Pitchrate | Be a Multi-Channel Marketing Master

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Kenzi kenzi.l@stiristamail.com

Kenzi Lindamood graduated from Trinity University in December 2013, joining Stirista in 2014 after working in the oil and gas industry. A new kid on the block with a knack for content development, Kenzi manages Stirista’s marketing efforts and fancies herself a “marketing wizard.” She speciali...

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Stirista

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08/22/2014 10:41am
Be a Multi-Channel Marketing Master

We remember the old days of marketing – sending direct mail and flyers to doorsteps, spending piles of money on television ads, setting up sampling stations in retail stores, and buying prime spots on radio shows. While these forms of marketing still frequent the market-sphere, they are no longer the only go-to strategies for the savvy modern marketer.

The digitalization of consumer processes has rapidly revolutionized the way marketers interact with consumers. Social media, e-mail, online videos, and blogs are just among a handful of the digital avenues at a marketer’s disposal to establish and strengthen customer relationships.

We’ve seen a drastic increase in marketers using digital avenues to stir up business with great success. But is marketing via online channels always the best solution?

Marketing is a great way to get immediate attention and business. In many ways it’s also an investment in your business, and, like many investments, it’s important to diversify.

This is where multi-channel marketing comes into play.

Multi-channel marketing encourages people to interact with their customers with a combination of direct and indirect channels. Several channels work for you at once to gain optimal customer attention with the ultimate goal of increasing conversions. In this way, both digital and direct marketing work together to create a cohesive call to action.

So how do you break through the advertising noise? Two steps will get you going in the right direction.

Diversify. We said it once and we’ll say it again: communicate through several channels. First create a comprehensive campaign with clear goals and an established timeline. Do you want more people to participate in a loyalty program? Or maybe you want to increase sales on a featured product or service? Each piece of your multi-channel campaign should fit in to whatever your goals are.

Know your budget and your ability to monitor several channels at once before you set up your campaign. An unmonitored campaign won’t perform nearly as well as a campaign that’s watched closely. Be responsive to your campaign and make any adjustments as needed.

Now choose your marketing channels. Facebook and Twitter are typical shoe-ins—but how will you use them? You can create Facebook ads that direct a user to view products on your website or you can post pictures and product blurbs on Twitter. Are you running a white-collar business? Consider using LinkedIn to find professional contacts, join relevant groups, and post authoritative articles on industry topics. Search engine display ads are also a good choice—try Google AdWords for pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to direct online traffic to your site. Try your hand at creating content on video sites like YouTube that will publish your content for free. Create videos advertising your company and product. Or even create crazy content that goes viral, like the “Will It Blend” series by Blendtec.

E-mail marketing has shown to be more effective at getting conversions than social networking. Try your hand at e-mail marketing by sending customer newsletters, featured products, or special offers that may interest them.

What in-person channels will you try? Product sampling in stores can be beneficial, particularly if you include a free trial or coupon for the product. A great call to action here would also be to solicit online reviews from customers who tried your product. Direct mail or flyers are popular but tend to work best for local retailers reaching out to customers in their area.

TV and radio ads used to garner attention, but can be pricey if you’re not a national brand. Consider the ROI you’d get from spending money on TV or radio ads (which can’t offer analytics to test their effectiveness) versus spending it on direct mail or online banner ads.

And Connect. You’ve chosen your channels, but they’re no good to you unless they all work towards your campaign goal. For example, your sampling station at a store could pass out flyers prompting people to like your Facebook page or follow you on Twitter, where you release special offers or loyalty rewards to online followers only—increasing membership in your loyalty program and achieving your campaign goal. Or customers could connect with you via banner ads featuring new products, prompting them to visit your site to purchase products and sign up for your newsletters.

However you choose to do it, all of your channels should work towards the same goal. This gives your customers the ability to choose which channel they want to communicate through, saving you time and money by connecting with them in the easiest way possible.

There are a lot of different ways to communicate with your customers. But by following a clearly-defined plan, companies can make the most out of each channel available to them, increasing ROI and even customer satisfaction through increased interaction. Decrease the clutter, make your voice heard, and get on the multi-channel marketing train—before it’s too late.

Keywords

marketing, channels, direct, product, customers, channel, create, work, goal, products, multi, customer, business, way, advertising, communicate, loyalty, facebook, flyers, twitter, several, attention, sampling, money, people, radio, spending, increasing
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