leveraging the IT infrastructure you have today.  As more programs migrate to cloud computing, the need for localized, bleeding-edge technology lessens.  If you need assistance in this area, please contact us.