Chris Merrill's Future M presentation, "The Future Face of Digital Business"

Hi, I am Chris Merrill

• PAST: small business owner

• PRESENT: Super Web-O-Matic (small business owner)

• FUTURE: small business owner (Hopefully just with more $$)

Lead Gen & Engagement

Design Fuel Pilot Track

Now

Marketing teams manufacturing “buzz” and awareness to drive prospective customers to the top of the funnel; then putting them through a scripted trial / pre-sales process.

• Still a bunch of Telling and Yelling

•Check me out!!• Follow Us! •Sign up! •Tell a Friend! • Like!•Shiny Object!

•NOISE NOISE NOISE

• When in doubt we use the “me too” activities

• “All set boss, open the flood gates…We “did” SEO, created a facebook page, tweeted, blogged, and have 100 landing pages....we should be good.

• Build and engineer “Set it and forget it” Marketing Conversion Funnel

• Me too.

• 1000 people in the top of our funnel 2% to trials, and of those we can convert 2% to customers.

• Now get 1,000,000,000 into the funnel.

• When that is done get 1,000,000,000 more.

• Predictable Trial / Pre-sales Process

1. New trial sign-up2. E-mail 1 - Thank you e-mail3. Sales call “check-in”4. E-mail 2 - “Tips and tricks”5. E-mail 3 - “Just checking in”6. E-mail 4 - “Ticking-timer”7. Expired - Sales call

• Restricted wedge offerings are typically controlled environments.

• Limited Features• Trial-size• User restricted• Integration limited• Time bombed

Future

• Replace yell and tell, with a focus on building remarkable products.

• Put these products (unrestricted) in potential customers and customers hands, and sincerely engage, watch…listen.

• Capture the and share the stories and join the conversations.

• Help to create authentic experiences.

• Stop yelling

• It’s not that they aren’t listening they just can’t hear you

• Save your energy and focus on building remarkable products

• Products / services that inspire great stories and encourage real conversations reduce the need for complex high touch marketing systems.

• Share this with POTENTIAL customers by giving them bi-lateral views into these conversations

• Put the product in the hands of the customer, but don’t stand back.

• Watch, listen and engage...sincerely.

• How else can you use this?• Can you show me?• Doing anything interesting with it?• How can we fix this?• Ohh, I like that idea, can you explain.

• Give them the full experience, not a demo, not a trial. Don’t limit.

• Make free things free.• No purchase assumptions. • Free should be free. • A gift.

• Empower the team, then them hold responsible to ask questions, share experiences, and create relationships with prospective clients throughout the dating stage