Blog Insights

The rise of ad blockers, data breaches, and clickbait make it easy to think online advertising is coming close to running its course. With all the ways there are to consume online content, there are an equal number of ways to ignore ads. Adapting and innovating your advertising is important to avoid getting tuned out, because I’m here to tell you – advertising isn’t dead yet.

The approaching new year brings the question: “What new trends will push marketing forward next year?” The real answer is that no one knows – but paying attention to 2018’s trends allows us to make educated predictions.

These are my predictions for the top 3 marketing trends to expect in 2019.

One of the biggest challenges marketers and business owners face isn’t that they don’t have enough data to make good decisions – it’s that they have TOO MUCH data. The problem with having too much data is that the answers you need get buried under vanity metrics.

Matt Starnes, the host of Leading Results’s Marketing Monster Mashup podcast, sat down for a far-reaching conversation about analog vs. digital marketing with Jason Huddle, President at CabCo Media Group. 

I recently attended the BCUG/NAVUG Summit 2018 show in Phoenix with a client who was a Gold Level Sponsor. It was the first trade show of this size either of us had attended as sponsors, and I learned a lot – including how to stand out in a room of 100 other companies and how to network with partners. Among my learning, I made a ‘stop, improve, keep’ list of items to help us improve our marketing strategy and make the most of our sponsorship in upcoming years.

Have you ever been in a meeting with a prospect or had a conversation with someone interested in what your business does and they asked to see an example of your work? Most of you are nodding your heads, and your answer was probably, “Of course! I’ll send you an example later today.” Imagine if, instead, you could say, “Yes, of course, take a look at this.” Now you can continue the conversation and keep their interest instead of them revisiting the conversation hours or days later when they’ve forgotten why it was important.

I was recently asked to participate in a panel discussion about marketing trends and challenges for technology consulting firms. I thought the questions and answers were worth sharing.

I am continually surprised by business owners who haven’t stayed current with marketing trends, techniques, or technology … yet expect to pay pennies to hire a team of people who have invested in continual learning in the craft. (I know – I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am).

Which of these phrases best describes marketing in your tech company?

1. We suffer from random acts of marketing
2. We’re really good at drive-by demand generation
3. We think of marketing as arts & crafts