Digital branding and mobile wallet marketing are the next steps in the evolution of the funnel. 

I hosted a webinar this week – 5 Key Tools for Creating Effective Digital Business Cards – and I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about it here on the blog, and then to embed the Slideshare presentation at the bottom.

The audio didn’t go quite as well as I had planned, operator error, unfortunately – new microphone and I was a silly goose and didn’t realize that it came with instructions.  Duh.  I mean, seriously, instructions for a plugin microphone? WTH?   So we’re working on that part, and I’ll post the video replay once we’ve cleared up a little bit of the aquarium effect in the beginning.

There are a couple of things I want to point out about the webinar topic and how it affects pretty much anyone running a business – some more so than others this early in the technology adoption; others probably have a year before the impact is truly felt by the losers in this game.

Right, I hear you!  No, I don’t!  What?  Losers in this game?  This is BRAND NEW technology!  There should be a green field opportunity of at least a couple more years!

Well, yes, duh.  That part is right.  The part the late adopters are going to regret on this particular technological innovation is that their competition will have already made the most of the opportunities, and will be well ensconced in the end users wallet.

Outside of restaurants and clothing stores, there are not that many verticals where a consumer will carry a BUNCH of digital cards from different issuers, especially if you’re focusing on the consumer as the end user.

People are creatures of habit, and when you give them a new habit that sticks, they’ll keep using it until it’s over.  They are also lazy procrastinators as a species, so once they’ve got their current favorite jeweler, or yogurt shop, or life coaching guru in their mobile wallet, they are not likely to go out hunting for a bunch more, just to make a set.

I want you to think about this.  Really stop and ponder the impact that getting on board now, today, or maybe next week since it’s Friday and people are getting ready for a lovely spring weekend without any college basketball, so of course you want to be outside in the sunshine with them…

The big, important, focal point with this technology is that –

• it enables communication and engagement on a personal level without requiring you to pick up the phone or send out an email.
• provides the opportunity to engage with your target demographic directly in their smartphone, 24 hours every day.
• can be done contextually, based on user location (or your location in some cases)
• you can do it based on any other method that works for your client base within your setup.

Once you’re in their wallets, you’re going to stay in there – unless you bother them so completely or send such inappropriate messages that they never want to hear from you again.  We can’t keep you from doing that, but we are warning you that it could happen.  I hope you’re not the one that it does happen to, for your sake more than mine.