Personalization in an Impersonal World...

Technology has obviously changed the way that we live our life and has for 15 years now, but no more then ever has it effected the way that we interact more then it does now. Just about everyone in the world has at least 1 e-mail address (heck I have 3 that I use on a daily basis.) But our dependence upon the non-verbal communication has reached its height. We base our marketing efforts, advertising campaigns, sales calls, and new product unveiling on our non-verbal communication. While there are some businesses who are reluctant to change and still maintain the practice of a personal phone call or visit to each sales meeting but those particular businesses are lacking in the evolution of marketing and hence their bottom line suffers as a result. We are programmed to come into work every morning and check our e-mail without hesitation. Our phones are strapped to our bodies like our newest organs but not necessarily for the use of phone calls, but for the use of our non-verbal communication such as Text Messages, Twitter Updates, Facebook Status Updates, Google Buzz Updates, Blogs, etc. Our phones have morphed from the replacement to the Landlines, to the replacement of verbal communication.

The non verbal communications does have a multitude of benefits though, as the way of the economy has us doing more with less so at work, our days are busier, our workload is through the roof, and our available free time has shrunken to an all time low. The advantage of e-mail, texts, Facebook, Twitter and Buzz is that it doesn't require an instantaneous response. We are left to respond at our leisure which opens up a great realm of possibility to contact a person who would typically be unavailable if it weren't for non-verbal communications. It also provides us a way to broaden our inner circle of friends and colleagues as we are able to stay up to date with their ever evolving busy lives as well.

What is lost in the non-verbal communications are the interactions that provide us with a strong sense of security as a result of the face to face or phone conversation. When you meet with someone and have an uninterrupted conversation in which you can response using body cues and voice fluxuation, it will either drive home a point more efficiently or allow you to convey a message in which would seem foolish if not presented personally.

The challenge us marketing professionals face is the fact that we are required to engage the consumer using the non-verbal cues and gain a moment of their uninterrupted time to view our particular product or service. Our window of opportunity has decreased to such a minimal amount of time, that our impact needs to be stronger then ever. We need to reach our particular target market utilizing the method that will provide us with the most uninterrupted focus. Hence the beginning of non-verbal communication. Personalization of advertising is marketing's 3.0. Finding consumer trends and what a particular audience is more inclined to buy and then present those products to them in a convenient and "lightweight" method is how success will be measured in the upcoming markets. Existing non-verbal communication will spearhead this operation but will give way to its future operatives such as Mobile Marketing. The goal is to get in, gain their attention, trigger a positive response and then get out. Whether they are interested in said product or not is not the main goal, brand awareness is the key. If Store XYZ advertises men's body wash to a 30 year old single man on his mobile phone, he may look and say no I am fine on deodorant right now but the next time he is interested in deodorant, his mind thinks instantly, I need to make a run to Store XYZ. You have just solidified your brand. Need not roll out a multi network television campaign that might miss most of your market due to the increased use of DVR and online streaming of television shows. A non-verbal marketing campaign would raise your viewership significantly.

Organizations willing to stay ahead of the marketing movement and utilize these cost effective methods of personalizing their campaigns for their target market will be the ones who generate the most buzz and yield the most positive results.... Marketing 3.0 is right around the corner...