In the 1800s, Charles Darwin made an extraordinary discovery in the Galapagos Islands. He uncovered 14 species of finches, where each of their beaks evolved over time in order to properly consume the food available on its island. This discovery ultimately led Darwin to the Theory of Evolution (or what’s also referred to as “Adapt or Die”), one of greatest revolutions of human history. Without the finches’ ability to adapt to the changing food supply, they all would have simply died out.
When you think about Darwin’s Theory of Evolution , you may first think of its original application to animals, but in our business ecosystem, it isn’t much different. Survival of the fittest applies in business as it does in nature, and in today’s corporate environment, the evolution of buyer behavior is causing the need for both B2B and B2C companies to adapt.
Marketing Evolution
1. Your Buyers Are Changing - There’s no doubt that the way consumers and businesses are buying today is different than it was 10 years ago. Even 5 years ago. Heck, even a few days ago. We can largely thank the Internet for this, and the constant emergence of new marketing communications channels such as social networking and mobile. The way businesses market to and sell to potential buyers has changed.- Buyers not only have access to more information, but information generated by other consumers, not just companies. This puts the buyer in more control than ever before.
- Buyers wish to consume information when they want and how they want.
- There is an increasing amount of resistance from being spammed by irrelevant marketing messages and gobbledygook .
ed and not sold.
2. Studies Show the Decline of Traditional (Outbound) Marketing - The societal move away from accepting and responding to traditional marketing – advertising, direct mail, telemarketing, etc. – proves the changing buyer is real. Studies show:
- 78% of internet users are conducting product research online 1
- 70% of the links search users click on are organic – not paid 2
- 84% of 25-34 year-olds have left a favorite website because of intrusive or irrelevant advertising 3
- Companies spent 17% less on trade shows in 2009 verses 2008 4
- US internet spend 3x more minutes on blogs and social networks than on email 5
This presentation contains dozens more stats that illustrate this shift:
“Search engines, blogging and other Internet trends have fundamentally transformed the way people and businesses purchase products, but most small businesses still use outdated and inefficient marketing methods.” states HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan.
...for religious American audiences
