Cutting-edge technology, the instant messenger, is creeping into the business-to-business environment. This tool is being brought in through the back door by generations X and Y employees that spend hours using it, Elliott Masie, president of The MASIE Group told a crowd yesterday at the opening session at The 12th National Direct to Marketing Business Conference in Miami.
Masie said instant messaging–currently 24 million users–is growing dramatically in the B-to-B world. He recommended that marketers get on customer’s instant message lists and argued that instant messaging someone is the equivalent of phoning electronically. “Yes, you can be in my mail box, but now you can reach me instantly at my desk,” he said. “Consumers have no patience, we want it right now.”
Masie said another emerging tool is the assembled digital video, a new technology that a number of big companies are investing in, including Disney. The device is a hand-held camera that can be used, for example, to create personalized product demonstrations that reach the recipient via a link in an e-mail.
“We need to experiment with every tool to find the magic in the mix,” he said.
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