IQ-Magazine-Issue-12

IQ marketing
The Modern Consumer
One running theme and topic of conversation, when
we discuss the future, is the heightened expectations
of the modern consumer, who demands a more
personalised communication whilst also wanting
transactions to be smooth and seamless. Brands will
also need to ask less from consumers, but provide
more. Those that do this will benefit from superior
brand awareness, improved conversion rates, better
brand affinity and consumer loyalty. Get your head
around this, and the rest should follow.
Personal Branding
Promoting individuals as experts in their field will
play an important role and is no longer just for the
airy-fairy PR types. PR gets serious and becomes
50% about the business and 50% about the experts
within that business. Sending out highly relevant
information across your platforms and proving that
your business ‘knows its stuff’ will be key to clients
purchasing your product and service. Social media is
a dream for this activity, but the traditional methods
are also very effective and important. Engagement
with the press, and talking to relevant groups, will
pitch your personal brand at the right level.
Micro Targeting
This is a marketing activity I really enjoy, as the
results are clear and ROI easier to evaluate. It’s
delving deeper, getting personal and speaking to
your sales team to ask who is at the top of their wish
list and how we can engage with those individuals.
Getting personal will be something every brand
should be clamouring to do this year. Sending tactile
information which touches the potential client is an
important factor in successful micro targeting. This
is where the sales and marketing functions merge; it’s
a good thing, and you should encourage this if you
want to see your organisation flourish.
Digital
Last year digital accounted for 25% of the marketing
budget, and this year that figure is expected to rise to
33%. How many times have we heard that ‘content is
king’! However, it’s true, and looking at what the content
is, where it sits and what it says is absolutely crucial to
driving the success of your digital strategy. The aim is to
not slip from that first page of Google, and the strategy
for doing that, changes regularly. However SEO is not
the be all and end all, how we convert those visitors into
leads or customers is the ultimate end game. This is
where visitors must have a great online experience with
your brand, made possible through cracking design and
development. Another buzzword to throw out there is
automated marketing. Again, it’s not easy or cheap, but
it’s highly effective. At its best, marketing automation is
software and tactics that allow companies to buy and sell
like Amazon - that is, to nurture prospects with highly
personalised and useful content which helps convert
prospects into customers.
The good old-fashioned mix
Individual marketing activity is part of a mix, and what
the right mix is for your business is the million-dollar
question. When your mix is right, the bottom line
hopefully produces the figure you project. This is where
we see most small businesses struggling, as the bigger
picture fails to be considered; my favourite saying is
‘When you cannot see the wood for the trees’. Sometimes
you need someone to help you do that, so you can get on
with running your business.
Print
Yes, I know some may argue this is old school, but I don’t
totally agree. We see great results from print work, and
brochures are very important for most businesses. Leaving
behind a tactile, creative brochure with key information
after a meeting should not be underestimated. Brochures
can reach the right person’s desk far more effectively than
a link to a website. Savvy clients will consider having their
very own seasonal publication; this enables them to push
their desired message whilst offering a lifestyle read. This
can also help tick the ‘personal branding’ box.
issue 12 | page 21