digital – Sean Blake Blog

There goes the shop

Whoops, there goes the shop.

The place you invested so much time in just disappeared overnight. No fire, flood or lightning strike.

It’s gone – vanished.

If this really happened we’d be shocked.

And it just happened. The physical store has all but vanished for many industries. It’s not coming back, ever.

Like most hobbies of obese Westerners, shopping is done on the lounge with a smartphone.

How will we adjust to this digital way of life? Can we still connect and build relationships on a 6 inch screen?

Do people behave differently when searching for things in a store compared to on a phone? Can we still grow our business without a physical address?

The answer is always yes. The how is much harder.

Growth Hacker Marketing Tools

The Growth Hacker Marketing movement is gaining momentum. ‘Growth Hacking’ isn’t the easy way to reach your customers, because that doesn’t exist.

It’s the recognition that the most successful new startups don’t rely on big media and advertising budgets to reach their customers. Instead, they target precisely the right segment.

Communities of people who naturally look our for a type of product you offer.

Then, using digital channels, they:

create buzz and scarcity (e.g. invite only for the launch of gmail)
optimise the customer experience
constantly improve their product
use customer feedback to grow

This slideshare includes some of the tools we can all use to optimise our marketing. I hope you find it valuable.

My recommended reading list includes a book on Growth Hacking by Ryan Holiday. It’s a great read.

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The ultimate test of design

When we design or create things, it becomes more about how it looks than what it does. Appeal over function.

The irony is that users quickly forget what looks great. But if it works and is relevant to our needs we’ll use it every day.

The goal should be ‘how can we make this relevant’, not ‘how can we make this look great?’