Photo by Alex Knight on Unsplash

August 27, 2021

I spent this week writing and overthinking automated email sequences for an upcoming healthcare campaign.💃

None of this is surprising. Overthinking and overcaring is my professional superpower and personal kryptonite. I feel an immense responsibility to, well, be responsible when automating outreach. 

Sometimes, I wonder if audiences would fare better if marketers just STFU. 

Marketing and marketing tech moves so fast and tells us so much. I might know you’re pregnant before you do, but should I be the one telling you via an ad on social media? 

As technology evolves (and with it, our power), it creates a middle space for us to figure out. 

How do we balance our desire to automate moments for ease and efficiency with our competing desire for real human connection?

There’s comfort in working with empathetic clients and colleagues who would never allow me to act in marketing-first ways, to begin with. 

There’s even more comfort knowing I’m not the only one worrying about this. There are people like Brian. 

Last week, Brian Solis wrote that the robots were coming and said that humanity is how we’ll differentiate ourselves. 

Brian is Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce. He knows a little something about marketing tech. I first started reading and listening to Brian over a decade ago when he talked about shaping online communities through social media--so he knows a bit about people too.

Customers want digital-first experiences. Our job is to craft them in a human-first way. As Brian says, it is the human part of tech that's the differentiator. 

What we think humanity in marketing is:

“Clever” emails that make people feel stalked and uncomfortable.  

You know the ones I mean.

Fake intimacy that calls me “buddy.”

Rebranding a lack of care and effort as being “straightforward and honest.” 

Most of us know that casual speech isn't what makes marketing human, and we can spot the bad attempts when we see them. 

What humanity in marketing actually is: 

• Using AI to listen and react, predict next steps, and match best actions that, together, simplify a customer’s experience. 
  
  
• Leaning into technology so customers can interact with you in real-time, on their schedule, through the channels they dictate. Things like site chats and SMS fit here, but only when a copywriter or UX person has carefully scripted the interactions to instill empathy. 
  
  
• Leveraging data to craft email sequences that hold someone’s hand during a scary healthcare moment (holla!). 

Of course, sometimes, the humanity of marketing isn't tech-related at all. It is:

• Treating ALL customers like humans rather than banishing some to a corner or charging them more for the same goods. 
  
  
• Responding to a humanitarian crisis by providing housing to 20,000 Afghan refugees, giving those who need it a safe place to rest and feel at home. 
  
  
• Letting customers see how beautiful they are (h/t @lunchboxbrain) and putting the spotlight on the human experience to help us feel connected (h/t @timstaines).
   
• Being vulnerable to support the common good.
  
  
• Releasing pumpkin coffee and pumpkin spice lattes earlier than usual because we need that extra sip of joy. 

Tech is only as good as the humans behind it

In 2021, marketing tech might be AI. 

In 2009, marketing tech was programmatic advertising.

In 2004, it was social technologies and, wait for it, podcasting. 

The tech changes every year. How you differentiate yourself with that tech remains the same.

I want to steal a few lines from Brian. He wrote:

Think beyond using AI and automation to work as fast, at scale, and cheaply as possible. That’s what everyone else will do. Make that human touch more visible and more value-added. This is what the human economy is about: experiences and feelings that machines cannot replicate. Experiences are personal on every side. That’s what makes them special. They involve human beings and in reality, it’s that humanity combined with meaningful experiences that we’re going to seek out and pay a lot for.

Yes, adopt the tech.

And then be the most human company using that tech.

The most human pest control company.

The most human higher ed institution.

The most human healthcare provider.

The most human community library. 

The most human marketing newsletter in someone's inbox. 

That's the point. You don't have to choose: the most innovative brand or the most human. You can be both. You must be both.

September 14: 2022 Healthcare Marketing Trends Report [whitepaper]

One of my favorite times of year is approaching--the release day of Smith & Jones' annual Healthcare Marketing Trends report. This year you'll find the seven healthcare marketing trends you need to know. Be the first to receive the report and register for the webinar.

September 14-15: Montreal Cannabis Expo

Overit's Christopher Fasano will be speaking both days on the Health & Sciences stage. Chris will be talking about how to use human emotion to change consumer behavior. Want to catch it live? Register to attend.

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