At AE Financial Services we try to keep up with the various trends in our rapid changing landscape. Looking back at the various conferences which we attended in the last few months, it appears that the search for authenticity and human relevance in this digital world remains top on the agenda.
Seth Godin, one of the speakers at Supernova at the end of September, was probably the one who best summarized this quest for a human connection in his presentation in a few striking quotes:
"Treat different people, differently "
In today’s world, everyone gets overwhelmed with masses of information from companies. The battle for attracting attention has never been more fierce. to Identifying the right target group for your product or service very early in the lifecycle is more important than ever before. Connecting with your preferred audience should start as soon as possible, from the concept phase on, to quickly understand their underlying needs. To communicate and ultimately connect with your target group in an authentic way, you should ask yourself the following questions: Which target group does my product or service focuses on? Why and how do I help my customers? This is the only way to persuade your customers to talk about your offering as a company, how they relate to it and how it affects their lives.
"Stories make people buy"
Times where the one who shouted the loudest or the one who bought the most attention and time, was favored most by customers, are long gone. The multitude of channels and the abundance of messages make relevant, authentic information the only info that lingers. Customers or influencers talking about your company and services are not considered as spam, but as a source of inspiration and tolerated.
"People like us, do things like this "
Values like trust, proximity and solidarity are more important than ever. However, today they have a different meaning than before. In a digital world, physical proximity and connection are no longer your most powerful marketing tool. Nowadays, it’s about connecting people with the same interests, needs and objectives. In this search of finding meaningful connections with like-minded people, humanity and emotions lead to trust in the exchange of ideas.
AE handles and respects these principles in helping clients in innovation and digital transformation. Companies that want to innovate and launch new products and services, often encounter the same hurdles that make innovation in companies sometimes result in disappointment.
“Love the problem, not the solution.” And “Get out of the building” are just some of our mantra’s.
