Just a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend Ingram Micro’s Marketing Symposium in Anaheim, California. I particularly enjoyed hearing Gartner Vice President of Research Tiffani Bova address the crowd. She provided a great perspective and talked about how things are getting incrementally better. IT Budgets are coming back. She reminded us that just a few years ago, “flat was the new up and now 2% is the new up.” Things are looking a bit better, but we can’t afford to lose sight of the shifting landscape wherein “the company that was selling us books online is now selling storage as a service.” The survivors got creative. Just because it looks like the economy could be on its way back doesn’t mean we’ll ever see that old status quo again.
It’s Time To Kick Our Messaging Habits
If we’re good at listening, we shouldn’t need to be reminded about this next part, but my favorite part of her presentation was her advice to marketers about messaging. It’s so easy to slip into messaging habits. We change things up for a launch or when some aspect of our offering changes, but how often do we really put our ear to the ground and see if what we’re saying resonates with the CIOs and CFOs we’re trying to reach?
Cost Reduction: Out – Growth and Innovation: In
If the primary messaging of your marketing collateral is all about how your products or services help reduce costs, according to Tiffani Bova, it’s time to do a refresh. The conversation, she says, is moving toward growth and innovation. Companies are looking for ways to expand, become more agile, attract new customers and create new products and services. “Do you have the right message going to the marketplace,” she asked the crowd, “or are you still talking about cost-cutting?”
Catching A Wave Requires Alertness
As business slowly begins to pick up again, it’s easy to let out a sigh of relief and slip into the patterns that only a feeling of relative safety allows for. But we’re not safe yet. We’re like surfers who have been sitting on our boards for a long time with no waves in sight. Now that we see one on the horizon, we’d better pay attention, get into position and prepare for the moment when it comes. Just because the wave comes doesn’t mean that all of the waiting surfers will get to ride it. That’s a privilege enjoyed by the ones who were ready.
