Marketing In a Post-Covid World
Many things have changed since Covid-19, but what have remained constant are the fundamentals of marketing. While marketing strategies might have evolved, the goal has not. The purpose of marketing is to educate and convince your audience to purchase or utilize your products and services. You still need to find and examine how your target audience is interacting with the various online platforms available to them and then invest in the channels that are right for your company. And….you still need to show value and offer your customers a solution.
How to Market Taking A Stand
Sometimes the solution is taking a stand for causes that are important to your customers. The idea of brands supporting different causes certainly wasn’t a new concept pre Covid-19, but that strategy hasn’t drawn as much attention in the past as it is now. Last year we saw hundreds of companies and brands take a stand for racial equality, diversity, and inclusion, along with implementing new green practices and sustainability. Nowadays, consumers expect their favorite brands to become more socially responsible, and it will become even more common, as time goes on.
So, what does taking a stand look like in terms of marketing? Take LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton for example. Early on in the pandemic, this company switched from making perfumes and cosmetics to focus on producing hand sanitizer for Parisian hospitals. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton also donated 40 million masks to frontline health workers. This switch not only incited love from their current customers, but they also gained an entirely new set of customers, who had reexamined their opinion about the luxury company.
“Helping Hands” for E-commerce Marketing
E-commerce’s popularity has significantly increased with consumers ever since quarantine, and it make sense. People are still being cautious due to Covid concerns, and even when they begin to feel safe shopping in stores again, the e-commerce trend isn’t going to slow down. According to the 13 countries that were surveyed by McKinsey, 65% of people stated they have tried and will continue to shop online.
Marketing for e-commerce requires specific digital marketing tactics and strategies in order for you to achieve the best possible results. Some of these tactics have been around for a while like SEO, product reviews, content and social media marketing, and other digital marketing strategies.
However, with consumers shopping e-commerce now more than ever, these original marketing tactics may need a “helping hand”. These could be anything from adding a “buy” button to your social media posts, more detail to your Google shopping information, a more streamlined landing page experience and more.
How to Stay Customer-Centric
During the world-wide pandemic, consumers have been looking for comfort and understanding from the brands that they are loyal to. In order for brands to earn and keep consumers’ loyalty, they will need to walk the talk, not just talk the talk.
What does this mean? For some brands it means stepping up their personalized marketing strategies, offering AI programs that solve consumer problems quickly and effectively, or offering personal shopping sessions online or in store. For others it means offering timely blogs and vlogs speaking to consumers’ pressing needs, or having an educational landing page that is about specific topics they want to know more about.
Another strategy that could help to keep your audience loyal is to provide them with case studies or whitepapers. These allow them to see your success and help make a compelling case for why they should choose your product or service.
Now is the time to reacquaint yourself with your audiences’ needs, goals, and interests as well as explore new marketing opportunities. 360 Direct can assist you with developing a strategy to fit your audiences’ needs, and your business goals. Contact a team member today!
Online Reviews Do What?
Online reviews have become an important way of communication between the clients and the business. These ratings help show store owners the areas of their business where they are providing great service, or where they may need some improvement. Online ratings are also a way for buyers to promote products and services to fellow shoppers — as long as brands take the time to manage customer concerns and feedback.
The Pros and Cons of Online Reviews
Customers are always online searching for the best deals before deciding to click “add to cart”, and with all of the latest technology at their fingertips, it’s easy for them to find that information. 90% of customers say that they read online reviews before deciding where they will take their business.
The top platforms used by consumers today for product/service research are Google, Yelp, Glassdoor, and Facebook. Online reviews can have a great impact on your business, both positive and negative. When your company receives positive reviews, they indicate that your organization is reputable and these can help influence the consumer to purchase your products or services. Conversely, 94% of online customers have stated that a negative review will influence them to take their business elsewhere.
How to Handle Negative Online Reviews
Unfortunately, negative reviews are a part of life. Regardless of whether it’s a major company or a local establishment, some people are not going to be satisfied with the products or services they receive. However, the way you handle negative feedback is of the utmost importance.
First, do not let negative reviews go unanswered. Acknowledge the issue a customer has and apologize for any inconvenience. This response shows that you genuinely care about your customers’ experiences and want to make it right. You might even be able to change that negative review into a positive one!
Another tip? Don’t get defensive. Instead, promote your business in a tactful way without sounding condescending to the customer. By responding positively, you are allowing the customer to feel that their grievances have been heard. When you reply to a negative review, be authentic and personal. This will show how sincere you are. Also, provide your name and a way to contact you directly, so the customer doesn’t feel their complaint isn’t being generally dismissed.
Finally, don’t let them draw you into an online battle. The best thing you can do with a negative review is to learn from it. Use it to look into your products or services to see if there are any improvements that can be made or if the review was detailing an isolated experience.
How Online Reviews Impact SEO
Many times reputation management is overlooked or it’s the last thing to be reviewed when trying to increase SEO. However, Google uses online reviews to validate your business to consumers. Ratings send Google a signal showing positive interactions customers have had with your company. Even negative ratings help by showing how problems were resolved.
Online reviews can even help boost your conversions. Positive ratings let potential customers see that your business promotes customer loyalty and trust, which often sways them into purchasing products and services. While helping to increase conversions, ratings can also help search engines understand your brand better, which can allow you to achieve greater website visibility. When a potential customer searches for products or services you offer, Google may show them your ads, increasing brand awareness.
While it can be scary to ask for reviews, they can help funnel consumers to your website without having to spend extra time and money.
Need a hand setting up a place for reviews? 360 Direct can help! Contact one of our team members today.
5 Steps To Keep Business Afloat During COVID-19
5 Steps To Keep Business Afloat During COVID-19
If we were told in February that we would be working from home and quarantined due to a virus, we wouldn’t have believed it. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, life hasn’t been the same. Some businesses have had to close their doors, festivals cancelled, no sports on tv, and you have to wear a mask just to go to the grocery store.
Fortunately for 360 Direct, we are able to work from home, but that’s not the case for everyone. Businesses, big or small, such as coffee shops, salons, and even gyms, have had to close their doors until this pandemic is over. For some companies this could mean closing their doors forever. Thankfully there are some steps businesses can take to help keep their doors open and their customers loyal.
Steps To Keep Business Running Smoothly
Step One:
Take on a “people first” mentality. What do we mean by that? A business’s first priority, whether big or small, should be to its employees. Making sure to communicate transparently with your employees and ensure their health and safety. Employees aren’t going to be able to work when they’re thinking about the health and safety of their families. Which leads us to our next step.
Step Two:
Invest or offer remote working stations. To help put your employees’ minds at ease, offer them a way to work remotely, if possible. This not only helps your employees stay safe and healthy, but it also helps to keep your business open so that you can still offer services to your customers. Having the option to work remotely in place transitions us into step number three.
Step Three:
Develop a response for disasters/pandemics. It’s no secret that many businesses didn’t have a plan in place when COVID-19 struck. But now is the time to create one. Having an already-created response will help make the transition smoother the next time a disaster or pandemic occurs. It also helps to reassure your employees and customers. Which brings us to step four.
Step Four:
Engage with customers. Stay connected with your customers. Let them know that you’re still open, or keep them informed on when you’re going to open again. Let them know if they can buy their supplies online, pick them up curbside, or order them through a third company for delivery. This helps to keep your customers loyal and lets them know that you’re thinking of them, which leads us to our final step.
Step Five:
Use social media. Keeping an online social presence not only helps your business but it helps you stay engaged with your customers. By using social media you can reach out via ads, boosted posts, or messenger. You can also take this time to reach out to new audiences. Now is the time to be on social media since the majority of people are stuck at home and are on their devices even more than usual.
Utilizing these five steps will help keep your business afloat during COVID-19 and will help you have a plan for the next time a disaster or pandemic strikes.
Need help setting up your COVID-19 marketing strategy or social media? Contact one of our team members today!
The Power of Branding Your Company
What is a Branding Statement?
A branding statement used to be identified as an organization’s name, logo, slogan, sign, symbol, design, or a combination of all of these. These days, a branding statement is what makes an establishment stand out from their competition. A company’s branding statement is a promise sent out into the world that sets the tone for a customer’s first impression of the organization. For example, 360 Direct’s branding statement is “Growing businesses one dream at a time.” When a customer sees or hears this tagline, they connect it to us, 360 Direct. From this simple statement, our customers know exactly what we do, and why we do it.
What Makes a Good Branding Statement?
In today’s fast paced, technical world, a good tagline is important. If an organization’s marketing brand statement is not visually appealing, or is too difficult for the customer to understand, they probably won’t remember the business. However if the branding statement is colorful, fun, and easy to remember, the customer will be more than likely to return to that company when it comes time to purchase a product or service. An establishment’s tagline should promote trust and loyalty from customers, and should communicate effectively with the demographics they are selling to. A good branding statement makes the customer want to purchase the products or services, and keeps them coming back.
How to Find and Create Your Branding Statement
Ask yourself what makes your organization stand out from the rest. Is there something special that your do that your competition does not? Are you an innovator, a visionary? Is your business a leader in the industry? Don’t be afraid to brag about your company. Once you have an answer to these questions, create a branding statement that highlights the uniqueness of your organization. After you have put together your branding statement, incorporate it into your website and across all of your marketing efforts. Place it somewhere that your customers will see and remember it.
Finding and creating a branding statement is important, but can be overwhelming. If you’d like help creating yours, contact a 360 Direct member today!
10 Lessons Over 10 Years of Marketing
Experience isn’t everything, but we’d be a very different agency without it. Through 10 years of bull markets and bear markets, a nation-wide recession and a manufacturing renaissance, experience has taught our team a few things about marketing in the real world. Here are 10 things we’ve learned about what it takes to grow businesses, one dream at a time.
1. Marketing Plans Should Be Measurable and Adaptable
As a business grows, marketing strategy should grow to accommodate it — because when marketing stagnates, so do businesses. By measuring the ROI of your current marketing, you’ll know which tactics to cut and which ones to keep as market trends and business plans change with time.
2. Know the Power of SEO
Over the last 10 years, Google has changed the game — repeatedly. So, marketers had to change along with it. Content strategy and web design can’t just look and sound nice anymore, it has to serve a function, too. That’s what SEO is — everything from copy writing and graphics to social media and backend web design is a potential tool for getting found.
3. Take Calculated Risks with Paid Digital Ads
Over the last 10 years, paid digital strategy has become an essential part of many solid marketing strategies. It helps guide targeted pools of web traffic to the information they’re most interested in ways nothing else can. This winds up benefiting both internet users and your business’ bottom line. Beyond that, rapidly growing social media followership almost requires a paid digital strategy these days.
4. Don’t Discount Traditional Advertising
The popularity of digital marketing can make traditional methods seem a lot less intriguing – but they can work when done well. We’ve had both successful calling campaigns and direct mail campaigns, even in 2019. It all depends on your business and what your specific target audience will respond to. And let’s be honest: some folks just like to keep it old school.
5. Harness the Power of Local Media
Taking the time to hash out a simple press release during important events or community involvement can go a long way towards boosting your local profile. Over time, your relationships with local press will pay dividends with new and better opportunities to get your name out there.
6. Focus on What the Customer Wants, Not What You Think Is Important
Business owners can sometimes have a very different idea of what sells compared to what customers appreciate the most about a business. Learn what speaks to your target audience – especially if they are very demographically different from the business’ executive leadership. Don’t assume that what speaks to you will connect with the customer.
7. Learn the Difference Between “A” Customers and “C” Customers
Don’t drain your resources on low profit, high maintenance customers. Retool your marketing to draw in the A List — aka your best customers. Expanding your A List will make your business more sustainable in the long run, and allow you to move through growing pains with less, well, pain. A List identification and growth is something that marketing is uniquely capable of accomplishing.
8. Marketing is About Relationships
Not only are you building relationships with your audience, you should be building relationships with industry publications, fellow businesses, and community leadership. Marketing departments are uniquely positioned to foster these relationships in a way that promotes your business and gives sales staff new tools and opportunities.
9. Keep Your Marketing on Brand
Be careful that your next big idea or trendy marketing tactic doesn’t deviate from your company’s core messaging. Marketing that results in brand confusion actually does the opposite of what you intend. Consistent marketing, on the other hand, solidifies your relationships with customers and continues to remind them of who you are and why the work with you.
10. Treat Marketing Like and Investment, Not an Expense
Marketing should always pay for itself and then some. By investing properly in the right talent, tactics, and strategies, you can reap the highest rewards for the risks you take. No marketing tactic is guaranteed to work, but with research, expertise, and planning, we can increase the chances of success. This makes both marketing and doing business more cost effective and profitable in the long run.
If all of that seems like a lot to wrap your head around, don’t worry, we’ve already done most of the homework for you. For more information on how to craft game changing marketing without contracts, retainers, or wasted resources, contact a 360 Direct team member today.
Should I Be Doing Digital Advertising?
Want to know more about the difference between SEO and PPC? Check out our infographic!
Paid advertising is faster than building SEO or organically growing an email newsletter list, but it’s not necessary for every single industry. There are some industries in which online advertising is so prevalent that it’s basically a necessity in order to compete. Other industries don’t use it as much. That means you can get away with not adding it to your marketing strategy, but it could also mean that you have a huge opportunity to set yourself apart from your competitors.
What is digital advertising?
Digital advertising can encompass:
- Paid ads on social media
- Ads that appear in search results on Google or other search engines
- Video ads that appear before or during other video content
- Image-based ads that appear on all kinds of websites (not limited to search engines or social media platforms)
Digital advertising, often referred to as pay-per-click or PPC, can be custom designed to reach your end goal. You can use it to build brand awareness, generate leads, or make sales. You can use it to build your social media following so your content has a larger organic reach. While it’s called pay-per-click, you can also pay per conversion or thousands of impressions.
Part of what makes digital advertising so flexible and appealing is the ability to target the ads to very specific people. Different platforms have different capabilities, but you can target people by what they are actively searching for or in the market for, by their interests, by their demographic (age, sex, income, marital status), job title or industry, and so much more.
How Much Does Digital Advertising Cost
One of the benefits of digital advertising is that, unlike a print ad or billboard, you can decide what you want the budget to be. Most online tools – Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Bing – will predict the range of results you will receive for that budget. Your exact budget will depend on your goal – brand recognition, website traffic, sales, or something else – and the industry you are in.
Digital advertising offers a lot of budget flexibility and control. You can start and stop your ads anytime, and best of all, reallocate your budget based on results. Digital advertising platforms have some of the best measuring tools of any marketing tactic. As your campaign runs, you can monitor the results and adjust your targeting, content, and budget to get the best ROI possible.
How to Get the Best Results with Online Advertising
One manufacturing client took a chance on digital ads when print ads were out of budget, and has results 5x the industry average. Check out the case study!
The key to getting great results on digital advertising is to be flexible. The initial campaign you set up is very unlikely to generate the best ROI possible. Consistent testing, measuring, and adjusting, is necessary to achieve the best results. Remember that the goal is to find your audience where they are and speak their language. It’s very possible that your target audience doesn’t know all the technical terms you use internally, or use your product’s specific name when they have a need.
How many companies would stop R&D because “our competitors don’t do it that way”? Don’t be afraid to try something new, or to stop doing something that isn’t working. Online advertising is one of the most measurable forms of marketing, which makes it perfect for testing different messaging or targeting. Data doesn’t lie! If something’s not working, test some changes to discover what will get better results.
While digital advertising isn’t absolutely necessary for every single business, there are so many custom options that most industries can benefit from a well targeted digital ad campaign. If you want to learn more about how your company could benefit from digital advertising, connect with us here!
Case Study: Manufacturer of Complex Machined Parts
Client Description
360 Direct began working with a precision machined parts manufacturer in 2017. This company specializes in machining, welding, and fabricating high tolerance parts used in agricultural, mining, and construction equipment. The machine shop has an international customer base, and has roots dating back to the early 1900s.
360 Direct designed this client’s marketing plan to focus on sustainable growth in various inbound marketing metrics that ultimately lead to growth in revenue. Metrics include web traffic and inbound leads. Additional goals included better name and brand awareness and a more diverse customer portfolio.
The client’s monthly program began with email marketing, social media, and blogs, alongside a new website build. As results began to show themselves and the value of marketing made itself apparent, the client has expanded their program to incorporate editorial writing and PR, case studies, internal signage, and digital advertising, as well as tackle additional projects like video and photography.
Strategy & Tactics
Website
This company began with an out of date website that they didn’t enjoy showing prospects. 360 Direct built a website that was much more modern, responsive to all screen sizes, and easy for users to navigate. The site features their company video and updated imagery. 360 Direct continues to update the website regularly with new blogs, press, and photos.
By using website and SEO best practices, their organic web traffic increased 50% from 2017 to 2018, and continues to grow year over year.
2017 & 2018 Comparative Analytics
PR and Editorials
360 Direct leveraged its relationships with various industry publications to feature the machine shop in many different manufacturing magazines including, Manufacturing in Focus, The Fabricator, Industrial Machinery Digest, Manufacturing News, and Advanced Manufacturing. These opportunities included press releases as well as printed editorials highlighting the company. This earned media resulted in exposure in a very targeted market at no cost to them. The cost to get a fraction of the space in each magazine would run tens of thousands of dollars.
Google Ads
The client wanted to get a little more aggressive in their marketing to capitalize on some of the attention they were getting from various industry publications. 360 Direct suggested the use of Google Ads as a cost effective alternative to traditional advertising with excellent results. Their CTR (Click Through Rate) for Display Google Ads is currently over three times the industry average.
The Client’s Average Display Ad Click Rate:
Social Media
Social media was activated and regularly updated as part of their marketing program. Over the course of two years, their Twitter was grown from zero to 534 followers, while Instagram topped over 100 followers in the first 4 months after activation.
Email Marketing
A monthly email newsletter is sent to keep customers and prospects informed of everything the company has to offer. Their team has made the most of these email newsletter campaigns by following up with recipients who click on a link. This maximizes their sales team’s time.
Photography
The client needed photography to include on their website, social media, and for editorial opportunities. Photos included featured machines, headshots of key employees, and action shots. Now, every opportunity they come across can be quickly enhanced by relevant imagery.
Video
This client wanted to take advantage of how effective video can be, but needed to keep projects cost effective. 360 Direct has edited videos taken in house, created no-frills training videos, and pulled out all the stops for more polished videos fit to present with.
Their company video was a few years old, and quite a bit has changed since then. They opted to shoot a new company video and an HR video for recruiting new employees. 360 Direct shot both videos at the same time to make the projects more cost effective.
Special Campaigns and Projects
There are some opportunities that don’t happen often, and this client is highly motivated in taking advantage of them when they come along. Part of having a scaleable, flexible marketing agency is being able to grab onto opportunities when they arise. Projects have included:
- Signage and collateral for job fairs
- Filming training sessions and creating internal signage and collateral for staff
- Photography, signage, and a press release when a federal-level politician chose the company as their site for a Town Hall meeting
- Print ads for local partnerships
Client Feedback
This company is always finding new ways to grow and positively impact the local community, and 360 Direct is honored to help them achieve success. With their newfound international business partnerships and their ongoing efforts to close the skills gap, they are an inspiring company to market.
Like many manufacturing companies, this client came to us knowing they needed more marketing, but unsure if anyone would actually be interested in reading about what they do. After we emailed them their first blog, they replied, “Wow- I just read this blog and it’s impressive because you have produced an article on machining that is interesting to read, not just an outpouring of facts and figures…. I like this!” With each editorial, blog, or web update we produce, the client is enthusiastic about the work we do and is consistently impressed by the results they see.
The machine shop is thriving and successfully growing into new markets with a marketing strategy tailored to their goals. In 2019, 360 Direct and the client have new projects and campaigns planned to take their business and their marketing to the next level and keep up the pattern of aggressive growth.
Investing In Your Future: Marketing for Sustainable Business Growth
Adapted from an article in the May 2019 issue of Industrial Machinery Digest.
Right now, many manufacturers are enjoying a period of high production rates. It’s a challenge to find qualified employees to hire and to keep up with incoming business. Any extra bandwidth is spent increasing production capacity by cross training and implementing lean practices.
With so much business coming in, it can be difficult to find time to think about updating your website or making your sell sheets and presentations look better. Why spend time and money on marketing when you don’t need marketing right now? The truth is, that makes this the best time to invest in your marketing. When revenue is low, it’s difficult to justify investing in projects when you’re struggling to keep your employees working. Starting a marketing strategy now can help your company avoid feast or famine business cycles and foster sustainable growth.
Marketing in a Manufacturing Environment
If the word “marketing” conjures up thoughts of big-budget TV commercials, celebrity endorsements, and billboards, rest assured that there is a lot more to marketing, and it’s a lot more cost effective.
For the purposes of our conversation, marketing encompasses all communication from your company to prospective customers, current customers, and even prospective employees. While this can certainly include paid advertising, such as traditional print ads, it includes much more. Your company’s website, sell sheets, and even business cards all represent your brand and can be enhanced by a marketing strategy.
Where multinational companies can have a full department, and possibly several, to cover everything marketing can entail, marketing is important for manufacturers of every size. The internet has been a great equalizer when it comes to manufacturing competition. For a relatively low price, companies can look fairly comparable online. A clean, updated website, active social media channels, and the occasional video can completely change the image of small manufacturers.
Once you decide to start marketing, one of the first decisions a company will need to make is whether to hire someone for in-house marketing or whether to go with an agency. If you choose to hire someone to work in-house, they’ll be able to pitch in on other tasks. You’ll also be able to have direct contact with them more often, but they usually won’t have a broad set of skills for all marketing tactics. Manufacturers are sometimes hesitant to trust an agency with lengthy contracts and high retainers, however agencies typically come with a higher level of marketing experience and more marketing resources than manufacturers can easily access.
Especially for smaller manufacturers who are poised for growth and ready to invest in themselves, a marketing agency can generate more bang for your buck. 360 Direct, a marketing agency that specializes in the manufacturing sector, sees their clients grow and expand their business – and their comfort levels with marketing – with regular marketing campaigns.
John Bernhoft, President of 360 Direct, explains, “Many clients are apprehensive about marketing in general, but have a specific need – either they have an old website they know needs to be updated, or they’ve run out of sell sheets. We solve that problem, but not only do their materials look better, but they are also getting more results. Customers are telling them they like it, prospects are responding more to their materials. Ultimately, they are getting more sales.”
360 Direct focuses on results-oriented marketing by working to track the ROI of every marketing tactic they use. If that sounds lean, that’s because it is. Not only has the internet leveled the playing field when it comes to manufacturers’ marketing opportunities, it has also enabled companies to track how well their marketing is doing. Because 360 Direct is focused on results, they’ve done away with contracts or retainers. Bernhoft says, “We don’t want clients who are with us because they can’t break a contract. Our clients stay with us year after year because they see what we are doing works. It’s not a flashy expense, it’s an investment that shows its ROI in your bottom line.”
Marketing to Foster Growth
Marketing is more than making things look nice. Updated sell sheets, brochures, and websites ensure that your current capabilities are communicated to prospective customers. Have you bought new machines or started serving new industries since your website was published? Does your website reflect the services you most want to sell? If it doesn’t, prospective customers are going to have a hard time finding you. Even if they do find you, they may not realize that you offer exactly what they are looking for.
Search engines, like Google, pay attention to how often your website is updated and what your content says about your company, and those search engines determine what your website will be found for. Having an updated website and regularly adding new content helps your company be found on Google and helps educate your customers before they call your sales team. That education is important because it saves your sales team valuable time, ensuring customers are calling for things you actually offer, providing your team with warm, inbound leads, and shortening the sales cycle.
Speaking of your sales team’s time, how often is your sales team actually able to reach out to each of your customers and prospects? Marketing is a great way to make sure you stay in front of your target market, even when your sales team is slammed. Email newsletters and even social media are great ways to keep in contact with everyone on your list. You can let them know about new services, remind them of your capabilities, and always be at the top of their mind when they have a need.
It’s not just customers who are looking at you online. As the workforce ages and manufacturers are scrambling to attract the relatively few younger workers, having a presence on the internet is increasingly important. People of all ages turn to the internet to find out more about a company, and they are checking social media just as much as your website. A polished look adds legitimacy for smaller outfits and can give job seekers insight into your company culture and work environment. 360 Direct has even seen more of a demand for marketing videos that are just used for recruiting! When the labor market is as tight as it is, anything a manufacturer can do to better compete for available labor is beneficial.
Marketing to Support Business Goals
There are a lot of options when it comes to marketing. When choosing which tactics to pursue, there are easy ways to ensure you are making the right decision. Bernhoft elaborates, “All marketing plans and strategies align with your company’s goals. And just as you regularly measure the success of your work cells and production lines, we regularly measure the success of our marketing campaigns. We test and measure so we can run as lean as our clients.”
All marketing communication should represent your brand and should communicate in the language of your best customers. That way, your marketing attracts more of those top customers. 360 Direct has seen manufacturers use marketing to help grow product lines with the best profit margins, or to help diversify a manufacturer’s customer base so they are less reliant on one industry. These marketing plans ultimately help companies avoid large fluctuations in their bottom line as the market shifts.
Growth is more than just capacity. Marketing helps attract new business, retain and nurture customer relationships, and ultimately encourages sustainable growth. When you put it that way, marketing isn’t an expense; it’s a wise investment.
Grow Smart With Targeted "A" List Marketing
At some point in their growth cycle, most companies learn through trial and error that not every paying customer will generate a positive impact on their business. Growth in the wrong direction can cause any business to stall or even regress. Smart, sustainable business development requires targeted marketing aimed at your most profitable customers in order to attract more of them. This is called finding and marketing to your “A List”, which involves strategically crafting services and messaging around the specific needs of your most ideal clients.
How to Identify Your A List
Start by mining your existing customer list for the types of businesses that make the most profitable purchases or have the potential to make them. For a manufacturer, that could be a repeat customer that puts in the most lucrative product orders with the most reasonable turnaround demands. For a B2B service-oriented business, that would likely be the type of customer that signs up for a continuous program or contract. While we hope your most profitable clients are the ones spending the most with you, that may not always be the case. There are instances where your biggest customer may strain your resources, leaving you with a razor thin profit margin, in which case you don’t actually want more customers with similar orders. Even if you you consider yourself a “one-stop-shop” for a variety of industries and applications, identify customers who purchase the products and services with the highest profit margins.
Those customers are your A List. The rest of your customer list may still provide some business, and there’s nothing wrong with continuing to serve their needs when those less ideal customers find you, but your marketing resources should be primarily devoted to campaigns aimed at the top tier. The idea of targeted marketing isn’t to shrink business, it’s to grow in the most profitable areas with the most cost-effective strategy.
Use Targeted Marketing to Grow Your A List
When we retool messaging, recalibrate your Adwords strategy, or venture into new digital spaces in ways designed to reach your most profitable customers, not only do you keep those existing high-value customers engaged, more of the same tier will start to find you. By contrast, a business that directs resources towards less desirable customers will become swamped by their least-profitable customers and stunted in their ability to provide exceptional services to the customers they want the most of. That strategy not only drains business resources, it can damage your brand in the eyes of your A List.
A successful A List marketing strategy focuses on connecting and reconnecting with those specific businesses. Potential tactics could be as simple as sending your A List a targeted email campaign pertaining to the specific products or services they want, or offering them a referral discount. This is the easiest, least exclusionary way to market to your A List. Other tactics may involve retooling the aesthetics of your website and social media presence to reach your ideal customer. If your A List is a bulk-buying budget conscious customer, a minimalist, no-nonsense website makeover could be more appealing to them. When your A List is comprised of individuals with advanced degrees, taking an elevated tone to your messaging will likely give you more credibility in their eyes. These types of tweaks may not be appealing to D and C List customers, but it’s ok to allow your targeted marketing to filter out those who won’t benefit the long-term growth and viability of your business. As a matter of fact, that’s the point.
For more information on how to reach your A List and letting go of the customers you don’t need, connect with our team of marketing experts via the Contact page.
Why Marketing Design Matters
It’s easy to neglect updating the marketing design in your materials. Many times, companies use the same design for their marketing materials and just plug in updated specs and product information.
Over time, it’s easy to fall into complacency and lose that critical eye towards pieces that have been working for you. After all, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” Many companies are satisfied as long as the information is correct. Unfortunately, that’s not enough! There are a lot of companies competing for your prospective customers’ attention, and with our shrinking attention spans, individuals are becoming accustomed to making snap judgments. Your product information could be saying you are leading your industry, but your marketing materials may be telling a different story.
Print Materials
Most B2B companies understand the continued need for print materials in their marketing mix, but even those marketing staples have evolved to incorporate updated marketing design. People now spend less time than ever digesting what’s in front of them – about seven seconds! Gone are the days when individuals sit and read large chunks of text they are handed or receive in the mail. It’s all about bullet points, sub headers, and an appealing design. So, bare this in mind whenever you need any Promotional Signs or any other marketing materials printed for your business
If you are taking your updated information and plugging it into the same brochure, sell sheet, or postcard template your company has been using for years, your materials likely aren’t as effective as they could be. People have complained about the amount of advertising they are exposed to since 1759, and the advertising clutter continues to grow annually. There are two ways to increase your odds of prospective clients paying attention.
- Get to the point. Companies have to assume their materials are only given a cursory glance before a reader decides to put it aside or to delve in and read more. Give your readers the information they are looking for as quickly as possible in a straightforward manner. It doesn’t matter if you’re using 858graphics banners, leaflets or flyers, you need the key information to be bold and eye-catching so that readers know what they’re reading about before they have read any of the fine print. Provide easy options for them to get more in-depth information, should the want it. Your layout should be easy to follow; colours and font should be crisp and clear.
- Get creative. How many postcards and flyers do decision makers receive in year? A month? A day? Make sure yours are standing out and not getting lost in the shuffle. This doesn’t mean gimmicky. Some well-placed images, a less common size, or a memorable and fitting cutout or insert could be all it takes.
Once establishing a creative and unique design for your materials, use a printing perth service to ensure your marketing pieces are produced to the best standard and quality. Even with a robust print material campaign, most prospective clients will check you out online before calling to make an appointment or purchase. Which leads us to…
Websites
Even if you don’t know anything about the technical aspects of websites, you know an outdated website when you use one. It’s hard to navigate, it’s difficult to use on phones, and overall takes a long time to find specific information when you have a question. Companies that continue to have a website that is not “mobile friendly” are immediately creating an unnecessary barrier for prospective clients, since 42% of B2B decision makers use their mobile device for research.
In addition to the mobile friendly aspect, load times and content layout dramatically impact how long a prospective customer stays on your site. In fact, if your load time is more than three seconds, many people could leave your site before ever seeing the content. (Remember that 7 second attention span?) Of course, outdated information is sure to be noticed. As prospective customers gain information on their options, they are sure to check you out online. Make sure they like what they see! Current marketing design practices for websites include ensuring your site is responsive and contains relevant images and videos to further engage prospective clients.
Many companies find themselves stuck with a webmaster who built their site but doesn’t do great updates or are unwilling to keep up with best practices. This can make it necessary to bring in someone like Apica Systems to do load testing to see just what needs updating to keep things functional. The task of building a new site can seem daunting and even impossible. That said, it is well worth it to invest in a responsive website that will be easy to update and make changes to in the future. The internet will continue to evolve; if you are already behind, it will only get worse until you make that investment.
Regardless of what industry you are in, the design of your marketing materials matters. Your marketing design is as important as the machinery or materials you use for your products. You wouldn’t go years without considering an update or evaluating best practices, and the same should be said for your marketing efforts.
If you are concerned your marketing materials don’t align with today’s best practices, contact us for a free discovery appointment, where we will evaluate your current materials looking for opportunities – with no commitment from you.