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Conversation is key

Marketers in the high technology sector are continually looking for better ROI. The trouble is, the quest for greater ROI has led many high technology companies down a path falsely orientated toward an ROI model based on quantity rather than quality. Furthermore many high technology companies have forgotten that marketing should be about the customer and NOT simply about leveraging the latest marketing technology gimmick for the sake of it.

Today (just like yesterday) the single most effective form of human communication remains voice and face-to-face communication. Conversation is key, despite the proliferation of email, direct mail and advertising, all marketing techniques that lead to interruption not conversation. The phone continues to be important for anyone who wants to nurture relationships, and the effective use of online tools (blogs, RSS, e-mail) will only proliferate as an adjunct to 'conversation' generally, not as a replacement.

There is clearly an evolution taking place with regard high technology marketing, but success will never be achieved by high technology companies playing a numbers game or continually hiding behind 2% direct mail response rates. Whilst a plethora of channels add further noise to an already busy world, the ability to discuss the right messages to the right audience in an efficient manner should remain a key aim of a marketing function. High technology companies need to put in place programmes that stop the process of monologuing and start the process of dialog.