ARE YOUR CONSUMERS LEANING BACK OR LEANING FORWARDS? Why you need to change your approach now!

One of my favourite podcasts over the last few years has been the Marketing Online Live podcast. The 2 presenters are thought provoking, challenging and have strong views that creates debate and reaction. They are very focused on the importance of monetising content and of ways of using technology and new forms, like podcasts, YouTube and blogs to repurpose content and monetise it. They are feisty and also amusing.

They often have interesting concepts and one that they have spoken about a lot, and I find very interesting and exciting is that with all the new tools and greater interactivity online (and also actually with devices like x-box, and now digital TV) marketing people need to stop thinking just about "LEAN BACK" and think more and "LEAN FORWARD" marketing approaches. And this gets exciting as you have greater capability to not only monetize and generate leads and sales, but also can engage your target much more.

In the past a lot of broadcast media, and even online, was a "lean back" approach. Your target/ viewer would lean back and let the content and material wash over them as they sat back and let you talk to them. Now you can actually get people to sit up, lean forward and engage with you. That may be as simple as them watching an ad or video about your product or service and lean forward and click to buy, click to learn more, or click to respond. This is a huge mindset change. Most TV ads today, as a simple example, do not even have a real call to action!

I think this, like many simple ideas, is HUGE. What are you doing through all your consumer touch points and communication doing to get them to lean forward and act? I know for me and my brand not enough. Thanks to Marketing Online live for sparking this thought!