The world of marketing has splintered into highly personalized options. Companies higher marketing agencies for targeted and specific campaigns to focus on a particular segment of marketing. A business may hire an agency to control their social media platforms and another to focus on content marketing and Blog posting. Very few marketing agencies have all of the skills necessary to cover every aspect of SEO, web marketing, content creation and social media promotion at a high level. With a quickly changing market,spurred on by advances in technology, maintaining a proficient level in understanding of every digital marketing technique is a daunting task.
As a project manager it is important to understand the current trends in digital market to hire the appropriate agency that will deliver value. Below are a few trends worthy of acknowledging and understanding.
Customize to the Customer
Who are you selling to? If your potential client base is older because you're selling skin cream, make sure that your website is clean and offers high contrast. If you're going to add pop-up advertisements, make sure the "X" to close out the pop-ups is easy to find. If advertisements on your website or for your products are obstructive, you will make your clients quite unhappy and turn off potential buyers.
If your client base is younger, follow current trends to make sure that your product offerings look as though they will work well in the home, purse or backpack of a young person. The ability to visualize your products in your life will boost your chances of a sale.
Bring Employees Into the Loop
Happy, well-informed employees are engaged employees. If you're making changes to their workloads without sharing information on the ultimate goal, you're going to lose employee buy-in.
Your employees are truly the face of your company. If your services include conversations with your employees, either via chat or over the phone and they don't have the data they need to discuss company offerings and goals, you will put your employees in the position of feeling dumb. Your potential clients will be unhappy, your employees will feel abandoned, and you may lose them. Dollars you've spent training can walk out the door quickly and be lost if you lose employee buy-in.
Personalize Your Offerings
Craig Hayes of Scribble Creative Group, LLC., a NH based marketing agency, recommends “carefully tracking clicks and interest as demonstrated by potential clients and strive to personalize what you can offer to them”. If you're selling a particular clothing line and some products only get clicks when you're offering a blanket sale, you may be garnering interest from folks who are trying to move up in their purchasing habits. Help them by offering free shipping on their first purchase and allow the coupon as another incentive.
Craig also suggests that including a note or card with each sale adds a personalized touch and encourages repeat purchases. Let a new client know that their interest in your products and purchase of your items actually means something to you. Many shoppers are moving away from big box buyers but aren't sure how and why to shop from smaller companies. With a personalized card, you can turn a curious first-time buyer into a dedicated fan.
Share Your "Why"
As shoppers move toward more thoughtful purchases, make sure you share your "why". Tell potential customers your reasons for starting your business. Did you find a niche that needed filled? Did you have to leave full-time employment so you could care for family?
Be willing to be open so you can share your story. If you went into business for yourself because you needed to work from home to care for a loved one with special needs, find a charity that speaks to you and set up a donation fund that your business can then fund. If you can offer great products and services but can't meet the big box prices, your story may be the tipping point that brings a new customer to go from browsing to shopping. Community and relationships are key.
Retention and Loyalty
Once you know what your customers have bought, offer another one in pink, blue or purple with a coupon. It may be tempting to send out surveys, but these requests may not get you the results you want. In fact, many buyers may find them irritating and choose to step back.
If you send a coupon and they buy another one, they like it. If they don't, but choose to buy something else with the discount you offered, you know they at least trust the company enough to make another purchase. If the customer sends the first item back for a refund, survey them. You may get more info than you want, but it will be valid and usable.