Marketing Outlook 2006

Adapted from Marketing News January 15, 2006

It will not be advertised, publicized, direct mailed, telemarketed or demonstrated at a trade show.

It will be podcasted, Web seminar-ed, provided its own satellite radio channel, blogged about, buzzed about and IMed around the world.

The choices are endless and they have one thing in common:
Somebody else is pulling the strings. The tipping point has been reached and your fate lies in customers’ hands as they take charge of the marketing and brand experience. And it’s no longer about the product or service, but about the experience the user has with your product or service. Your best bet appears to be one that’s hedged with a multipronged approach, according to many experts we consulted from various segments of the industry.

According to Scott Cone, Sr. VP of Lanham, MD-based Merkle, In., a direct marketing services company, "The big trend will be multichannel, where mail drives consumers to custom sites and email is timed to coincide with direct mail or supplement mail in a planned series of contacts."