Old-fashioned marketing tactics has proved successful for many businesses in past years so why change something that has been working for so long? Well, the market has shifted so drastically these past few years in terms of customers demanding more from a company than just their product. They want a company to develop a deeper relationship with them, provide more information, and overall a different kind of experience. This is why we are going to tell you which four marketing tactics you need to say goodbye to. Don’t worry, we aren’t just going to tell you what not to do, we’re also going to give you four NEW marketing strategies that you can use to satisfy this new type of market.
Stop Doing This: Ads That Are Purely Promotional
Customers that have a good experience with a company spend 140% more compared to those that had a bad experience. This is insane! With customers looking to have a good experience, why are companies falling short of providing so? Ads that only promote their product without providing any sort of value to the customer are failing to give their customer a good experience with their brand. This is a missed opportunity that you don’t want to fall victim to!
Do This Instead: Create Value-Rich Content
People are craving content that provides value to them. This is a HUGE opportunity that many businesses are not taking advantage of! People are conducting their own research through blog posts, videos, or articles that are providing some sort of answer to the question they are asking. So why are businesses throwing away thousands of dollars on ads that are irrelevant and unhelpful to their market? Don’t make this mistake. Avoid overly promotional pieces and create something that screams value to your market. Your willingness to help will not go unnoticed. This will build your brand, trust, and make you desirable to your market.
Stop Doing This: Talking AT Your Market
Imagine that you want to buy a new computer but don’t know which computer would be the best one for you. While trying to figure this out, you have different computer companies yelling in your ear telling you to buy their product because “it’s the best!” With every company saying their computer is the best, how are you supposed to know which one is actually the right fit for your needs? Talking AT your market and telling them to buy your product is a marketing trend that needs to stop NOW. Customers don’t want to be told what to buy, they want to be educated, informed, and be able to ask questions about a product or service. They’re looking for an honest answer that will direct them to the right product that fulfills their needs. These one-sided marketing conversations such as billboards, television commercials, and magazine ads are becoming a turn-off to customers since there is no room for a conversation.
Do This Instead: Have a Conversation with Your Market
With the internet and smartphones ruling any industry now days, having a conversation with your market is easier than ever! Use your company’s social media accounts to listen to what your market is saying or asking about your industry and respond. Whether it be writing blog posts highlighting a problem and solution for your market or asking your customer questions, having an interaction that proves helpful for the customer will attract them to YOU. If potential customers see that you are listening to what their problem is, they will look to you to help them find a solution.
Stop Doing This: Going Straight to the Customer
This old-fashioned marketing tactic of getting your ad or product in front of the customer is proving less effective now. Customers are getting tired of unwanted ads and quite frankly, they should be. With the amount of time and money it takes to get your ad distributed to the largest audience is time and money wasted. This should make you cringe because you’ve worked hard to make your business successful, why waste your success on an ineffective marketing tactic? It doesn’t make sense, does it? Focus on the quality of your customer rather than quantity. So how do you attract more valuable customers that are more likely to purchase your product or
service? Let them come to you.
Do This Instead: Let Customers Come to You
It is becoming easier for customer to find you through social media, search engines, and online content. While conducting research for their problem, they may have stumble upon your business while looking for a solution. They could very well be attracted to your social media posts and are avidly keeping up with your business. This presents a great opportunity for you to turn this audience into customers. I mean, they’re already interested in your product or service since their research led them to you, so why wouldn’t they want to be your customer? This saves you time and money it took to familiarize your market about your brand! Instead you’re introduced to a more valuable market, one that is already aware of their problem and are now looking to you for a solution.
Stop Doing This: Always Be Selling
Have you ever been to a party and all someone did was talk about themselves? We would like to say as politely as we can, don’t be that person! We fully understand that you need sales to be successful. That’s “How to Run a Business 101” right there. However, constantly selling yourself to your market can be a huge turnoff and will end up directing your potential customers away from you.
Do This Instead: Put Your Market’s Interest First
Customers want someone to sympathize with them about their problem and then someone to hold their hand through the process of finding a solution. Be this figure to them. Let them know you genuinely care about their interests and that you want to be there to help them find a solution. Customers will notice that you are interested in them and will build trust towards you. By putting their wants and needs before yours will create a strong foundation for a long-lasting relationship between you and your customer.
Learning new tricks isn’t always easy but keeping up with the best marketing tactics is always worth it. Need help putting your new marketing plan together? Attend our February 20 workshop with the McMinnville Chamber of Commerce.
For more on articles on marketing, take a look at these: