If you examine history, you'll find evidence of marketing practices from thousands of years ago. From unique and consistent inscriptions on Greek pottery to advertisements inscribed on the walls of Naples, marketing has long been a staple of business. And while we've come a long way since then, businesses worldwide rely on effective marketing strategies and tactics to help them sell their products.
In fact, in an era full of new marketing channels and approaches, it can be challenging to figure out which tactics are the right approach. Let's discuss some of today's most effective tactics and how they may help you sell your products and services.
Digital Marketing: Indispensable Today
We are in an era where entire businesses operate online. Even many government agencies depend on online technology to function. Consequently, most customers across age groups and backgrounds expect businesses to have a digital presence. And without one, your business is at a significant competitive disadvantage.
Fortunately, many free or low-cost tools can help connect you with prospective customers and keep existing customers primed to purchase again. From location-based listing services to pay-per-click advertising, digital marketing tactics can connect you with consumers throughout Eau Claire and Southwest Wisconsin.
There are many different channels to choose from, some more suited to specific industries than others. So, whether you're selling DIY materials to homeowners or selling rockets to performing arts performances downtown, dive into digital and pick the platforms and tactics that work for your business
Audio Marketing: The Power of Broadcast Radio
While less seasoned marketers may question its relevance in today's digital era, experienced marketers know that broadcast radio remains a powerful tool in every advertising toolbox. Broadcast radio still reaches nearly 80 percent of Americans and, unlike many other tools, offers content consumers trust to a high degree.
Radio's ability to reach local consumers cost-effectively is hard to beat. Pairing radio with other types of marketing, like digital, can improve brand recall, brand credibility, and, ultimately, sales. If you want to reach consumers, broadcast radio should be a core component of your marketing approach.
Content Marketing: Educate, Engage, Convert
Whether listening to the radio, watching videos online, or scrolling through social media, Americans spend sizable chunks of their day consuming content. Creating content that educates and informs about your products, services, and industry can help you establish credibility with consumers and increase their likelihood of buying from you.
There are many ways to do this, including white papers, blogs, branded podcasts, longer-form social media content, and more. Identify the right content marketing strategies for your business and start crafting content as part of your marketing mix.
Social Media Marketing: Connecting With Consumers
It's not just younger consumers who are on social media platforms. You'll find consumers of all ages regularly posting and scrolling through content on the world's largest platforms. Now, higher concentrations of your target consumers may be on different platforms. But that's one of the benefits of social media marketing. You can easily reach key audiences by signing up for an account on a platform they frequent and posting engaging content.
Moreover, engaging with consumers about your content lets you demonstrate customer service, industry expertise, and brand personality in real-time. You can build meaningful relationships with consumers and generate a wealth of marketing data that can also help drive your ongoing marketing strategies.
Email Marketing: Building and Fostering Customer Relationships
Few types of marketing achieve the kind of marketing ROI that email marketing does. Businesses can reach tens of thousands of consumers for mere cents per address. If you convert just 5 percent of your list, you can turn a couple of hundred dollars in marketing expenses into tens of thousands in sales.
Moreover, email marketing keeps consumers educated and informed about your business, promotions, new products, and more. Regular emails increase your consumer's brand recall and, if carefully crafted, your brand credibility. Emails that elicit consumer feedback can provide valuable insights that can help shape your ongoing product, sales, and marketing strategies.
Influencer Marketing: Leveraging Industry Voices
While the phrase "influencer marketing" is relatively new, it has been in practice for a long time. Leveraging the voices people trust to market products has been a staple of local radio and television for decades. With the advent of social media, podcasts, blogs, and similar online platforms, influencer marketing has exploded in popularity in recent years.
To get the most value from influencer marketing, it's best to connect with the influencers that most align with your brand and your company values. An influencer known for trolling isn't the best fit for a family-owned manufacturing supplies company. But in every industry, there are credible voices who speak to the audiences you're trying to reach in Eau Claire, the Chippewa Valley, and beyond.
Event Marketing: Connecting Face-to-Face
No matter how much marketing is done online these days, face-to-face connections are invaluable. Leveraging the power of the personal pitch at trade shows, conferences, networking events, ceremonies, product launches, and event sponsorship can greatly improve marketing outcomes, especially in local markets.
As with all of these types of marketing, it's important to carefully choose the events that best fit your business and industry. But a well-executed event can excite your consumers in a way that online marketing often can't. And excited consumers are more likely not only to buy from you but to tell their family, friends, and neighbors about your brand as well.
Choosing the Right Marketing Strategies
Successful marketing relies on businesses choosing the right marketing strategies to promote their business. But consumer preferences evolve, competitors adjust their tactics, and economic and regulatory factors shift. Today, you can't rely on an advertising and marketing approach established in January to carry you through December without adjusting along the way. And thanks to digital technology, you have more data than ever to make those adjustments.
But it can be difficult to decipher that data to make the right changes when you're busy operating your business. It can be just as difficult to determine the right combination of channels and content to start with in the first place. In markets like Southwest Wisconsin, tried-and-true staples like broadcast radio offer a powerful marketing opportunity to reach local audiences in a manner that resonates and is cost-effective. Combining broadcast radio with other approaches, like digital marketing, can greatly enhance your credibility and conversion rates.
If you want to increase your local footprint, contact us at Mid-West Family. We can help you put together the right marketing strategies that help you build your brand's credibility and reach to help you achieve your business and sales goals.
