Let’s have a bit of fun in this post. Shine up the crystal ball & make a few fearless prognostications.

What’s going to happen in the next 12-24 month? Here are 4 thoughts from the Fearless Competitor:

1. Social media grows up, finally - This one’s pretty easy. I attended Social Media Camp Long Island and met with Geoff Ferris, EVP of Sales, for Visible Technologies. The remarkable attendance at Social Media Camp shows the high interest. Geoff gave me a good overview of the exciting future for Visible Technologies. Can’t reveal the details, as what was shared was confidential, but one thing becomes clear. Social media becomes THE hub for prospect communication and research in 2011.
   Marketing take-away - If you’re not getting into social media with a blog, Twitter presence, Facebook fanpage and Linkedin profile - you miss out. If you don’t know where to start, go hire a college kid or an expert like the Fearless Competitor.
2. Mobile becomes the first screen - It’s coming, whether you like it or not. The first thing people look at will not be their computer monitor. It will be their smartphone, iPad, etc. Devices may change, but the bottom line is clear.
   Buyers will carry their viewing and communications device.
   Marketing takeaway - Make sure your communications, such as websites and emails, are optimized for mobile delivery today. If you don’t know how, look at Prediction 5.
3. Remote meetings become routine - The ubiquity of high-definition televisions, high-definition cameras and high-speed connections means that tele-presence from companies like Cisco, Polycom, Teliris, and AT&T, as well as entrepreneurs with Skype and high-definition webcams begin routinely conducting business around the world. Unfortunately, this is bad news for airlines and hotels.
   Marketing take-away - Look at your travel spend. Put a critical eye on it and determine which of those meetings could have been replaced with tele-presence.
   Certainly you cannot replace all face to face meetings, but also consider how you can make meetings more frequent using Tele-Presence. For instance, with telepresence a weekly global staff meeting is doable.
4. Small businesses and entrepreneurs rule - In this new fast paced world, the bulk of the innovation will come from small companies, able to switch on a dime.
   Marketing take-away - Look for those innovators and specialists to help your business. For instance, with worldwide fame and a syndicated blog, the Fearless Competitor offers Product Launch Services with tools and resources to help companies bring products to market - far better than most traditional PR firms.

What do you think? Do you agree with my 4 or would you like to suggest other predictions?  We love comments and we provide buttons to make sharing easy. If you like it, please share it. If you don’t, or just want to comment, we love to hear from our readers.

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Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor, is President of Find New Customers, a top lead generation company. “Lead Generation Made Simple.” He’s an expert in demand generation and also the author of three highly acclaimed white papers, How to Find New Customers and Definitive Guide to Making Quota, and a new one on email marketing, as well the e-book, Prospect Driven Marketing and holds a BBA in Marketing from the University of Notre Dame.

Find New Customers helps business develop and implement demand generation programs to drive more sales leads by improving the way they find and acquire new customers using best practices in lead generation.