saw this quote on EB’s blog and felt inspired…

“Consumers are in the midst of a conversation that isn’t ours. The race is on to grow ears to learn what they are saying.” —John Hayes CMO, American Express

it reminded me of my last post, and the statistics i saw that proved that my generation (and beyond) expects interaction. marketing has always been about relationships, but it’s evolved (and is ever-evolving, thanks to our pal the internet) into being all about conversation and constant interaction.

con·ver·sa·tion /[kon-ver-sey-shuhn] –noun informal interchange of thoughts, information, etc., by spoken words; oral communication between persons; talk; colloquy.
the ability to talk socially with others.

i’ve got news for you, folks. that’s not what “conversation” means anymore. “conversation” takes the internet (am i sounding like a broken record yet?), it takes new media and a completely new approach to marketing, advertising, and effectively reaching your audience.what’s new media? it’s not print and billboards (which are still great), newspaper and magazine ads (don’t get me wrong, they work), it’s not newsletters and commercials (not knocking these either).

new media is constantly changing based on trends, and right now, what’s “new” happens to be conversation – via text messaging, blogging, videos, social networks, you name it. your consumers are having conversations about your products and brands. and guess what. those conversations don’t likely involve you currently, now do they?  enter someone like me. i get how people communicate. i know what today’s consumers need and expect. i know how to appeal to them, and how to involve you in that crucial conversation about your product or brand. i mean, you do belong in that conversation afterall, don’t you?

society has morphed and evolved and is now expecting constant lines of communication. consumers are expecting interaction with brands, and to be on the forefront of your industry (or to “grow ears” as mr. hayes put it), interacting’s what you’ve gotta do. that interaction, that conversation, is what’s going to be the key in truly understanding what consumers want and need. it takes more than putting a witty ad out there, it’s about asking a question and actually listening to what your audience wants.

let me help.

ps. read this too. those folks at EB, they’re pretty smart cookies.