The Power Of What's Next Thinking

QUESTION from ablake.com forum:

Marlon. Where do you get your vision from when looking into the future of online marketing and coming up with new ideas?

Can you give us a peak inside your head?

MY ANSWER:

Hi,

Well, no one can possibly see everything.

A lot of times, when you're really in tune with yourmarket, you can just feel it and sense it. What'scoming next.

I also will practice "What's Next" thinking. That's theeasiest thing to do.

Example:

1. What's the NEXT logical way people will providePROOF their product delivers benefits?
We already know everyone is using testimonials. Sowhat will be next with testimonials? Obviously, we'llsee a lot more video.

Then what?

I was one of the first to use screen caps of statementsonline...(Cash Like Clockwork and Gimme Secrets). Then,others took that way beyond what I had even envisioned.Practically to an art form.

So what's NEXT?

What will be the NEXT way people prove the product deliversbenefits or that the testimonials are real?

OK. We had instant audio. Then instant video. What'snext in the logical progression? text ----audio----video------???? What's next?

What would next in that logical progression?

How about interactive video? How about customizablevideo? How about 1 hour video trainings streamed onthe Net? How about web cam training?

Products:

We had manuals and cd's and tapes....then ebooks....then back to manuals and cd's....now DVD's...what's next?

My WHAT NEXT was the Marketing Dashboard. Now, I haveto START thinking what's next beyond that.

Armand recently did this with the sales letter/web sitegenre. He created the Marketing Makeover Generator.A brilliant what's next.

Online Marketing:

Frank and Ed said what's next...and their answer was anexact, specific system for marketing to niches. Brilliant.

What's next?

For them, it's multi media. Possibly. And an integration tool.

Beyond "niche marketing" what's next in the logicalprogression?

Micro niche marketing? Or will it go upstream tomega niche marketing? Or will it go to deeper nichemarketing? Selling deep into 1 niche?

I think it has already happened: "no niche marketing"That's called Google Adsense and that whole genre. Noproduct needed at all!

What's next beyond that?

Maybe software that does the same thing but integrateswith Yahoo Publisher's Network and Miva.

Another way to do things is to cross breed industries.

You take something from 1 industry or arena and applyit to yours.
Like American Idol or Reality TV.

You could have Internet Marketing Reality Contest.

Or an audition for the "become a marketing superstar"contest.
And so you asked a question here.

I answered.

What's next?

I'm asking that right now about Push Button Letters.What's the NEXT version of it? What capabilities canI add? What would it do?

There is a logical progression of ideas if you studyhistory. 1 thing led to another led to another.
All logically. What's next in the sequence?

Oh INTERNET MARKETING

We just had Butterfly Marketing...that was a what'snext by Mike.

It's about viral marketing done differently from whatmost do. But a lot will likely jump on the bandwagon.

So what's next in terms of viral marketing? Whatwould be the next logical progression? The nextlogical twist?

All Mike did was take Mark Joyner and do a what's next.He took it to another level.
What's the NEXT level?

Viral marketing is a way to build lists. It has somegood points and flaws.

What might be next in terms of a way that has all thegood but eliminates the flaws?

Marlon