Every year at this time, just about every “expert” imaginable issues their list of predictions for the coming year. And if you do even a minor bit of tracking, the majority of those predictions will end up being way off the mark.
So, heck, why should I be any different? In this post, I’ll give you 6 of my own wildly inventive predictions. And I advise you to take them with a grain of salt as they could easily prove to be inaccurate.
But never fear. I’ll then give you 2 important predictions that are utterly reliable and will produce more sales and profits for your business with minimal effort.
Ready? Strap on your seat belt and let’s go!
6 wild-eyed, raving, possibly even usable predictions
#1 – Mobile marketing will prove to be far more elusive than many people imagine. Yep, I know that every marketing rag out there is predicting that 2012 is “the year of mobile”. But think about it, how many people really want to pay for a flood of marketing promotions being sent to their mobile devices? I would not be surprised if there’s a huge backlash and many people block these messages – or buy an app that will automatically block mobile marketing for them.
#2 – Social media marketing will work for some and be a total bust for others. For most businesses, the score on social media marketing is still an incomplete. True, it holds great promise. But in an informal survey I did with my clients and many marketing experts, few are making any serious money with social media marketing.
This isn’t surprising. People use social media to visit, connect with friends, look at pictures, watch goofy videos, waste time when they’re supposed to be working, and rant about their likes and dislikes. So it isn’t any wonder that nearly all marketing messages fall flat in that environment.
The trick, of course, is to engage with people in a way that moves them off of social media and onto your contact list. But that’s no easy task. The few that succeed at this will benefit from social media. All others will be spinning their wheels.
#3 – Rewards and couponing programs will continue to work – but primarily for the vendors who sell you rewards and couponing programs. When you give away a coupon with a deep discount, what do you get? A customer who is being trained to expect deep discounts!
These programs work well for the middle-man companies that operate them, but for the business that uses these services, they DO bring in more business, but it’s always the lowest level of customers possible. And those kind of customers tend to jump from deal to deal rather than sticking with you beyond the first sale.
#4 – Information overload is a fact of life. There are too many web pages, too many options, too many new technologies and too little time to sort through them all. Because of this, people will be in a continual overload loop and it will take superior messaging to have any hope of cutting through the fog.
#5 – Community will become more critical to making sales. This one may not be so wild-eyed, but it depends on how you go about building your community. These days, people are looking for authentic, true connections they can rely on. That’s why many forms of couponing, contests, games and poor use of social media fail to build a real community. They lack authenticity.
Building a community can be done through all kinds of methods including, but not limited to: social media, copy tone on your web pages, customer service, your unique and authentic take on a variety of issues, personally contacting customers and prospects, and what your prospects and customers tell others about you. Every one of these areas can be dramatically improved with a strong dose of authenticity. And it doesn’t cost you a penny.
#6 – Unlimited free traffic! There’s no such thing. Flee as quickly as you can from anyone who promises you this. If it sounds like a load of bull, I can promise you it IS a load of bull.
2 utterly reliable predictions you can take to the bank
#1 – Customer loyalty is the overlooked “app”. While everyone else is scrambling to find “the next big thing”, if you want a completely reliable way to lock in more sales, put more time and effort into developing unassailable customer loyalty. The best way to do this is to treat your customers exactly the way you’d like to be treated.
Don’t take them for granted – keep in touch with them, even when there’s nothing in it for you. Become the guardian of their trust. Don’t use sleazy or manipulative tactics regardless of how well you’ve heard they work. Once you breach your customer’s trust, it can’t be won back.
When you constantly strive to treat your customers and prospects exactly the way you expect to be treated by companies you buy from, you can’t go wrong. Few businesses use this simple, common sense approach. So you can dominate your market just by doing the right thing.
#2 – Content is still king. Because there’s so much competition for your prospect’s eyeballs, you can’t get by with skimpy or low quality content. If you really want to set your company distinctly apart from all competitors, you must have high quality content.
High quality content starts working by commanding your prospect’s attention. Then it moves you even further ahead by establishing your credibility. And if you do this enough, that credibility transforms into a powerful bond of trust. And people greatly prefer to buy from someone they trust rather than from someone they don’t know.
BONUS prediction
#3 – Giving people more than you promised is always a winning strategy. So here’s one more prediction you can take to the bank.
Marketing tactics and technology change in a nanosecond, but marketing fundamentals never change. What his means is that understanding what truly drives your market to make a positive buying decision will always trump whatever media or technology you’re employing.
And by extension, this can easily be used to reduce the amount of time and money you invest in marketing while dramatically improving your results at the same time. How? By mastering just a couple forms of marketing media or technologies and ignoring all the rest.
When you apply solid marketing principles to any form of marketing media or technology, you’ll always be ahead of the game. And by focusing on just one or two forms of media or technology, you can truly master them, get the full advantage of this mastery, and leave your competitors wondering just what hit them.
So what’s your take? Do you agree, disagree, or simply don’t give a hoot? Leave a comment below and let me know.
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Thank you Bob.
I like the last bonus point: To over-deliver to other people! I am now doing this in this year!
Thanks Bob, I really appreciate your insites and trust that they are right on. I just want to thank you for all the great content you have shared with me over the last months, keep up the good works.
Mr Serling,
Mobile Marketing & social Media were not what I expected to see on your prediction list for 2012.
Although I may have to agree with why you suggest they could end up as fails.
I think many of us know that there are specific ways to utilize marketing mediums for the most impact however we also know, as you mention, it can be very hit and miss.
I’m not big on couponing unless it’s a special promotion because you are right, people will begin to expect big breaks and rock bottom pricing. In my experience it leads back to not being able to qualify customers the right way. In the end, couponing may work for the short term or deal sarcher type customer but ideally, we want customers for life.
Someone once told me, “You’re not looking for every customer out there, nor do you want every one. You only want to work with the right clients and that’s why we qualify”.
I also like your take on #5 and Authenticity. That is a Must! Well put Bob and Thanks for reminding us that these basics can not be ignored. We tend to lose sight of the simplest techniques that help the most, especially when it comes to those around us on a regular basis. Stay authentic.. Oh yes, that works for me…
Your reliable predictions are also right on target. Again, basics and fundamentals never change like the schemes, software and technologies tend to do. I plan on working more on customer loyalty, providing value and above all…exceeding my customers expectations every chance I get.
Obviously I didn’t add much of value to this post, I basically just agreed with most of what you said. Maybe next time, you could share something we could debate on..lol
Thanks again Bob for sharing your Predictions for 2012. You’re a Wise Owl in my book.
To Health And Success in 2012..
Cheers from Wyo!
By the way, I could not find where to follow this thread. Is there an RSS feed or a way to be notified of future comments?
thanks for nice input. would like to know more thanks. looking for some professional consultations for building my buisness.
Fantastic A-1 Article Mr. Serling!
I’m going to share this with my like minded Friends.
You really hit each point square on the head. I could not agree with you more on everything you shared. The skill based approach is always the key to authentic success. People who don’t value skill based approaches will always end up chasing the next new thing.
Thanks again for sharing this.
I heartily agree with your comments on mobile marketing. I don’t want them on my phone and can’t imagine it anyone else would, either.
Most social media is a complete waste of time. The comments I see are never going to lead toward any sales. There are some small little businesses that it works for – but they’re the kind that work mainly with friends.
Hey Bob,
I totally agree with you on the mobile marketing advertising. There is so much buzz going on about how this is the next big thing, but I know as a phone owner, I hate those ads that appear. A lot of companies are going to be throwing good money away.
Regarding customer service and delivering more, imho, it’s always been that way and always will be.
Andrew
I agree with everything you said. Unfortunately, it took a lot of wasted time to figure some of these things out.
Given that less than 5% of the people who are writing for the internet are producing good content (my best guess), how do you find them quickly, while avoiding the rest?
Hi Eugenia,
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Unfortunately, there is no quick and easy answer to your question. Because anyone can put any kind of information they want online – and many millions of people do – it is almost impossible to know what is reliable and what isn’t. One good way is to get the opinions of people who you know and trust. Another method is to subscribe to ezines and blogs and then follow the author’s writing for a couple of months. If it appeals to you, helps you and seems authentic, those are good signs.
Bob,
Your content is second to none. The reason I continue to read your emails and blog posts is because you constantly deliver high value content. The same holds true with this one.
Regarding your predictions, I really can’t disagree or strongly agree with any of them. A prediction after all is nothing more than a personal view point. However, I do see a lot of truth in what you stated.
My feeling is like you mentioned, that too many businesses keep trying to jump on the next hot marketing trick and they forget about what’s really important, sticking to the basics. No matter what new advertising or marketing technology becomes available on the market, there will always be those fundemental elements that will determine the success or failure of each one.
For myself, I find that no matter what new methods become available, I have to determine if it delivers the AIDA formula. To me, there is nothing more foundational than Attention, Interest, Desire and Action in all aspects of marketing and advertising. When a tool is missing one or more of those elements, that usually means it’s likely to fall short of producing long-lasing results. When you break the AIDA formula down to each step, you’ll notice that they always have a role in good quality marketing.
Businesses and professionals should keep the basic principles of sales in mind when deciding on what new tool to use in their arsenal. If it doesn’t supply the whole AIDA formula or at least a part of it, I would pass and look for something that does.
My prediction is, 2012 will be no more special than 2011 or any year prior to it unless companies learn and apply the basics. New technology, social media and all the rest should be nothing more than leverage tools to help us apply the fundementals.
Hi Bob,
Thanks for your 2012 marketing predictions.
I always enjoy reading what you have to say.
I think a key strategy for business success is to develop a community of people who know, like and trust you and are willing to hear from you on a regular basis.
You have done this well by providing people on your list with a lot of added value information regardless of whether they are paying clients or not.
You also personally respond to my emails which I really like. (It makes me feel special and important. )
I think a major part of customer loyalty is how you ‘engage’ with people so they feel valued and special.
I have just read a helpful book on this topic called ‘Unmarketing-stop marketing and start engaging’ by Scott Stratten. http://www.unmarketing.com
I found this book useful as Scott talks in great detail about the importance of engaging with people using a variety of different methods. He comments that Social Media can be a great way to engage with people and build a good relationship with them. (However it does take time to do and you have to be authentic at the same time.)
I think we also have to remember that some of the people that we have in our ‘community’ of followers, subscribers etc may never buy our products and services. However they are still willing to hear from us on a regular basis because we add value to their lives in some way with our communications.
And the good news is that people who don’t buy (but know, like and trust us) can still refer us to people that do become paying clients.
A nice quote that summarises a lot of your predictions is this one…
“Treat your customers like lifetime partners.”
Michael Leboeuf
Best wishes for a wonderful 2012
Graham McGregor
Totally agree about mobile marketing, good content will always be KING……
Bob,
Your astute predictions seem correct.
However, I would add one concept:
creativity…… in every aspect of marketing.
My inbox eveyday fills with marketing and biz opp offers.
I’ve noticed that I pay more attention to offers and programs
that have one or more of the following:
1) A photo or cartoon caricature of the author or sender so I know he’s sticking his neck out and standing behind his program;
2) Have some humor; humor is missing in business;
3) Third party testimonials; especially if there is a head photo and his/her email/website in the testimonials so I know it was not made up; very strong is a video testimonial.
4) A newsletter or email opt-in so regular messages come to me with with more useful
information increasing the chance of a purchase.
5) Anything creatively different. One promotion stands out in my mind; it used
cartoon figures all over the page.
A JV promotion with all the above would be strengthened.
Lee
Hi Bob!
Thank you very much for this insightful post. I agree with you completely about social media. Facebook and the likes were designed mainly for entertainment purposes and people who hang out there want to connect with friends and have fun instead of being bombarded with marketing messages. For businesses, social media should be used as another tool for building credibility and authenticity and building a following instead of trying to sell at all costs.
Well put. And I agree with all your predictions. I have avoided mobile marketing for the very reason you suggest. People are increadingly using their smart phones for social activities, but I doubt they want them clogged with promotions.
Social media I have yet to embark on for my business, but that is in the mix this year. I suspect my target market – tradespeople who start their own business – don’t yet use the internet for research but I suspect they may socialise on FB etc.
Enjoy reading your reports. They’re always on an even keel and heading in productive directions.
Mobile media, Social media still center around web pages. They should still point to your web page, where you have the ability to tell and sell everything you want.
The phone books are still being delivered in very large piles, but nobody seems to use them anymore. I’m getting at least 80% of my new business from the web sites and some Facebook contacts.