In-person meetings have become almost extinct due to our recent heightened state of health awareness. We do expect them to make a comeback as we return to a more business-as-usual mode, however, the old normal will probably never be normal again. So, the question is when will this begin to happen and to what degree?
Over the past few months, many of us have had our entrée into the ‘virtual’ world as we’ve slogged our way to teleconferencing proficiency with WebEx, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams, and the like. But is a basic teleconference really providing the marketplace the level of engagement it needs? We’ve noticed two interesting developments that have come to light with our new ‘distant’ way of doing business.
Attention
is scarce
In today’s environment, attention is a scarce commodity. It’s so easy to lose focus while teleconferencing. We’ve all pulled our cell phones down below the view of our webcam to check that latest email or text message and maybe even a news feed or two. Of course, this is all done while carrying the façade of maintaining attention. We all multitask. We’re all easily distracted. Hey, even your boss does it from time to time
Trust is more of a
challenge to build
We have clients in the building supply manufacturing industry, and we’ll use them as an example. They rely heavily on our digital mediums of marketing and advertising to generate new leads for their sales teams. Once a lead is qualified, they’ve historically relied on in-person meetings, primarily because samples have always played an important role in their traditional sales process. But as we begin to remove that ‘in-person’ component, there’s an element of the interaction that’s now absent – the handshake. This simple but meaningful gesture has quickly become a relic of the past and no longer serves as an opportunity to build that bond of trust.
What can we do?
As sales and marketers, we’re now tasked with rethinking the idea of what makes a sales cycle and the ultimate sales conversion successful. This will require all of us to develop new and improved creative solutions that move us beyond simply ‘meeting’ and enable us to ‘engage’ with customers. Here are a few of the approaches we’re taking.
Using video
Incorporating video to showcase your products, services, or even yourself is a great use of resources. It’s the best way of being there without really being there. Professional video production, while very nice, is not even a necessity in creating quality video with the advances in mobile phone capabilities. Don’t stress out if the video isn’t perfect. You can always start with version 1 and make upgrades when possible. Be sure to give customers a variety of paths to engage with your video assets, e.g., website, social media channels, blogs, and email signatures
Using animation
Animation and motion come in a wide variety of forms. We’re referring to leveraging animation in the form of GIFs on your email communications as well as PowerPoint presentations. Animation and motion help to draw the attention of readers, increase awareness and make a much more effective use of space for both promotional and educational messaging
Using audio beyond the sound of a talking head
Stale and boring presentations with an uninspiring presenter just don’t cut it anymore. A well written and concise, simple script can go a long way to making a presentation more meaningful, engaging, and effective. You can even step up your game with some professional voiceover talent given the right sales opportunity and environment.
The use of musical underscore is also a great way to create emotion within content. Traditional forms of advertising have been doing this decades so it’s nothing new. The strategic placement of non-lyrical ‘musical moments’ can make a big impact in engaging with your audience and keeping their attention.
Using gamification
Gamification is an incredibly effective way of engaging with your audience in a digital environment. It adds a whole new dimension to the process of motivating and training internal or external audiences, as well as building brand awareness and advocacy for products and services.
Everybody loves the chance to win, whether that’s a cash reward, some type of product offer or discount, points accumulation, or just bragging rights. We’ve designed game experiences for clients that help them drive activity and performance within their own organizations. Depending on your audience and your ultimate goal, we can help design a game that aligns with your business needs and drives engagement among your target audience.
Sampling
Several of our clients account for a large percentage of manufacturing in North America’s building supply industry. As mentioned earlier, samples play a huge role in the sales process within their customer base of builders, architects, designers, and homeowners. Given the current need for virtual interactions, these companies needed to reimagine sampling within their businesses.
The solution? DMS worked with them to incorporate high-resolution scans of materials for 3D-printing. This process includes routing of PVC-based substrates providing texture and depth which recreates the realistic look and feel of the actual product. The added benefit is the significant cost savings associated with shipment of what are generally heavy samples.
Digital forms of sampling are also becoming very popular as a way to provide visual examples of how a product will appear on the building structure. There are several great visualizer tools out there like chameleonpower.com that provide virtual reality options for changing the exterior view of materials on any structure with the click of a mouse.
