It’s Twelve Seconds

In an average day, the average global citizen is busy for 43 hours*. In that 24-hour period, he or she will see 4,000 marketing messages and entertain 3,500 to 4,000 separate thoughts. Average time available to spend with each those thoughts: 12 seconds.
*Source: Yahoo and OMD study

Companies face a new reality. We cannot merely deliver a message en masse and expect ROI to be what it once was. We have a substantially new audience. Interruption doesn’t work. We must change. Connect. Converse.

The game has changed. Your customers are empowered and in control. They can and will tune you out if you’re simply yelling. Successful relationship requires a conversation. Conversation need not be slow, but it must be attentive and other-oriented. Companies must listen, learn and adapt, from necessity, at a blistering pace, but the bottom line remains: we must do things for our customers instead of just saying things to them. Mere communication is no longer an option. You must engage the imagination. In today’s business climate, you can’t afford not to.

The average client has too many choices, too little time, and too much difficulty differentiating between the onslaught of features and quality available to him or her. Does a better, more compelling, more fundamental criterion for making business decisions exist? We believe that it does. What your potential client wants now, more than ever, is assurance, security, and community; in essence, that client wants to trust you. That client will choose you when you show yourself to be trustworthy. And trustworthiness begins with authenticity. Be real; be transparent; consistently provide a positive, secure experience, and you will, in turn, receive the customer loyalty that companies covet.

This will require imagination. You have 12 seconds.