No matter the product or service you are marketing, connecting with consumers is always your top priority.
In today’s challenging economic conditions, connecting with consumers is as important as ever.
Face it; many consumers have myriad of choices of where to buy their goods and services from, so your marketing efforts need to stand out from the pack, especially when pitching the public via the Internet.
With that in mind, are your online marketing efforts truly connecting with today’s consumers?
Use the Internet to Make a Connection
In order for your online marketing efforts to hit a home run with consumers, you need to cover all your bases.
These would include:
- Email marketing – Although some marketers have pulled away from email marketing to some degree or another, countless others still rely on it to state their cases to consumers. If you’re using email marketing, keep the messages short and sweet. Keep in mind that consumers are typically bombarded with pitches from marketers and businesses on a daily basis, so don’t add to the frustration they sometimes feel by getting yet more marketing messages in their in-boxes. Also make sure your pitches come across as informative and worthwhile, not just looking for a sale and nothing else. Lastly, leave a positive but not over-bearing call to action to end your message;
- Mobile marketing – More and more marketers are putting their time and efforts behind mobile marketing. With this version of marketing having exploded in the last few years, mobile marketing is a great means to reach consumers in an instant. Whether you are marketing real estate, legal services, vehicle maintenance products and services, home furnishings, children’s products, or hundreds of others goods and/or services, mobile is where it is at today. Mobile marketing gives you a great opportunity to reach shoppers when they are in the decision making process. You should also use your mobile opportunities to offer consumers discounts and rewards programs, both of which are likely to encourage them to make a purchase or two. Just like with email marketing or any other form of marketing, don’t be over-bearing when it comes to trying to make a sale;
- Social marketing – Marketers who shy away from social media are leaving themselves without one of the best means with which to reach consumers. Your social efforts should be concentrated on the major players in this market, among which include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn etc. Keep in mind that you may not be even marketing a product or service per se, but instead an invitation to attend a seminar, conference, open house etc. LinkedIn is a great venue to do just that given the countless professionals using the site on a daily basis. Also be sure to regularly engage consumers on your social media sites. Unfortunately, some marketers pay little or no attention to their social venues, thereby missing out on great opportunities to market their brands. You, on the other hand, should not be one of those marketers. When consumers come to one of your social venues with a question about a product or service, engage with them as soon as possible. Your ultimate goal should be to send them away satisfied with your time and efforts, leaving them with the idea of doing business with you. Lastly, always stay positive on social media. The last thing you want to do is to get into a negative conversation on a social venue, a conversation that could ultimately end up hurting your brand;
- Being a good listener – You might stop and ask, why is being a good listener part of my marketing needs? Simply put, those businesses doing too much talking and not enough listening are typically the ones struggling to make inroads with consumers. With millions and millions of consumers flooding the Internet, take a few moments to step back and hear what they are saying. What do they need? What do they like and don’t like about your industry? How can you be their go-to brand? These are but a few of the questions you should be mulling over and having answers for. As great as your marketing campaigns may be, it is listening to the consumer that ultimately wins you the prize, most notably their business.
Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com
About the Author: Dave Thomas covers marketing topics on the web.
