On this 228th episode of “Marketing Today,” I interview Carrie Seifer, the GM of GlobalWebIndex in North America. The company is a market research SaaS company founded by Tom Smith in 2009 that provides audience insight to publishers, media agencies, and marketers around the world.

We start the conversation about how Seifer’s mindset has shifted throughout her career, going from focusing on the present to centered around where she wanted to go. Seifer then dives into the plethora of complex factors that go into purchasing decisions for Americans in today’s world.

There is mistrust across the board in America right now. In fact, “only a third of Americans trust what the government tells them.” Seifer and GWI recognize this mistrust and are working to change the fact that “only 9% of Americans feel like they are represented in the advertisement industry.” GWI believes that consumer interests, rather than demographics, should be the focus of all businesses. Seifer claims that “we’re not seeing shifts in behavior, just more and more of it,” and gives some insight into where that behavior is headed in a post-COVID world!

Highlights from this week’s “Marketing Today”:

  • Carrie was interested in what was new and exciting early in her career. 1:50
  • Think about where you want to go to avoid moving backward. 2:33
  • GWI helps companies all over the world tap into consumer perspectives. 3:35
  • The motivations that were behind the American-consumer focus. 5:04
  • Purchasing decisions are made based on a plethora of complex factors. 6:05
  • Habits that consumers are trending towards right now. 7:00
  • Boomers and older consumers have begun to embrace new technology. 8:22
  • There is a mistrust of advertisements because consumers don’t feel that they are represented. 10:30
  • People are tired of hearing fake news on social media and want it policed. 11:30
  • There is an opportunity to build trust with consumers, given the state of distrust right now. 12:55
  • People seem to be lumped together by generation or other characteristics when, in fact, people are very complex. 14:27
  • Common interests, instead of demographics, should be what advertisers consider when making assumptions. 15:58
  • Media companies are beginning to question their audience’s areas of interest. 18:24
  • This consumer data can be used by all leaders to motivate their teams better. 19:50
  • Safety is on the mind of everyone right now, which has slowed the mistrust of technology. 21:19
  • Everything that happens on a screen can be measured, which makes for smoother adaptation. 24:00
  • Carrie’s experience door-to-door experience taught her all about the great mix of data and storytelling. 25:36
  • Babbling shows guilt, and if you feel it, you need to learn to be more concise. 28:00
  • How the Roomba has helped Carrie appreciate the option of outsourcing to technology. 28:56
  • Digital concerts are being performed inside of video games, and it’s incredibly innovative. 30:57
  • Big brands are working towards making technology an equalizer for as many people as possible. 33:00
  • The lack of trust across the board may seem like a threat, but it is an amazing opportunity to come out of COVID with more sales. 33:47

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Alan B. Hart is the creator and host of “Marketing Today with Alan Hart,” a weekly podcast where he interviews leading global marketing professionals and business leaders. Alan advises leading executives and marketing teams on opportunities around brand, customer experience, innovation, and growth. He has consulted with Fortune 100 companies, but he is an entrepreneur at his core, having founded or served as an executive for nine startups.