Marketing Trends for 2010: What you need to know to stay ahead of the curve
by Cyndee Woolley, APR
Are you familiar with Twitter and Facebook? What about LinkedIn?
Chances are, you’re not only familiar with them, but you have actively used one or more of them to market your business in the past six months. 2009 was the year that platforms like Twitter and Facebook, and social media in general, exploded. Corporations, small businesses, non-profits, and individuals jumped on the bandwagon, and the hype surrounding social media continued to grow throughout the year.
Unfortunately, a good bit of the ‘hype’ that elevated social media was the promise of a free advertising tool. Many small businesses missed the opportunity for authentic engagement with their customers. They failed to strategically manage their time and the long-term commitment that it takes for any marketing initiative to succeed. And, the bandwagon left town with hopes and dreams of free income.
Looking forward, 2010 will continue to see the digital push with internet marketing and social media. However, I see many businesses going back to the basics and re-evaluating their overall use of marketing tools.
The name of the game really is “engagement”
According to The Fundamentals of Business to Business Sales and Marketing, 68% of long-term customers stop buying because they just don’t feel ‘loved’.
Customer loyalty is a thing of the past. There are many companies willing to step in and take your place with a new product or service that is ‘better’ than yours. You will have to engage your customers on a regular basis to demonstrate your appreciation for their needs and their business.
How can you get them involved? Ask.
Surveys used to be expensive and cumbersome. With products like Survey Monkey, Constant Contact’s survey feature, or LinkedIn polls, you can create and distribute a quick survey in less than an hour. If you’ve taken the time to build relationships on Facebook or Twitter, 140 characters (a quick question) can often garner plenty of responses to give you direction.
This instant feedback involves your customer in the decision process and gives you real time data to adjust your approach. Feedback can vary from menu items, to customer service satisfaction, market testing for new products, or collaborating on charitable endeavors. You will never get a 100% response rate, but your most vocal customers will come back and they will help spread the word about you.
Consistency is key for success
If you build it, they will not come. You have to touch your prospects an average of seven times before they react to your message. This is true for all marketing tools. In an integrated marketing strategy, these seven ‘magic’ touches come in the form of:
Newspaper advertisement
Email
Direct mail piece
Phone call
E-newsletter
Facebook Post
Tweet
In-person visit
Blog post
Newspaper article
Yellow pages advertisement
Website
While we are moving to a digital age, culturally, we are not ready to make a complete transition. In the Southwest Florida market, this is demonstrated by multiple successful printed magazines, weekly and bi-weekly papers.
Companies are taking a step back to re-evaluate their customers and existing capacity to define which marketing tools best integrate in their business strategy. This will absolutely involve some sort of ‘social network’ interaction supplemented with more traditional marketing tools.
Rinse, Repeat… STOP… ROI?
I’ve been told many times that “50% of my marketing dollars are absolutely ineffective… the problem is that I don’t know which 50% it is.”
While it is ok to try out a new tool or strategy, it is imperative to start with a goal in mind. Ask yourself the following questions:
Will this project bring me new customers?
Will this project encourage referrals from existing customers?
Will this project generate good will – for my customers or stake holders?
If the answer to any of these questions is YES, the next question is “How much?” and “How will I measure results?”
If the answer to those questions is NO, then you should really ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?”
During the boom years, it was easy to drop thousands of dollars on random mailings and feel good advertisements. Businesses have cut back to bare-bones marketing dollars. While the economy is slowly recovering, business owners will be very cautious about their spending. Marketers are going to have to show a direct return on investment to justify the expense. This is true in traditional media as well as social media.
Bigger is not better… Better is better…
In 2009, many marketers proclaimed that “Direct mail is Dead!” According to local Direct Mail Man, Blasé Ciabaton, industry statistics shows otherwise. Non-profit organizations still pull a significant amount of donations through direct mail campaigns. As much as 50-70% of a campaign’s success depends on the mailing list.
The overwhelming principle that transcends marketing tools is the need to know who your customer is and what buying cycle they are on. Business to Business and Business to Consumer Lists can target customer cycles on very specific data. Use these professional lists to touch people, when they are more likely to buy. The other bonus is that these defined lists generate more effective results on every marketing campaign.
Everyone is not an expert
Well, perhaps we are experts… but we are not committed to regularly broadcasting that expert knowledge online.
Content marketing is producing valuable information about your product and industry. If you are able to commit the time and effort in producing this content on a regular basis, you are ahead of the curve.
In true social media style, 2010 will give more room for collaborative marketing initiatives. Non-competing groups of businesses have a unique opportunity to collaborate on marketing initiatives and share in the rewards. This could come in the form of shared content, shared marketing lists and shared leads.
Who said that?
At the very core of a marketing plan is an understanding the roles and responsibilities for implementing the plan. In the past year, social media ‘gurus’ jumped into the scene, changing the way we communicated. The lines between public relations, marketing, advertising and social media have blurred to barely discernable lines. This evolution has elevated the discussion about communication strategy and how it fits into a business’ goals.
As false social media gurus drop off and true strategists remain, I think there will be more collaboration at the communications table. Public Relations, Marketing and Social Media are unique roles within an organization that contribute to the overall success of a company.
Overall, the above trends are just that: trends. Whenever your company decides to implement any of the above, and you should, you must always craft a consistent and strategic plan to successfully implement them. This is one piece of marketing advice that has remained sound throughout the years, and will continue to remain a staple of effective marketing in the years to come.
Cyndee Woolley is an Accredited Public Relations professional (APR) with nine years of experience in marketing and public relations. For more information, visit www.C2-Com.com