With a proliferating number of channels and an audience that is more socially connected than ever, the rate at which marketing trends are evolving is nothing short of incredible. With so many factors impacting the success of current marketing campaigns, wouldn’t it be great to be able to compare your efforts to how leading marketing executives are combating these challenges? Now before you get too excited, we’re not suggesting that this is a one-size fits all approach to marketing, but a recent report has highlighted that successful businesses are focusing on five key marketing initiatives to drive sales for the remainder of 2017.
1. Align your brand with your customer needs
The underlying purpose of marketing is to build a bridge between what your customer needs and how your business can provide it, so implementing any successful marketing campaign relies on the fact that your brand truly aligns with what your customers need, both practically and emotionally. The easiest way to determine this? Start by understanding what your customers are buying and work backwards. Someone who buys their coffee from Starbucks isn’t just buying a coffee, they are buying the service, the environment, a lifestyle, and how all of that makes them feel.
2. Develop a target marketing strategy through market segmentation
Successful marketing is about selling to the right people at the right time. Trying to appeal to a broad customer base with a blanket marketing approach will not work and is simply a waste of your resources. Take time to carefully define each target audience, and tailor your messages in a way that will engage to them.
3. Use targeted content marketing to shorten the sales cycle
Content marketing can be defined as the creation and sharing of online materials (such as blogs, emails, and videos) that stimulate interest in a brand rather than explicitly promoting it. And content is very much king, with over 80% of marketers using the initiative.
The key focus here however is to develop content that is targeted to a specific audience at a specific stage of the sales process, therefore shortening the cycle altogether. For instance, a digital communication targeting a prospect who sits at the top of the sales funnel should have a very different message to one that targets someone who is ready to buy.
4. Measure the effectiveness of your campaigns
Businesses can accumulate a ton of data relatively easily, but it’s imperative to use this data to understand how marketing spend relates to revenue. Investible resources are limited, so understanding the return on investment and therefore the effectiveness of your campaigns is crucial.
5. Adopt a holistic approach to marketing
Customers are reading, watching, listening, and engaging on more platforms than ever before, and your marketing mix needs to reflect this diverse use of media. Start with a variety of cross-channel components and measure their success over time in order to focus your resources most effectively.
Finally, a key finding to come out of the report was that marketers are focusing on these tactics as a cycle, rather than a straight line- leveraging an understanding from each and applying it to the next.
eWavelength have successfully created and implemented marketing strategies and campaigns for companies across the globe. If you need any information about how we can help your business, please contact one of the eWavelength team on info@ewavelength.com.