Humans hate change – even monkeys are more open to it than we are. The problem is change and technology go together like Cheech and Chong (do yourself a favour and google ), or Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce (we just threw up in our mouths).
Back to the monkeys. A study found that humans took longer than monkeys and chimps to accept and use a new shortcut, and, even after trying it, almost one-third of participants still reverted to the old approach. We see this with C-level marketers who resist using technology, even though it makes everyone’s lives easier and their jobs more effective.
Guys. It’s 2024, and high time to stop fearing tech and embrace new ways of doing things.
There’s no excuse not to use tech
Often resistance is an age thing, but not always. True, many C-Suite executives are a bit older, but that’s no excuse to not use tech in their marketing strategies.
In fact, the pandemic helped Boomers catch up to younger generations – 2020 was the first time they considered mobiles more important than their desktops or laptops. Anyone with a granny can attest to this – older people got hooked on Facebook mobile and Netflix, and some even started playing video games (Boomers are one of gaming’s fastest-growing demographics; pandemics will do weird things to people).
Despite this, when we sit with a senior team and all they want to do is golf days and send out press releases, we want to chew our wrists off. Or they’re too focused on vanity metrics like followers and getting eyeballs on their organisation’s social profiles, and don’t realise that people consume content totally differently. The reality is that people now follow content that leads them to a profile, page, or account, not the other way around.
Make technology work for you
Technology is a magical thing. Marketers can use AI for customer segmentation, ad targeting, sentiment analysis, optimised customer journeys, chatbots, and automation – and that’s just with AI. Ask yourself, when last did your team implement a clever chatbot or automate a tedious process? The shortcuts are there – often, they’re not being used due to that resistance to change.
Or consider something like TikTok. TikTok now has over 1.5 billion users, making it the fifth most popular social media platform. Are you using it in your campaigns, or do you think it’s only for dancing teenagers? According to Statista, only 26% of marketers use TikTok. Yet, a YouGov report entitled TikTok: All Grown Up found that in 2021, 58% of weekly TikTok users were aged 25 and over, but that figure has now jumped to 73%. Even the BBC and The New York Times are making the platform work for them.
It's time for a mindset change
We’re not saying get onto something like TikTok just because everyone else seems to be on there. It must be the right tech because there's a difference between technology that adds value and trends that will fizzle out (Threads, that’s you). We want our clients to try new things and test the waters, yet the biggest obstacle is fear-based decisions.
Using tech also helps remove the grunt work so you or your agency can focus on the bigger picture, like a kickass strategy and bringing in the results. It can help you target your audience better by giving you data-led insights and analysing campaign objectives. Ultimately, tech enables efficiencies to benefit the bottom line – and that’s always the end goal, right?
It’s all about a mindset change, and if you have a partner you can trust, they'll guide you through that shift. The future is already here: it’s time to do things differently and take a leap.
Enjoyed this article? Share it with your peers so you look clever. Stop being scared of tech and embrace your inner chimp. Contact us; we can help with that.
