Are people talking about your brand?
Changing your marketing strategy will help your company get noticed.
When a customer becomes interested in your brand is when the pull starts. Apple is great at this. Their buzz around product launches right down to the white earbuds lets everyone know you have an Apple product creating a social branding identity. So how can you translate what large companies with billions of marketing dollars do to your business? I always instruct my clients to “build a meaningful bond with prospects and customers. You are not selling a product you are selling your expertise and solution.” No marketing will not get you noticed and relying on a friend to remember to tell a friend about your company will not result in a steady customer stream. Although a referral is the best, you need to do more marketing to get your brand out there! It takes between 12-24 touches (web and direct) for your brand to be remembered.
Provide a purpose for people to engage with your brand. Hear your customer’s voice through engagement and become a partner in their business (B2B) or personal life (B2C) will help your company get on the branding track.
Purpose-What can you offer customers? Home Depot® does a great job at this offering monthly Saturday “how-to” workshops and Lowe’s® produces Creative Ideas for Home and Garden®, a print magazine on cost-effective creative gardening and bedroom ideas. This is where several ideas on how to expand my outdoor living space came from!
Engagement- This can be achieved through social media or linking direct mail with a call to action. Always give the customer several ways to be in contact with you by adding your social media buttons to all of your marketing (including invoices!) and list your website. This also gives you a chance to interact with a customer and become partners. Here at T.Ella Marketing Solutions, one marketing strategy for a client combined Facebook marketing, event marketing, a direct mail piece with a call to action to a targeted demographic and educating the sales team about the marketing effort. As I write this, sales are going through the roof!
Partner-Provide meaningful content to show that you know what you are talking about (become their expert!) This can be accomplished through blogs, case studies, monthly newsletters and posting images to your Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and website showing how you helped a customer. MSPCA Angell® produces a wonderful newsletter with tear-jerking articles about rescued animals letting contributors know how their money is being spent. You bet I am giving money again this year!