Show The Value Of Marketing In 2019 And Up Your Game
“There are far better things ahead than any we have done in the past” as once said by a great man. Learning from our past mistakes is what makes us better. As we enter into the new vibe of 2019, which brings us unlimited possibilities in terms of personal and professional developments, it only makes sense to add in a few pointers that will help one become a better and smarter marketer than what we were in 2018.
To be honest, there is no definitive guide or rulebook that will help you become a great marketer, but it is all about how you tackle a situation and resolve the need that arises with that.
Here are a few tips that can actually help:
1. Improve your Marketing Style
Every marketer has his or her own unique style. If we take a marketing team, for example, the style of writing content or the design that is liked by one may not be liked by others in the team. Each has their own viewpoint regarding what might work, based on their past experiences and gathered data among other things.
In this digital age, everyone will tell you to follow the numbers, as numbers don't lie, which is true, but the most important aspect that a marketer should have is ‘common sense’, also known as the gut feeling, combined with data.
Here’s the thing - your gut feeling is what makes you unique and that is what drives your marketing style. Unless you experiment and try out new ideas, there is a very low possibility of you improving your style and the way you work while merging data with common sense. Hence, up your game and improve your style. In the end, it is the humans talking to humans, not the data.
2. Get out of your marketing bubble and create a 360 degree customer experience
The other day I looked at an airline ad and booked it through the same as it was convincing and appeared at the right time (perfectly done by a marketing person). I checked in and once I was past the security, I got to know that the flight had been delayed by an hour. There were around 200 passengers on the same flight.
This one person looked around and realised that the other flights to the same destination were on time and only the flights of the airline we were flying with were delayed. When we questioned the ground staff, they informed of a technical fault with the aircraft.
Now, imagine these 200 passengers, having at least 100 followers each, tweeting on social media about this incident, reaching close to 200,000 in minutes. Because of this delay, the marketing team is now going to take a huge hit in terms of driving marketing ROI as their offers will not work anymore. And because the marketing team is not aware of this incident, they’ll think that the communication or timing was wrong.
Imagine if the same marketing team handles it immediately by sending them some coupons to redeem at the nearest counter for breakfast as these passengers wait, it could be a totally different scene altogether. Now, they would have successfully converted these angry customers into brand evangelists who will talk much more positively about the airline in the future.
This is how marketers can create a 360-degree customer experience.
3. Document your content marketing strategy
Let me not bore you with numbers as to how many companies actually implement a documented content strategy and how many don’t. Many times I have come across marketers who have everything planned in their head but don’t think they need to put that on paper. But if you are a smart marketer, you will have everything documented and will be able to track everything that’s working and everything that’s not. The moment you document it, not just you but your entire team can look at the progress, learn, and improvise the content strategy with time.
4. Don’t knock on everything new in the market
The current market situation is so agile that the technology changes every day and by the time we are aware of it, there are 10 new tools in the market with much more advanced features. As a marketer, it is your responsibility to see which technology and tools to use depending upon what you need and how much budget and time you have.
Not everything that is in the market is great and not every great tool in the market is right for you. Identify and verify the need with the team and get in touch with other relevant teams to have a clear understanding of how this tool or technology will solve your business problems.
5. You ran enough Marathons, now you need to sprint
Making yearly marketing goals is a great practice but with rapidly changing market conditions, you need to have your yearly plans broken down into detailed and measurable quarterly plans so that you can focus on generating business value every quarter. Having said that, it’s undeniable that you do need a long term strategy, however, that will be of no use if you are not able to manage your short term goals. As smart marketers, it will only help if you are not only a marathon-runner but also a sprinter.
6. Make new friends and recycle
No, don’t recycle your friends! You already know that the leads generated from referral channels are the ones with the highest conversion ratio. This means referrals are the way you can boost your marketing ROI. So, go on, let your inner social butterfly flutter, and make new friends in the market.
As someone once said, “Marketing is not learned by sitting in a room but when you go out in the world and understand every aspect of your customer’s life journey.”
No matter how good is the technology, it all boils down to the personal human connect that you have with others which eventually helps you thrive as a marketer. Another way to get more ROI is to recycle the leads instead of looking out for new ones. Sure, new leads will help you generate business but consider the cycle duration to convert new leads compared to the existing ones if you are thinking old leads are of no use to you.
To conclude
If you want to be an incredible marketer in 2019, all you need to do is go a step ahead - change the game internally, combine data with common sense or your gut feeling, and bring in the human touch personalised at scale. All these will help you thrive better than most in the market. And you can call yourself a superhero now! Find best marketing automation platforms here.
