"why conversational marketing matters: engagement in the age of stratification" -...

Why Conversational Marketing Matters:Engagement in the Age of Stratification

Deane BarkerContent Management Practice DirectorBlend Interactive

Blend Interactive

EPiServer Partner since 2008

2009 North American Partner of the Year

Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA

Image by S.K. Photography

Image by Dean Franklin

@gadgetopia

Why this topic?

Conversational marketing is becoming more and more important to customers.

EPiServer has a great story to tell.

A Cultural Disclaimer

What is conversational marketing?

Un-marketingMarketing through dialogue rather than monologueMarketing which allows the prospect to talk backParticipating in a conversation about your industry, brand, or customer’s interest

Harmony Tweets

Very soft sellTargeted an interest of their pool of prospective customersEncouraged the community to talk amongst themselvesConnected to other communication

channelsInvolved other organizations

Why has marketing become conversational?

Marketing has stratified and technology is making it easier to cut out.Technology has brought us back to the classic marketplace where consumers converse with each other.

Big Point #1

Marketing has stratified and technology is making it easier to

cut out.

Integrated Advertising

The Commercial Break

Marketing Stratification

Stratification

Image by Matt Mechtley

Stratification

Content Ad Conten

t

Stratification

Content Ad Conten

t

Zenith Space Commander

Image by Jim Rees

The VCR

Tivo / DVR

RSS

AdBlock Plus

Traditional Model

Ad

Ad

Content

Traditional Model

Ad

Ad

Content

Integrated Model

Content

Ad

Integrated Advertising

Marketing has stratified

Technology has made it easier to cut out

Marketing has started to integrate back into content

The $1Million Question

In a world where consumers can pick the marketing they’re

exposed to, why would they pick yours?

Big Point #2

Technology has brought us back to the classic marketplace where consumers converse with each

other.

The Cluetrain Manifesto

“Markets are conversations”

Marketing isn’t changing. Rather, it’s changing back.

The relative isolation of the consumer has ended.

Consumers trust other consumer recommendations 78% of the time82% of customers who read reviews from other customers claim they were affected by those reviewsEight out of 10 customers trust brands more if they offer customer reviews.

What is a brand?

“The experiential aspect [of a brand] consists of the sum of all points of

contact with the brand…”

Wikipedia, “Brand”

The conversation is a “point of contact” you

cannot control.

A conversation is happening right now

about your brand.The only question: are you in

on it?

The Saga of Jeremy Hermanns

The Saga of Jeremy Hermanns

The Saga of Jeremy Hermanns

Conversation FAIL.

Conversations about your brand are happening whether or not you’re involved.There is value in participating in these conversations.There is also considerable peril.There’s even more value in initiating, hosting, and branding these conversations.

Case Studies

Thank You

http://gadgetopia.comhttp://blendinteractive.com

deane@blendinteractive.com@gadgetopia