Posted on October 10, 2017
by Angela Weber, Chief Marketing Officer, OrthoSynetics
“When the world changes, the rules change” –Seth Godin
I recently flew to Washington, D.C., to attend a digital marketing conference called the Digital Summit which was buzzing with marketers from around the country. Everyone was eager to learn about the latest developments in the marketing world and to see what’s even further on the horizon. We were hoping to get our bearings in a business that is moving fast and rapidly changing. You see, disruption has hit the advertising industry hard with new digital platforms popping up every day and even well-known, established platforms like Facebook forever shifting under our feet.
Indeed, the overarching theme of the sessions and presentations was change. Change is upon us, whether we marketers like it or not, so it’s time to embrace the revolution. There were concepts that were hard to even fathom. For example, in 2013 there were 7 billion devices worldwide connected to the Internet; that number is expected reach 75 billion by 2022—more than 100 times in under ten years. Beyond people noting the changes going on around us, the dominant idea of the conference was that we needed to change ourselves, or at least to change our marketing strategies and approaches.
Throughout the event, my mind kept filtering fresh insights through the two industries I love, marketing and orthodontics. And although these sectors are completely different, in both I realized how much consumer behavior is driving change. Consumers have always been opinionated, but now they have mass media channels available to them to express their needs and opinions, and so marketers need to be sensitive and responsive. The consumer demand for convenience will also push us. We need to venture out of our comfort zone and traditional ways of doing things. It’s a little intimidating, but in both worlds, I see more opportunity than dread.
The opportunities will always be there for innovative practices that are willing to step up. There’s no reason that one of the innovative practices shouldn’t be yours. And think about how many more opportunities orthodontists have to reach prospects these days. I can remember 15 years ago, there were only a handful of marketing channels available to us, and if none of them worked well for a market, then you were out of luck. Also, the marketing menu was limited to channels like TV, radio, and newspaper, which could be quite expensive. Today there are many channels (too many really), and most are affordable. This means orthodontists have more opportunities to go directly to consumers and control their own destinies.
The conference speakers and attendees also talked a lot about increased competition and how, in the age of connectivity, your competitors can be all over the world. Sound familiar?
Like all the forward-thinking marketers I met at the conference, I hope you will keep an open mind and experiment with new ideas. At OrthoSynetics, we’ve got your back. Do have an idea that you’re thinking about but need to flesh out exactly how it will work? Give us a call and let’s explore together.