Recently I attended a seminar that was delivered by a very sharp speaker, Nikki Pett. If you haven't heard her speak, make it a point to do so – she's brilliant! Her topic, "BAMM: End Cold-Calling Forever," was exceptional. She echoed some of the points that I speak about regularly in my blog, seminars and articles. However, one point resonated more than any – listening and the attention span of the average person. I was so dumbfounded by her comment that I did some research to validate her statements. The findings were profound.
She spoke about people becoming devout listeners and being engaged as one of the essential skills that one should develop to make a significant difference. Have you ever been in a meeting where someone takes over, talking incessantly, and when he/she finishes to allow others to speak, he/she then disengages by checking emails and texts on the smartphone?
In doing my research in order to validate what Nikki mentioned, I found the following: according to the website StatisticBrain.com, our attention spans have decreased significantly in recent years. In fact, average attention span in 2000 was 12 seconds and in 2013, it decreased to only eight seconds. Another interesting note was that the eight-second time frame was one second less than that of a goldfish!
In her presentation, Nikki spoke of the "E.V.A. Principle" and that all people have this common need: to feel Engaged, Valued and Appreciated. This brings me to the point: what are we doing to ensure that our clients and prospects are Engaged, Valued and Appreciated? It’s up to us.
When we think about the various tools and methods we use to communicate with our clients and prospects, it would serve us well to keep these statistics in mind. It is no surprise that our clients are younger, smarter and more savvy about ways to communicate with us and their peers. This is why social media sites like Instagram and Pinterest are so valued – a picture is worth a thousand words, and these social sites do just that; the pictures quickly tell a story.
Are our own websites engaging? Do they tell a story? Do they draw the user in and create a unique user experience? When we know how people are engaging with us we can adapt our messaging and the way we deliver our message. If you were to take a moment and review many of your competitors' websites, would yours be considered one of many or unique and different?
Audience engagement also was discussed at the recent PPPCanada conference. During a panel discussion, "The Future of the Industry," moderated by Jae Rang, MAS, one distributor panelist noted that her website has been stripped of product and now only shows creative case histories because she felt that it was her job and responsibility to do that research for the client.
And what about interaction with our marketing? Engagement Marketing is hot and many programs I have developed along these lines have produced amazing results. Consider this last campaign that won a GOLD Pyramid Award from PPAI. This campaign was specifically targeted at law firms, resulting in an astounding 60 percent appointment rate. As you can see in the photo, it was a visually remarkable – and directly relevant – presentation that took quite a while to create. The brief language, "Now you be the Judge, Judge for yourself" and the inclusion of the gavel, inside a presentation box designed to look like a briefcase all combined to immediately generate interest and intrigue – in under eight seconds.
By understanding the target audience and focusing the messaging in a way that resonates with that audience you create a greater opportunity to capture that audience's attention.
People want to feel engaged and appreciated. Remember, when you take their valuable time to share or discuss a topic, make it meaningful. Your success depends on it.
Until next time… ears open and engage!
Cliff Quicksell, MAS, has been involved in the promotional marketing industry for over 30 years. He is the recipient of over 25 international sales and marketing awards for innovation, creativity and his contributions to the industry. He can be reached at cliff@quicksellpeaks.com or 301-717-0615.