In the busy world of B2B marketing, capturing and maintaining attention is like looking for a needle in a haystack. This episode of the Marketing Smarts Live Show is about exactly this challenge.
Featuring event design and experiential marketing expert Doug Binder, the episode provides invaluable insights for marketers looking to make an impact in an increasingly crowded digital landscape.
Understanding the attention economy
The concept of the attention economy is not new, but its implications are more profound than ever. As Binder explains, the rise of the Internet and the explosion of content have expanded the boundaries of our 24-hour day. The key question for marketers is no longer just how to reach the audience, but what is truly worth the audience’s time and attention.
Empathy and humanity in marketing
One of the most striking takeaways from this episode is the emphasis on empathy and humanity in marketing. Binder encourages marketers to look beyond prospects as mere targets and consider the human factor behind every campaign. Understanding your audience’s needs, pressures, and behaviors is critical. It’s about bringing your message into their lives in a way that resonates and builds trust, rather than adding to the noise.
Data-driven, people-centered strategies
While empathy is the foundation, data still plays a central role. It’s important to know what questions to ask and understand what behaviors you want to influence or change. Binder's approach combines a human-centered perspective with data-driven strategies, ensuring campaigns are both empathetic and effective.
Create value, not noise
A key challenge in the attention economy is to distinguish between value creation and noise generation. Binder’s advice is to take a step back and objectively evaluate the impact of your marketing efforts. Do they truly address the needs of your audience or do they just add to the cacophony of digital content?
Final words of wisdom
Binder leaves us with a simple but profound message: treat your audience as people, not just numbers on a graph. Respect their time, understand their problems, and engage with them on a human level.
This H2H (person-to-person) approach could be the key to success in the attention economy.
By focusing on the human factor and using data wisely, we can create campaigns that not only capture attention, but also encourage trust and engagement.
* * *
As we navigate the complexities of the attention economy in B2B marketing, Doug Binder’s insights provide a guide for developing meaningful, empathetic, and effective marketing strategies.
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Episode details, guest information and referenced links
Episode #32
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Transcript: The Attention Economy – How Time Affects Your B2B Marketing Efforts, with Doug Binder
We’ve all said it before: someone tries to convince us to watch, read, or listen to something, and we talk down everything else we need to do, usually ending with, “There are only 24 hours in a day.” “
This concept is the catalyst for Doug Binder’s philosophy of experiential marketing. “We have streaming, we have social, we have podcasts and webinars, not to mention all the binge opportunities… but we still have 24 hours in the day,” explains Doug.”
“You have to decide what is worth my time and what offers me added value.” Today’s episode is about that and more.
Hello to all my Marketing Smarts Live viewers today. I am so excited to bring you EPISODE 32 of the Marketing Smarts Live show.
This week’s topic is all about the attention economy – how time impacts your B2B marketing efforts.
So if you’re ready to start learning, buckle up and get ready to rock and roll.
Hey, I’m your George B. Thomas speaker, trainer, catalyst and host of this audio show, the Marketing Smarts Live show, as well as the Marketing Smarts podcast found on your favorite podcast app.
Our guest clips today are brought to you by none other than Doug Binder.
Doug Binder, an event design and production expert, has executed corporate events and campaigns worldwide for some of the most important companies and visionaries in high tech, biotechnology, automotive, entertainment, hospitality and footwear. (Yes, shoes.)
A writer at heart, Doug has expanded his skills to include video production, digital media, graphic design, and experience design.
He is the author of Gather: The Business of Coming Together, which is equal parts how-to, manifesto, and memoir.
Remember, today’s clips are from Doug Binder’s full Marketing Smarts podcast episode. If you would like to listen to the full interview with Doug Binder and me, be sure to tune in to the Marketing Smarts podcast. Link to Full Episode The show will be listed in the description below after the live show ends.
In this episode, I speak again with Doug Binder about the attention economy – how time impacts your B2B marketing efforts.
What the hell is the attention economy anyway? And where did it come from? Is it something new or has it been around forever but maybe we just haven’t paid attention to it?
Let’s find out by asking Doug: What the heck is the attention economy?
Doug: It’s been around for a long time. As far as I can tell, the rise began in the mid-90s, when we young whippersnaps suddenly had 100 to 500 cable channels, we had AOL and Yahoo for the first time and that was the birth of the Internet. People started saying that you only have so much time in any given day, but there is so much content out there. What should you do with it? TiVo helps you record everything so you can easily watch it whenever you want.
Twenty years later, thirty years later, it’s 10,000 times that. We have streaming, we have social, we have podcasts and webinars, not to mention all the binge opportunities, so it’s even crazier now, but we still have 24 hours in the day.
I think the word economy is really important because you only have as much time as you can spend in any given day. You have to decide what is worth my time and what provides me value. As a consumer, I have much more control over where I direct my attention, so marketers need to be smart and serious about how they attract and hold attention.
Did you hear that?
It’s been around for a long time, but it’s getting worse as more and more content spreads across the internet and pollutes the internet.
With so much more choice, consumers have to ask themselves every day: What should they spend their time on?
Should it be you and your B2B marketing? What are you doing to attract and keep your potential customers’ attention?
Type the answer to that in the chat section or let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #mpb2b and of course tag me @georgebthomas.
We return to Doug Binder and his thoughts on “The Attention Economy – How Time Affects Your B2B Marketing Efforts.”
But first I have to ask…
Are you part of the MarketingProfs community? If not, become part of the MarketingProfs community by going to mprofs.com/mptoday – that’s mprofs.com/mptoday.
Now it’s time for one of my favorite sections…
In B2B News we talk about current B2B news or really important tips that we find in the Google News tab about you and your B2B company. This week the title is…
Exploiting the potential of target group data – the key to successful B2B marketing
In the world of B2B marketing, understanding your target audience is crucial. You want to make sure you’re reaching the right people with the right message at the right time. But how do you make sure you do that? The answer lies in viewership data.
Audience data is a collection of information about your audience, such as demographic, firmographic, and behavioral data.
By leveraging audience data, you can gain insights into who your audience is, what they are interested in, and how they behave online.
This information can then be used to create targeted marketing campaigns that resonate with your target audience, increase engagement and conversion rates, and ultimately drive the growth of your business.
To read this article, click the link below when the live show is over.
So let’s get back to Doug Binder and his “Marketing Smarts” podcast episode.
Is humanity in your marketing the goal we need to achieve when we focus on earning trust?
Maybe though, I wanted to ask Doug for his thoughts on how we as B2B marketers should get the ball rolling when it comes to the attention economy.
So I asked him: How can you start taking marketing actions that lead to more/better turnover? Here’s what he had to share.
Doug: That’s a great question. You emphasized how to start, and I was going to say with the data, but I think it starts beforehand because you have to know what questions to ask. You want to know what behaviors you want to change and how to address them with your target audience. Again, what I’m coming back to with the book Gather Think about the person behind it. These aren’t just prospects, they’re not just customers, they’re not just targets. These are real people and ideally you feel like they have a need for your product or service.
Start there. Tell me who these people are. Tell me what’s going on in their life or career and where they would need your help. Then think about your campaign this way. Help people. Be empathetic. Think about what might be missing from their life. Be humanistic and say they have real needs and urges. And when I come back to attention, they’re all stressed out and they’re all moving so fast. How can you get your message across and earn their trust? I’ll come back to empathy and humanity when you’re just starting out.
Did you hear that?
Empathy and humanity!
Think about the people behind your marketing efforts. They are not just prospects or customers, they are just like me and you!
How can you be empathetic and understand what they need in their life?
And don’t forget the data part of the conversation once you’ve nailed empathy and humanity!
We’ll get back to Doug Binder in a few minutes, but first it’s time for something…
Dope B2B learnings from the Vault of MarketingProfs articles
That’s right, it’s time to dig into the treasure trove of valuable information and pull out two golden nuggets that will help you become a better B2B marketer.
Article one this week is: To Close More Deals, Use Catchy Messages to Control Your Buyer’s Attention by Myra Ahmed
If your sales cycle is complex and lengthy, you may be worried that your leads will be withdrawn at any moment. After all, the B2B sales cycle lasts on average more than half a year. And for SaaS companies? A newborn deal takes almost nine months to deliver.
It takes a long time for your buyers to feel motivated about your service.
Now you’ve got the basics down pat: your technical features are impressive and your testimonials are glowing; And your marketing and sales efforts respond to your customers’ needs – exactly as they should.
But the question remains: How can you stay top of mind during the consideration phase?
This week’s second article is: Eight Ways to Grab Your Readers’ Attention (and Keep Them Coming Back!) by Jonathan Long
“Content is King” and “This is the year of content” are thrown around regularly and have been for several years. Many of these references are related to search engine rankings and algorithm updates, even though content creation shouldn’t focus on them.
Companies should create content for what really matters – the person who could potentially convert and ultimately pay for a product and/or service offered by the content creator.
Let’s be honest for a moment and agree that great content has the power to convert readers into cash.
Would you like to continue learning? If so, check out the links in the description below after the live show to get access to both great MarketingProfs articles.
OK, back to Doug Binder… Let’s dive back into this conversation about the attention economy – How time impacts your B2B marketing efforts
I wanted to know what major hurdles marketers might face when trying to get and keep attention. So I asked the question: What do you think are the hurdles that most marketers face on the way to capturing their prospects, leads, and even the attention of their customers?
Here’s what he had to share.
Doug: I think everyone would say that we want this campaign, this initiative, to cut through the noise. This is the first slide in your deck, we’re going to cut through the noise. The next 30 slides are: Here’s the noise we’re going to create. Take a step back. Be objective about what you are trying to deliver. I know you want to get attention, you want to keep attention, you want to sell, you want to change your behavior. But how do you do that without just making more noise for people?
By the way, I don’t have an answer to that, but I take it very seriously. There are products out there… I mentioned before that at events we give people the option to keep their distance so we don’t make noise for you. In fact, even tech companies had detox areas where you check in your phone and laptop and keep them for an hour. So it’s interesting that we’re taking away the product that we sell so you can have a real life. I think moments like this exist in almost every industry. How can I get you to think differently without yelling at you, without making more noise?
I think it comes down to truly understanding your own needs on a human level.
Did you hear that?
How can I get you to think differently without making more noise?
Are you creating value?
Or are you creating noise?
Grabbing the megaphone and blaring your wares as loudly and as often as possible doesn’t seem to be the way to win the attention economy!
Pause, think about what your prospects and customers need, and think: How can you make this happen as smoothly as possible?
We’ll hear some words of wisdom from Doug Binder here in a few minutes, but now it’s time to shine the spotlight on you, the MarketingProfs community. Yes, time for…
From the #MPB2B community
We’ve searched far and wide in the #MPB2B universe to find amazing information and conversations to bring to the masses.
So firstly, make sure you use the hashtag and secondly, make sure you are having fun and adding value to the community.
We will then put you or your crew in the spotlight on the show. This week it is…
Bri Krantz
Marketing professional | Aspiring Novelist | Lover of words | Cat mom
Her message that caught my attention: She says…
I love writing logoed note cards to members of the corporate community. I love how tactile it is. How human it feels. I imagine they get it. Does it make her smile? Let out a laugh? Does the idea of another person contacting you via… EMAIL scare you? ??
It’s impossible not to smile while writing, even if your hand gets sore.
Spread some MarketingProfs love! #mpb2b
But you have to look at the description and click the link to view the post, read the comments and engage with the post!
Marketing Smarts viewers, I have to ask: will you be next in the spotlight?
Remember the community, use the hashtag #mpb2b on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter and let your awesomeness be spotlighted on the next or future episode of the Marketing Smarts Live show!
Pro tip: It wouldn’t hurt if you tag me in your post too. I’m @georgebthomas on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Okay, let’s go back to Doug Binder and some wise words on the subject “The Attention Economy – How Time Affects Your B2B Marketing Efforts.”
I always love closing the show with words of wisdom from all the wise guests! That’s why I asked Doug for his words of wisdom for you, the Marketing Smarts audience.
Here’s what Doug Binder wanted to leave us with…
Doug: I think that’s just it. We are all human, we all have our problems, we all go through different things, we all have certain triggers here and there. Really respect that. We are more than just numbers. Treat me like a human being, treat me with respect, value my time, don’t waste my time, and we’ll get along just fine. I don’t think they’ll engrave this on Mount Olympus, but that’s where I am.
I love how simple Doug’s words of wisdom were. Maybe click on the rewind a few times and take note of what he said and what it means for you and your B2B marketing efforts moving forward!
Did you enjoy today’s trip? Let us know and use the hashtag #mpb2b on the platform you join us on.