Inbound Marketing Summit Takeaways – Day 2

The second day I spent at Inbound Marketing Summit did not disappoint – the day started out with a bang and ended on a high note. The biggest takeaways for me yesterday were based on the themes of relationships, relevancy, and change.

Enchantment to Create and Strengthen Long Lasting Relationships

First off, let me start by saying that Guy Kawasaki is awesome. He’s been in the business for a while, he’s super smart, he publishes great content, and I learned yesterday, he’s also great speaker. Yesterday he introduced the audience to “The Art of Enchantment;” also a book he has just recently written. Guy describes the idea of “enchantment” as “creating a relationship that is long lasting, mutually beneficial, and voluntary.” This sounds like the kind of relationship we desire; whether it be with a friend, a family member, your co workers, and even your vendors and clients. He explains that you can apply this idea of enchantment to starting a business, making decisions,  and creating long-lasting relationships. The three pillars of enchantment, as Guy defines are: to achieve likability, trustworthiness, and quality. This talk was great because it reminds us to shift our thinking from getting what we want and take the extra time to create a change that is mutually beneficial.

Takeaway: By becoming more enchanting, you will deepen your relationships.

Relevancy in the Context of Mobile

I had been looking forward to the panel discussing mobile marketing all day. I had seen Tim Hayden speak before and knew that this was a “must-see” session. Along with Tim, of 44Doors, were Rich Miner, a Partner with Google Ventures, and John Puterbaugh of Nellymoser, Inc. This panel did a great job touching on different aspects of mobile and insights into how it effects how we market to our customers.

The theme that I noticed right away was the idea of relevancy. During this session it was suggested that the mobile handheld device is the most intimate device that humans have ever had. I agree; I wake up and the first thing I look at is my cell phone, during quiet times or waiting in lines I look at my cell phone, I use my phone to connect with people, I use my phone to keep my calendar and my notes, and my alarm clock, my cell phone is the last thing I look at before I go to bed. So what does this mean for us marketers?

Mobile marketing offers us a huge opportunity; however, the gentlemen of this panel remind us, we will still market the way that we have been, but we can use the mobile medium to reach our customer base in an easier, faster, and more simpler manner. Our message, however, needs to be relevant to the mobile medium.

Best Buy was used as an example to describe this rule. Best Buy has QR codes on the little signs with the product details in their store. After scanning the QR code the mobile user is taken to a page that shows them the same exact information that can read on the product detail sign. What’s the point, right? However, below the product detail information is buyer feedback – now, this what we want when we’re shopping! Best Buy could do this better if they move the buyer feedback to be one of the first things a mobile user sees when the scan the code.

Takeaway: Keep relevancy top of mind when offering a mobile user experience.

Driving Change

Dan Heath, of BrightSight Group and author of “Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard” ended our time at Inbound Marketing Summit. I was skeptical at first, wondering how this session would apply to my job and the services we offer our clients. But the more Dan spoke, the more I started understanding that this idea of change could effect the roots of, not only business, but life choices in general, the more intrigued I was.  Dan acknowledged that as marketers our jobs are changing so fast and we need to keep up. But sometimes change is hard and we are resistant.

One of the things that stuck out to me was that many times when things aren’t working we pick it apart and dissect it and anaylze it without really changing what we’re doing. Dan suggests that instead of focusing on what is wrong, focus on what’s working and then try to clone that. I really like that idea; it shifts the way we solve problems. His session left me with a breath of fresh air and I look forward to digging into his book to learn more.

Takeaway: Switch the way you think about problem solving or making a change; approach it from a positive angle.

Thanks for letting me share and digest what I have learned the past few days. I am sure more inisghts will come up as I go through notes and if you have any questions about anything else that was presented at Inbound Marketing Summit 2011 please tweet me!

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