Being a geek, I am a big Star Wars Fan. Star Wars movies are basically stories about the battles between good and evil. Just like religion may say, “May the Lord be with you”, Star Wars says, “May the Force be with you.”
Star Wars even has its own national day, May 4th (as in “May the 4th be with you”). But did you know that just 7 days later is national “Twilight Zone” day?
The Twilight Zone
Back in the 1960s, the TV program was called The Twilight Zone. It was an anthology series that explored fantasy, science fiction, horror, and psychological thriller elements.
It was a vehicle to confront the moral issues of the day, with episodes concluding with a surprise ending and a moral message. It blended thought-provoking concepts with entertaining storytelling. You would never confuse The Twilight Zone with a documentary or news series.
One thing is for sure: it was a show that made you think without telling you what to think or how to think.
News, politics, and religion have always been competing factions that have tried to shape how and what people think about each other and the world around us.
Without trying to make a point or pick a side, it's safe to say that news, politics, and religion can simultaneously create unity and division. You could argue that this is not the goal, but it is designed to bring people into the fold and keep them there.
The New Twilight Zone
In today's complicated new marketing and media world, it can feel like we are living in a Twilight Zone.
The first front is the polarization of content. It goes beyond simple political parties or which news outlets you choose to get your information from. It is being fed to us through AI algorithms based on what we choose to interact with.
I work hard to provide my audience with simple, positive, and educational posts through quotes and images. I try my best not to let my personal beliefs resonate too much as I want to leave the interpretation to the viewer. Yet, people feel compelled to interject their views through comments and emojis. Most people try to interact with humor or insight, but all it takes is one person slanting a comment to pro this and anti that and the knives come out, and it becomes a limited digital rumble.
Unless someone gets personal, I let it flow because it's not my desire or job to moderate or interject what I believe into the conversation. Yet, I believe the algorithm does pick who sees what I post.
There is a saying that goes, “Believe what you see, and don't just see what you believe.” Another saying says, “Enragement equals engagement.” I am not saying that all social media is designed to piss people off, but it certainly keeps some people on a platform longer which means the platform profits more by selling more ads.
Marketing is about getting people to become aware and engaged and building trust. If you work in a vacuum, then your messages are delivered more organically to the recipient. But when you try to use a delivery platform like a social media or search platform, your message has additives of other content surrounding it and the timing as to how and when it's delivered.
You may be seeing success, but it's coming from within a twilight zone where you see what you believe.
The Remedy
It's impossible to avoid social media and search as business-to-business marketing tools. What helps is preemptively and actively using more direct and one-to-one methods to help build that know-like-trust, which are the foundational building blocks of business.
The Year's Twilight Zone
We are in the part of the business year that is like another Twilight Zone. It's the two months between Halloween and New Year's Day.
If you are in the consumer market, you are primed for people to be in a good mood and spend a lot of money on themselves and gifts for others. If you are in the business-to-business market, you are trying to finish the year strong while the people you sell to are winding down.
Some people in the consumer space have a set budget, while others will test their credit limits. People in the business space are either trying to conserve spending or are under pressure to maximize their use or lose their budget.
You may be in a twilight zone, where you must appeal to conservative or liberal spenders in the consumer or business space. And NO… I was not trying to enrage you with a political slant! We are talking BUSINESS!
Although people and businesses are winding down, you have a job to do. Conservative spenders may be looking forward to the start of the new year, while the liberal spender needs to act fast.
Either way, you may have to find a way to target each person according to their needs. One thing is for sure. You can't rely on algorithms to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time.
Sending the wrong message to the wrong person at the wrong time may cause enragement that turns into the wrong type of engagement… a block, unfollow, or unsubscribe.
The Remedy
If you have not already segmented, do your best to identify how each customer fits into both of these models. For the New Year preppers, your messages should prime the pump to get ready to start the new year on a high note. For the use-it-or-lose-it person, try to communicate that you are the right choice to buy now because you can deliver faster, cheaper, or better.
Closing Thought
No one can predict what 2025 will be like for business. AI will continue to grow in power and popularity, but how will your clients and audience use and adapt to it?
We are already hearing rumblings from clients that search will become less influential, and we are already seeing a decline in business-to-business social media use.
That means that websites will need to become less complex yet more content-driven. Email will become one of the most effective delivery platforms, but the messages must become shorter, more focused, and better segmented. Social media will continue evolving but become more noisy and less trusted as ads and algorithms try to bring people into the fold and keep them there.
If the goal is to move businesses forward in the coming year, it's our job to help people “Believe what they see, and not just see what they believe.” That will take a more focused human-to-human approach to our business-to-business marketing.
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Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about business-to-business sales and marketing today! Do you have a sales or marketing communications strategy that works for you? What tips or techniques can you share that work for you and your business?
To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.