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BEST PRACTICES & STRATEGIES

8 ways to ‘speak human’ and change

the game

Nobody starts out automatically caring about your In this new book Lund, who’s CEO of T3 Custom—itself
products or services. They care about how you can a content marketing firm helping brands learn to “speak
make a difference in their lives. No matter the context, all human” and supercharge ROI reportedly by as much
relationships begin with a “handshake moment,” whether as16-times, provides an in-depth analysis of what’s
literally or figuratively—those first few introductory required to succeed in today’s modern marketing era,
moments that reveal a great deal about the character of which he’s aptly coined the “Conversation Age.”
the person standing before you. Why should company Specifically, he details key principles critical for driving
interactions with current and prospective customers or the more evolved conversation marketing approach,
clients be any different? which can help companies amplify results on multiple
fronts.
Sure, “content marketing” has been a crucial ingredient
impelling the evolution of traditional marketing into According to Lund, “Those who are wildly successful at
today’s more personalized approach, bridging the gap conversation marketing understand the strategy is not
between cookie-cutter TV, radio, and print mass simply about propagating online content and sharing
marketing to highly customized digital and social media- through social media accounts. Rather, it’s a disciplined
driven communications. Even so, today’s more approach to communicating with a target audience in a
personalized digital communications have plenty of way that tells a simple, human story that will educate,
challenges, all too often falling on “deaf ears” and “blind inform, entertain and, most importantly, compel
eyes” amid a marketplace becoming highly desensitized customers in a way that fully captures mind–and-
to the glut of advertising and marketing messages its market share through messaging that truly resonates.
exposed to any given hour of any given day...year in and Companies must stop talking ‘at’ their customers and,
year out. instead, connect with them by simply speaking human.
And, it’s far beyond that initial ‘handshake moment—it’s
So, how can brands make and maintain meaningful through a constant stream of congenial engagements
connections and create a lifetime value with customers with each individual consumer, or the marketplace at
in ways that’ll set them apart in a “noisy,” increasingly large, based on trust and performance.”
jaded and discriminating marketplace? How can
businesses tell an authentic story to foster maximized
marketplace engagement and breed brand loyalty? Think it’s complicated to be an adept conversation
marketer and speak human to your constituents? Think
According to Kevin Lund, author of the new again! Below are eight of Lund’s tactical strategies from
book, “Conversation Marketing: How to be Relevant and the new book that can help companies large and small
Engage Your Customer by Speaking Human,” the become more engaging and relevant with customers,
proverbial key to the Kingdom is for companies, no and the marketplace at large:
matter their size and scope, to simply “speak human.”

16 September 2018 - Marketing Analytics, Automation & Attribution