Getting the word out about your brand or business in a way that's effective and marketable is extremely difficult. There's simply a lot of noise out there, and the process of creating a brand that stands out from the rest of the crowd is easier said than done.
Building a brand and consistently communicating your message can be a full-time job in and of itself. As a small business owner or manager, it can be difficult to constantly think about what needs to be done to keep in front of your audience and increase your brand's visibility.
This means that it's important to use a variety of strategies and tactics to reach the goals that you have for your business.
Here are the answers to 9 popular questions on promotion strategies for your brand.
As brands shift from a linear to a digital world, their marketing plan needs to address all those touchpoints. They have to ensure that all those touchpoints continue to play a role in the ongoing customer experience.
This is why it is ever more important to think ahead. Start planning your marketing strategy for the new media landscape NOW rather than later.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) takes time, so get it started now so that you can reap the benefits later.
Marketers can sometimes spend up to 30-50% of their budgets on marketing and PR. The clearest example of this comes from Coca Cola.
Coca Cola once thought that their brand had been advertised enough — I mean who hasn't heard of Coca Cola? — so they decided to cut their marketing budget in half for the year.
What happened?
Coca Cola experienced the biggest loss in sales that year since the whole 'New Coke' fiasco. It just goes to show you how important marketing and PR is.
Yes, they are the right way to go. However, it has to be very careful as it can eat into the margins and add a burden on the balance sheet. And not every company can do it. Also, it can be an extremely expensive exercise.
The real estate business is an excellent example where it is not possible to have a single channel marketing approach. In most of the cases, there are a number of different sales channels that need to be tapped into.
And the cost of promoting each of these channels has to be considered. It should also be remembered that the value of a brand does not come from the number of touchpoints that it has. What is important is the impact that the brand has on the customer.
So, the promotion should be about the impact the brand has on the customer. And to get this impact, the campaigns should be focused on a particular stage in the customer's purchase journey.
A multi-channel approach ensures that the entire customer journey is covered. The buyer always has the option of saying "no", and being a one-time customer with the brand.
Through customer appreciation programs and engaging them emotionally. Not all people respond to promotions. People don't need rewards for their loyalty. Reward them emotionally by acknowledging their brand loyalty.
The audience wants to be acknowledged by the brands they love. Even small words of appreciation go a long way in a brand's cause. Even in their feedback, they will appreciate it when you show appreciation for the work they have put in.
A loyal brand advocate is usually someone who gets there early to the brand. Many customers love to be able to discover a relatively niche brand that they like and spread the word about it.
You can think that if you get to one of these people early, and give them an excellent customer experience, you'll have them for life.
Absolutely, it can be leveraged in customer acquisition campaigns. When we talk about customer acquisition, we are talking about moving a customer from a potential customer to an actual customer. Customer acquisition is a necessary activity, but it is no longer the core part of the marketing plan.
So, it is important to build up a customer base that is satisfied. Once they are satisfied, they will naturally want to stay on with the brand, as that will give them continued value. Customers who are happy will form brand advocates, and will easily leave the brand should there be a sudden change in the customer experience.
No. Social media is just another channel to engage the customer, and as long as that engagement is through digital channels, social media is not a threat to the in-store experience of brands.
The brand should remain focused on the customer experience.
Customer satisfaction is one of the biggest reasons why people come to a business or brand.
In the small business community, PR, marketing and advertising are some of the most commonly used strategies, and business owners and managers have probably come across many different approaches to getting their message out there. Some of these approaches include direct marketing, advertising, and PR.
Absolutely.
PR, if done right, can be the answer that keeps on giving. Good quality coverage in online magazines can boost your reputation across the net, increase your SEO, and get actual customers a way to see you that is not your own advertising.
Just think about it — wouldn't you trust the recommendation of a friend or colleague over the business itself telling you to buy from them? It seems obvious when we say that, but third party recommendations are the same thing.
Consider trying our online PR platform where we make sure your business gets put in online magazines that are seen by 10,000-100,000 people a month.
