If your business is new and small, you might be building a marketing campaign with the intention of increasing awareness of your brand. Alternatively, if your audience knows about you but still isn’t buying, your marketing objective might entail increasing sales dollars or units sold. Typically, you should develop your business goals before you generate a plan to achieve them. However, no matter what you plan to achieve with your marketing strategy, you can count on the following eight tactics working wonders for your business.
Perhaps the oldest marketing technique in the books, direct selling entails sales agents directly
interacting with consumers in the interest of selling goods. Sometimes rebranded as “relationship
selling,” this strategy is more effective when sales people build personal relationships with their
clients. Often, sales take place away from traditional sales locations, so consumers can feel more
at-ease and receptive to pitches. Though the most profitable direct sellers ― like Avon or Herbalife ―
base their business model off this tactic, it is possible to take advantage of direct selling to accomplish
any marketing or sales goal.
Businesses and consumers alike understand the power of word-of- mouth advertising. It is human
nature to support businesses that your friends and family also support, so encouraging your
customers to spread the word about your business can be the most effective marketing tactic.
However, it is possible to have more control over word of mouth by taking advantage of referral
marketing. Such systems reward customers who tell others about their experiences with your business,
boosting your business’s reach.
Also called “free media,” earned media is essentially publicity you don’t pay for. You gain exposure
any time a media source brings up your business: social media testimonials, television mentions,
magazine references, etc. Earned media can only develop organically, and unlike word-of-mouth
advertising, it is impossible to solicit. The only way to cultivate earned media is to operate as a
company worthy of the news ― ideally in a good way.
Content Marketing and Storytelling
Though the term might be relatively new, content marketing as a selling technique has been around
for at least 150 years. By giving consumers useful resources, you earn their trust and loyalty.
Moreover, if you can weave stories into your content, you will connect with your audience on an
emotional level. Content comes in many shapes and sizes, from online videos to published pamphlets,
so you shouldn’t be afraid to experiment to learn what your consumers like best.
Inbound marketing is a technique that even degree-carrying marketers don’t understand well. Various
online definitions explain it almost identically to content marketing, but the central distinction is that
inbound marketing exists outside of your realm of influence. For example, content marketers might
write blogs, but inbound marketers place their blogs on third-party sites, hoping to attract
unassuming web users to their company sites. Typically, inbound tools are packed with keywords that
entice consumers-in-need, making this an effective strategy for a business of any size.
Cause Marketing
Because most markets are bursting with competition, consumers can choose to support those
businesses that align with their worldviews. To capitalize on this, marketers have developed cause
marketing, which helps promote a for-profit business while doing good in the world. Sometimes,
businesses will partner with non-profits, so both reap the benefits of enhanced exposure, but you can
also publicize your company’s other good works, such as employee health initiatives or green
programs.
Search Engine Marketing
Internet or online marketing is a broad field,
but one that is invaluable in the digital age.
Using any combination of web services,
including social media, email, and online
advertising, you can contact and
communicate with your audience, achieving
any number of marketing goals. Internet
marketing is as essential for business success
as traditional marketing, such as TV or print
ads, so most companies make sure to
integrate some digital tactics into their
marketing strategies.
Search engine marketing (SEM) is a type of pay-per-click program that places sponsored links at the
top of web searches. For the most part, good search engines limit these ads to pages that contain
related keywords, so users are more likely to follow the paid links. Considering that Google processes
about 3.5 billion searches per day ― or 40,000 queries every second ― SEM is an invaluable method
of gaining high visibility for your business without draining your marketing budget.
About Tiffany:
