Our switched-on, online, always-on world means we’re constantly competing for attention, even when we’re not! Everyone, from potential clients, to job candidates, to competitors, can discover who we are and what we do, whenever they like and without us even knowing. On top of that, when we’re actively marketing our businesses, our audience’s browsers are already full of cleverly targeted ads, their inboxes overflowing with offers, and their social feeds full of links to pithy content and invitations to connect. So how does a customer choose between a host of suppliers with essentially similar offerings?

Easy as it is to think that this differentiation dilemma arrived as part of the digital package when the developed world signed up to the World Wide Web, this is not a new problem.

Think about it. When it comes to acquiring, nurturing and retaining customers, we’re all facing the same issues as ever we did.

You still have to reach the right prospects with a relevant message. You still have to determine who you are targeting, and why (and with all today’s digital tools at your disposal, there is no excuse for not researching your prospects in the minutest detail). You still need to decide what it is that you want to say about yourself, and whether you’re going to tailor that message for different audiences, or play the numbers game and broadcast it far and wide.

And you still have to stand out from the competition.

Anyone who has ever sweated over their cv or laboured over their LinkedIn profile knows that selling yourself is one of the hardest things to do – and to get right. It’s no different for organisations. One particular client of mine, who briefed his creative team to devise a new business campaign for the agency, found himself endlessly rejecting their carefully crafted ideas as dull, unoriginal and far too safe – quite the opposite to the pitch and campaign work they created for clients. In frustration, he sent the entire team to the pub and (whilst reminding them to drink responsibly), told them not to come back until they had something braver, more impactful and memorable. A few hours later, a less guarded and inhibition-free team came back with so many great ideas that it was hard to choose a winner!

So attracting a new audience is still about having an exceptional idea. Still about creating an impact and still finding the cut-through among everyone else’s noise.

And not to take anything away from the enthusiastic adoption of much-hyped modern-day marketing techniques, I find that no matter how many new-school terms, methodologies or three-letter acronyms come along, the underlying marketing principle is still the same. What is “inbound”, if not marketing that seeks and elicits a response? What makes ABM or social selling techniques so different from those of 1-to-1 direct marketing, or even time-honoured sales practices? And when it comes to awareness, you still need a 1-to-many, broadcast approach to achieve the reach you need.

So if you’re worrying about which new digital toys to buy, think first about what you want to achieve with them – and don’t assume your existing toys can’t do new tricks.

Take traditional disciplines like PR, who many now see as outdated. I say they absolutely still have a role. Experts at finding – and creating the angle that previously editors, and now social media platforms, love to share, good PR professionals are engagement gurus, and are spinning stories as brilliantly as they ever did. And direct mail, far from living up (down?) to its “junk mail” reputation, can do a great job of cutting through the digital clutter with some creativity, wit and relevant targeting.

All I’m saying is that techniques aren’t effective just because they are shiny and new, they’re effective because they are based on solid marketing and relationship-building principles. Which haven’t changed. What for example are you going to do when you’ve succeeded in getting your audience’s attention? How are you going to make your next move count? If your ultimate aim is to secure a meeting, then if you’re relying on your prospect clicking the right CTA button in another piece of content, then in my view you risk squandering the opportunity you’ve painstakingly created. Personally, I still defy anyone to find a better engagement channel than the good old-fashioned telephone. There’s no better way to strike up a rapport, get your prospect talking and start revealing all the nuggets of information you need to convince them you’re worth meeting.

If you’d like to find out more about making the most of those priceless opportunities you’ve worked so hard to achieve, then please get in touch. I’m always happy to talk!

Annette Donnelly

Owner

The New Business Partnership

T 01460 241596

M 07736 074421 E annette@tnbp.co.uk W www.tnbp.co.u