The most powerful thing you can do for your business is to have your brand consistently in front of by your target market where they hang out, and at each exposure, that your look, feel and voice is done exceptionally well. This includes your signage, digital presence, physical collateral and social media channels. So where do you put your money to get the best bang for your buck?
Recently, marketers indicated that digital channels are four of their top five most important marketing channels, with newspaper advertising and trade shows-events making up the balance. But the feedback from consumers, about the channels that inform their purchase decisions, was very different, indicating some interesting inconsistencies in typical marketing placement to what consumers say inform their purchase decisions.
Top channels marketers have used in the last 12 months: 50% Brand website | 47% Social media | 46% Email marketing | 35% Online advertising | 30% Newspaper advertising | 29% Tradeshow-Events
Top channels consumers use to inform their purchase decisions: 72% Recommendation from family / friends | search engine results 48% | 38% TV advertising | 35% Brand website | 35% brochures- leaflets- catalogues / magazines | 33% Letterbox | 33% online catalogues
It seems that in same cases, they've missed their mark in marketing. Each business is unique and a ‘default’ one-size-fits-all solution is simply not appropriate to funnel everyone into digital marketing in our view. We are not all the same and there is nothing wrong with that. We are not meant to be doing all the same thing. There is room in the world for different business models, different ways of approaching our markets – and in fact, that could be a competitive edge – not to be competing with everyone else and doing something uniquely different.
For example, let’s take a shy service oriented local painter selling a $20,000 house repaint in a site visit to a 55 year old married woman, who will discuss the quote with her partner and consider comparison quotes. It is a purchase made every 7-10 years (long buying cycle) that is high-risk to the buyer (big investment with long-term expectations and some expensive consequences if the paint job goes wrong). Contrast that with a sales oriented 'Network Queen' ecommerce reseller of MLM $50 beauty products delivering Australia wide to females under 35 using their supplier’s product images. This is a low-risk barrier to purchase (small investment, little consequences) and a product that may not be offered past next year and bought every 3-4 months (short buying cycle).
They need different things. They want different things. They have different resources and skills. Let’s not funnel them into what ‘everyone’ is doing. They need a strategy suited to their personality, their business, and their market.
Australia has one of the strongest eCommerce markets in the world; a fact that Amazon has embraced as they opened their digital doors to Aussies looking for low prices and fast shipping. With global online sales expected to top $27 trillion by 2020, there’s plenty of room for local retails to cash in on the action. Using search ads, display ads, remarketing and product-focused experiences, if you have the budget and buying power – and your market sits here – this can be a powerful strategy.
The downside: lot of the price focus comes from the rise of eCommerce. Trying to portray ‘value’ as opposed to ‘price’ can be very difficult online. In store, or in person, it’s easier. Online, when a customer sees the right product at the right price, it’s difficult to talk them out of that sale. Also, when you go online to conduct a search, the first results that appear are the larger companies that are paying through the nose for those top search positions, but they also have the buying power to offer the lowest prices. From there, it can simply be a price competition.
Digital Marketers sell digital marketing and it common to have discussions only about digital channels, their performance and statistics, whereas an omni-channel broad based provider will consider all of a client’s needs, discuss all channels available to you and will keep a consistent experience across all platforms. Digital marketing is essential in our mind, but if you don’t have the foundations set in your business, and a strategy suited specifically to you, you might be better investing your well earned money with Ladbrokes!
Research shows:
75% of customers expect absolute consistency no matter how they engage
86% of customers are happy to pay more for a product or service when they’re offered a better customer experience (CX)
27% of customers switch brands because they are not able to get answers from the business
If you are selling high volume items, the last fact may not bother you. If you are selling $20,000 house repaints, it may bother you more. Different needs. Different solutions.
So what is the solution?
A strategy that matches your and the brand’s personality, a value offering, consistency of branding, message and pricing structures, the right marketing channels for your business, great customer experience and tools for sales and marketing and conversion – both physical and digital. And a (swear word coming for some)...... budget.
First step: Consider what resources do you have available – financial, time, skills and experience, work out what are the gaps in your business in its foundations, who is your market, how you are going to attract them, where they hang out, and how to do this affordably. And take one careful and considered step at a time, that allows you to keep trading, keep profitable and keep offering value to your market. 85% of people expect brands to offer good value for money and competitive pricing in order to retain their loyalty.
Second step: Download our free E-Book ‘Fish Where the Fish Are – Making Sense of Multichannel Marketing’ (see link below) to get industry insights into:
Defining your ideal client, understanding them and how to attract them;
Setting a budget and priority list you can afford;
Ways you can build a better customer experience and trust with your clients and prospects;
A buyers journey – both in the digital and physical world;
Digital trends – who is hanging out where in the digital world;
A ‘channel chart’ map of foundational items you need in place for your business before you start spending on marketing.
Third step: Call us on 1300 244 001 and let’s chat.