Have You Made These 5 Staggering Changes In Your Marketing Strategy? Steer into the new world of permission marketing and forge deeper relationships with your customers

"And in the next shot, as the car races past, your logo comes flying down from the right corner and then a tight close up…" The voice drones on.You are busy checking the latest photo on Instagram. And then you look around:

You find, barring the agency team, everyone is darting glances into their mobile, either checking Messenger or WhatsApp.You decide to be polite and concentrate on the presentation, and then a thought comes:

"Tell me, how will we see this film on my mobile? Actually, how will my customers see it on their mobile?"

"That is the responsibility of the digital agency," says one voice. "Actually that is Brand PR and being handled by our PR agency," says another. "That's not true!" says third.

Suddenly the meeting has come alive; the sounds have become high pitched, and you can see each one is either throwing the responsibility ball at another or trying to snatch it from another.

You say to yourself "I wanted an engaged meeting and this is what I get? Is this really marketing?"

Welcome to the world of new age Marketing.Where the lines between content, companies, and customers are getting blurred.

The traditional models of interruption have broken down, but like dinosaurs, some are still roaming around, waiting for their demise.

What has changed and how do you navigate these seas of change? Use these 5 Lighthouse markers to leave behind ineffective methods, steer into the new world of permission marketing and forge deeper relationships with your customers

More permission, less interruption

In the good old days, size mattered.You went with the largest advertising budget. You bought a maximum number of TV, radio spots and billboards and blasted your message.Then you waited and hoped that something would stick.

By lovingly calling it "consumer touchpoints", marketing was a full contact sport. Everyone was trying to muscle their way into the consumer's living room or car. Much has changed now.

Permission is the new currency of marketing.Actually, it always was. But somewhere down the road marketers forgot about it.Marketers now have to seek permission of the customer to come across the digital barriers.

With Ad blockers, gated sites and option of calling out a campaign as Spam, marketers have to develop content which entices the customer to open the digital doors.

More digital, less offline

An increasing number of people are on digital medium.Facebook, Instagram are like countries with their own borders and rules.

As per the KPCB mobile technology trends report, Average US consumer is spending 39 hours in a week on digital, out which 51% is mobile.89% of users access Facebook on their mobile devices and check Facebook 14 times a day.More importantly, search and social has redefined the way we consume.

Consumers search online for products and check reviews before they purchase. Not only has Social proof become important but getting it has become easier. One bad customer review on Amazon can impair a product's sales.

The news is now consumed on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.Companies are screening possible recruits on social media.Digital has managed to break the personal and professional barriers.

Marketers are struggling with the new reality. While they know the importance of digital, they often say "Nobody knows how to monetize the digital world!" Well, the online learning industry is USD 165 Billion.

The reason why it is difficult to monetize the digital world is that the old rules of offline don't apply to digital. Consumers today have more choices.

Media choices changing rapidly

Just when you thought you could shift your advertising to digital, there are two distinct changes which are happening.

First, Google and Facebook are becoming giants. Every 7 out of 10 dollars of incremental advertising goes to only these two players. They already account for 50% of all digital advertising.So should all advertising shift to Google and Facebook?

Well, there are other players which are challenging their position.Amazon has now become the second largest search player.Second, digital habits and preferences are changing fast.

The average US teenager is reducing his Facebook consumption and increasingly spending time on Snapchat and Instagram.Instagram is estimated to bring USD 1.5 Billion in mobile ad revenues this year and $2.8 billion in 2017.

How does a marketer respond to these tectonic shifts? Either become a digital native or collaborate with digital natives. This is where influencer marketing has become so much more important even though the level of trust has reduced.

Less trust, less attention

We live in a world where trust for brands has reduced.Gone are the days when brands had "badge power" and were defined by the trust they had over commodity producers.

Today, the consumer's trust has to be earned and it is a hard to get it.Add to this the proliferation of channels means that the ability and quantum of attention that the consumer can give has reduced drastically.

More than 85% of google search users click only the first four links. Anything below the fold is gone.Marketers are battling the twin deficits of trust and attention.

Seth Godin says "Connection and Trust are only two important metrics today. Every marketer needs to ask have I increased trust and connections better than yesterday or last month?"

Every business is a media house

The content generation wave is rising and rising fast.Businesses are embracing Inbound marketing and the foundation of inbound marketing is Content. Content which is relevant to the audience and talks to their interests and needs; not advertising.

So the traditional lines between journalism and business are blurring with businesses generating more consumer interest stories.

If a business is on social media esp Facebook and Twitter, then it is generating content whether it realizes or not. If they, consciously, have blogs or vlogs on their website or YouTube, then, they have become a media house.

Businesses can bypass traditional gatekeepers and reach their target audience directly by developing an extensive social followership

Check out Delta Airlines Twitter account. From new destinations to app launches to social impact programs, Delta Airlines uses the Twitter account to give information and brings excitement to its 1.2Million followers

Expectations on both quality and quantity of content have increased. While entertainment is often the thrust of the content, consumers are also consuming content which is educational and inspiring.

Phew, that's a lot of change. Where does one start? Take one step at a time. Get to speak to digital natives. Immerse in their world. Embrace Digital in your life.

Practice having a conversation with people around you. Take that quality of conversations to your customers. Treat your customer as a person, a living person.

Listen, Learn and be led by your customers.