Dancing for Goldfish

Why competing for shorter attention span's won't work in the long run of Marketing

Every day I get a  series of calls, Messages, emails, you name it. Generally there in regards to condensing a story that was produced- with the intent on focusing toward either a niche Group of people, or the general public; hoping that by throwing a bunch of darts one will stick to the board.

The current direction of marketing is oversaturated with the Industry consensus that the average person's attention span is shorter than that of a goldfish. Uniquely enough, The rate of information retention is even worse. Having dealt with this for quite some time; I've often ask myself, and then eventually my clients "if we make the story too short, we can't get all the ideal information in there effectively." 

The premise of a desired sales pitch is obvious, The call to action is obvious, but we're not connecting with the audience as deeply in the same way. 

This may lead to a couple of sales (which are only comparable in market percentages to that of impulse purchases at a major retailer), but your long run numbers are going to suffer. Which means you'll end up spending more with a cheaper rate of conversion. The problem is you didn't take the time to connect with your audience no matter how broad or narrow that spectrum is.

Now with any market, there's eventually a breaking point, A turnaround point, or a group that does things differently and gains a greater market appeal over shorter period of time because they take the TIME to tell a compelling story. While biting the upfront costs for long run conversion.

Content is key as many people have come to understand, but valuable content is the Holy Grail of Marketing.

When a company or group work with a client that is willing to take the time, energy and resources necessary to tell a good story. Their rate of conversion will ultimately be significantly more than those who tell a quick-cheap-story designed to raise adrenaline.

Most people are under the impression that the market demands: 

Money now. Results now.

When in fact the brand growing route is: 

Story now. Results tomorrow.

When you take the time to connect with people in a meaningful fashion- versus spitting out quick deals, for faster cash. The long run results yield better results.

Building a brand is a lot like farming.

You want to test the soil (market), 

you want to identify the season best for your crops (what's trending, what's not), 

then you want to prep the land (survey), 

you want to plant your seeds (market test), 

you want to water your seeds (share results and target audiences), 

you want to keep watch over your crop/ maintain (market fluctuations), 

and eventually you want to harvest (make sales).

By not following these procedures, reevaluating strategy, identifying

market fluctuations and learning to build a brand; this collection is likely to capsize unsynced companies. 

In addition, wasting the client's money at no avail.

So in essence, if you're not taking the time to connect clients and customers in a meaningful fashion. In the long-run, all you were really doing was dancing for goldfish.

And Goldfish don't Blink.

(If you're a blog reader or Vlog watcher: Let me know if you have any thoughts)

Have a Solid Day!

-Steve