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It’s no secret that the way brands reach consumers and convert prospects into leads has changed dramatically in the last decade.
Rather than promoting a product to a faceless mass of people, successful companies are tailoring their strategies and content to specific individuals. Consumers want to feel special and fully informed about a product or service before spending their hard-earned dollars on it. They expect incredible customer experience before, during, and after the sale, and they put their trust into companies that make this an integral part of their culture. Just as customer experience should no longer be viewed as a single department, marketing, too, must be top of mind for every team member. There are no shortcuts or hidden tactics – marketing encompasses many different elements and must be nurtured and fine-tuned over time.
On this week’s episode of Ditch the Box, most David Marinac sits down with Owen Blevens, a Partner at Focus Inbound and experienced consultant specializing in inbound marketing strategies.
Blevens explains that marketing strategies in the modern age should never be viewed as a 100-yard dash — it’s more like a marathon, and every team member must employ hard work on a consistent basis to achieve results. Good content trumps everything, he says, and educating and informing clients is much more effective than trying to sell to them. Gone are the days when companies could just advertise a product and hope customers get on board with it. Today’s shoppers want to receive something of value in exchange for their time, and great companies will be transparent with pricing and a breadth of information about their goods online and during one-on-one chats with interested consumers.
A company’s website is often the first place prospects go when they want to learn more about a brand and its offerings, and your team should always place themselves in the visitor’s shoes when mapping out the content that represents the brand online. Thinking about a client’s pain points and challenges shows them the company understands their world and is providing solutions that assist them. After a visitor has digested the great content online, brands can then provide additional tools and materials, like videos and eBooks, that help establish themselves as subject matter experts. Blevens says it’s crucial to never violate a customer’s trust and to always err on the side of caution when asking them for their information. Providing unique content for each individual buyer persona will establish a relationship between producer and consumer that is based on trust and understanding.
Blevens explains that addressing consumers’ problems helps people bond with companies and become loyal brand advocates.
There are no games or tricks, and brands can’t force feed their offerings onto people. It’s all about using organic methods to draw in consumers rather than trying to cheat the system or mimic what other successful companies are doing. Enacting a blended strategy focused on audience engagement and thought leadership is what helps some of the world’s greatest businesses get ahead. Blevens says today’s companies can’t just hire an agency to handle increasing their visibility. Clients typically won’t take responsibility for their own failures, and this is how things begin to spiral out of control. When the entire organization makes marketing strategiesand customer service part of their overall mission and company culture, the seeds of success will be planted and will continue to grow at a steady and sustainable pace.