So how do advertisers reach the 71 million “Millennials” in GenY that spend over 200 billion dollars annually and will soon replace the baby boomer generation as the largest percentage of the workforce?  The answer: Advertising can no longer be a group of old men deciding what is best for consumers.

According to the book, Trust Us, We’re Experts: How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles with Your Future, Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber attack the 20^th Century model of marketing and public relations for misusing their power as “experts” in the eyes of the consumer.

Products and services used to be validated using this “third-party technique”, where an industry would purchase the services of so-called independent experts (a.k.a. advertising agencies) to promote a message that would monetarily benefit a specific industry.  The advertising spin-doctors would then shape a message to flatter the product or service, while simultaneously discrediting or attacking the competition.  Sometimes they would even go so far as to suppress or manipulate problematic data about the product or service to make it “sell-able”.

But advertising has taken a turn – consumers no longer rely on the experts.  Not only do they not want to be told what to buy, they don’t want to be pushed into what to think, who to vote for and how to raise their children.

Today’s advertising is about the consumer deciding what they want to see and buy.  For example, according to a national survey from Arbitron and Edison Research, 48 percent of Americans 12 years and older have a profile on one or more social networking sites.  On Facebook, the most visited website, consumers can “like” a note or post a page. Advertisers code the site to recognize those favorites and use this information to target the needs of consumers.  All of the sudden on your Facebook page there is an ad for your favorite band on tour in your area or a new restaurant to try on your street. No more pop-up ads flashing shiny letters and “experts” selling you catchy phrases and manipulated data.

Advertisers finally realize that it’s not about how much spin they can put on a product or service to increase sales – it’s now all about YOU.

Determining who are the best prospects to sell your service to and reaching out to them in a way that makes them perceive you as the perfect match for them.

Today’s opportunity:

Bill Builder has a list of architects whom he wants to get work from.

Old School Solution:

Bill goes on each architect’s website, finds out what kinds of projects each architect does, sends out a customized email or direct mail to each one and follows up with a phone call.

Problems with this solution:

• Slow
• Labor intensive
• Information is only as current and complete as the prospect’s website. Bill needs to know what the architect is working on right now and what projects are in the pipeline because those are the jobs that Bill wants to get.

New School Solution:

Bill sends out an automated email campaign once a month with a link to his website (which shows all of the kinds of projects Bill has built.) Bill has a tracker on his computer desktop that notifies him when Art, one of the target architects, opens the email. The tracker shows that Art has now clicked to go to Bill’s site. A chat window opens on Art’s computer with a message,  “Hi Art, let me know if you have any questions…”  The tracker now shows Art exploring the restaurant renovation pages on Bill’s site and then he leaves the site. Soon thereafter, Bill picks up the phone, calls Art, and says, “Just wanted to follow up on the email I sent. I just finished renovating Chez Suzanne on Geary Street. How about meeting me there for lunch so you can see the quality of my work and we can discuss what you’re working on.”

Advantages:

• Automated monthly email campaign prevents “I’m too busy” syndrome.
• Know which of your prospects is interested in your service in real time via the tracker.
• Be able know what specific service your prospect is interested in right now.
• Use chat to initiate a relationship immediately. If you are not viewing your tracker when the prospect is looking at your site, there is a button that opens a form to ask a question which can be answered when you have time.
• Since you do not tell your prospect that you are watching their activity on your web site, they do not feel their privacy is invaded. Instead they think that you just happen to do exactly what they need done.
• Minimum time required with maximum results.

Summary:

Spend your time doing your business. Use your marketing firm to set up an automatic periodic marketing system and only spend your time on pursuing true prospects.