Published on: 06 November 2016
Last Updated on: 10 September 2024
Influencer marketing is having a high card nowadays as people are indulging more into the Virtual World. As per a survey, there are more than 2.3 Billion active users online and on average active internet users have at least 5 Social Media accounts. So just imagine how much time people actually spend Online. And if the statistics are to be believed an average US citizen spends 1 hour and 18 minutes watching a video online on the Social Media Daily! And other statistics are like this, the Snapchat users watch over 6 Billion videos in a day and the figure on Facebook is around 8 Billion. It is enough stats for any marketer to understand that no matter what niche their Product falls in, their potential buyers are waiting for them online. So the question that remains is How and When to make the approach for the purchase? The best answer for a local brand who wishes to expand their business globally is Influencer Marketing. It is the fastest and most effective way to promote business amongst the Brand’s Global leads. But there are certain things and options that are to be kept in mind for a successful promotion of a brand via Influencer Marketing.
Selena Gomez tops the chart where each social media post can be worth around $5,50,000. Isn’t that huge? But think of the business people who are paying her would be making from the marketing she does. That’s out of my mind at least. These were enough proof for how effective influencer marketing is, let’s see how a local brand can expand their business via Influencer marketing:
There are three options for Influencer Marketing Approach a local brand can make to take the leap from Local to Global:
1. Work as per the Target area and make a progressive approach:
This option is for those who don’t want to take a big risk and are a little less willing to spend much in Digital Marketing in the Initial level and then increase once they start getting returns on their investment. It is completely normal for any brand to think like that and for them, the approach towards Influencer can be like this, first make a target area where you want to expand your business. After that find a local Influencer of that area and approach with a mutual win-win situation for both. You make a proposal that they will develop a special scheme and Discounts only for their followers and in return, they do the marketing with a fair compensation paid of course. Once that is done and a brand starts getting a response, move out to other areas with the same strategy and spread the market. This is a long term approach but it has minimal risk and you ought to spend less. The best benefit is the brand won’t be dependent only on one Influencer and if they think the influencer of one specific region is not worth the investment, they can stop doing marketing for that area. So the only loss of business you suffer is from one area and others are still productive.
2. Difficult and Creative Approach to hit a nation or globe:
This approach is unique and is totally based on how well you execute the strategy of marketing the approach. The thing is all a brand needs to do is come up with a cause that is sweeping the nation or the globe and start to think creatively in that area. Develop a challenge and form a campaign for the same, now hire a single influencer and ask them to pitch the challenge to other influencers and all you got to do is somehow link your brand with the challenge. This way the influencer will promote your challenge and then all you got to do is sit and enjoy the word spreading across the nation or across the world. The cherry on the cake could be if you are able to profit from the campaign. That can be done by making an announcement that if people who support the cause buy their product, the company will donate some part of the profit to the Government for the eradication or betterment of the cause. The best example is the Ice Bucket challenge, think of one viral challenge and you are done.
3. Third is traditional approach:
This is the option where a brand does the traditional approach and contacts an influencer to do the marketing, but there are certain things that need to be taken care of in the campaign. Make sure the campaign is backed with a unique and relative hashtag and the influencer specifically pitches the brand, not just a few tags and messages. Nowadays in platforms, like Instagram people are not concerned about who the Influencer tags but, the effect will be prominent if the Influencer is seen with the product or the person associated with the brand and pitches the brand for sales purpose. Another thing that needs to be kept in mind is the approach to an Influencer is much different than that of a normal sales and promotion approach. Many influencers don’t care about the money much but about fame and image more. Make sure to present with something that is beneficial for both the parties. And it is not the sole responsibility of the Influencer to do the marketing of the product. Brand marketers also must put in some efforts and share information on their own social media accounts both personal and professional. Make sure Influencer knows these efforts as it will give a positive boost to the campaign and Influencer’s moral.
Thus, above were some statistics and options that are available for a brand to take a leap from Local to Global market with the help of Influencer Marketing.
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When your small business needs to bolster its revenue, you may want to revamp your marketing strategy. Although you may not think that your approach to marketing can have a dramatic effect on your bottom line, the truth is that good advertising can help attract new customers, make new sales, and even improve the company’s reputation within the industry over time.
Small businesses should look to aggressively pursue digital marketing strategies to ensure a strong online presence. With search engines and social media becoming the most important platforms for reaching new customers, building visibility, and driving sales. Effective digital marketing strategies like SEO, SMM, PPC, and Content Marketing can generate revenues and profits for a small business.
However, settling on an effective marketing strategy can seem difficult, especially if you’re a new small business owner. Fortunately, there are four essential strategies that can help any business expand its efforts, gain name recognition, and eventually boost revenue as well. Check out the top options you should consider adopting for your own small business.
1. Writing and Posting Tailor-Made Company Content
Whether you’d prefer to write your content yourself, hire the best content writing services out there to help with writing and editing, or hire a new staff member to handle content matters, writing and regularly posting tailor-made company content is one of the top ways to take your marketing strategy to the next level today.
A company blog, website, or social media channels can allow your customers to get to know your business better anytime, anywhere. Moreover, having a business book increases business value and it can open doors to numerous off-shoot opportunities for reach and sales. This strategy not only allows you to put out marketing materials on a low budget, but it can also help you:
Keep readers updated on news in the company
Improve SEO efforts to get additional website clicks
Demonstrate professional expertise
Hone and strengthen a distinctive, professional brand voice
2. Expanding Advertising Across Numerous Digital Channels
If you’re still stuck advertising on a single channel, such as print media, now is the time to consider expanding your marketing horizons. Using social media for business purposes is one modern trend that can help your company reach out to large numbers of consumers at once. If you don’t have profiles set up already, you may want to look into starting company pages on:
Instagram
LinkedIn
Facebook
YouTube
Twitter
3. Crafting Highly Creative and Strategic Print Advertisements
Are your ads exciting to consumers, or are they coming off as generic and stale? If your print advertisements are a little on the boring side, you may have a hard time seeing a strong return on investment. That’s why it’s crucial to craft creative and strategic print ads that grab customers’ attention. For instance, you may want to consider:
Advertising in the magazines your customers are most likely to read
Strategically placing ads in highly circulated local newspapers
Expanding a marketing campaign across multiple print channels, potentially even including highway billboards
4. Boosting Word-of-Mouth Advertising Among Longtime and Loyal Customers
Finally, don’t discount the effectiveness of word-of-mouth advertising. If you have a strong base of longtime, loyal customers already, you may be able to lean on them to get the word out about your business. This strategy could help boost overall revenue while generally offering:
Low to no financial burden
Organic marketing
An expanded base of trusting customers
In order for any small business to survive and thrive, having strong revenue month after month is essential. However, if you don’t currently have a great marketing strategy in place, you may struggle to maintain current customers, attract new ones and gain name recognition within your industry.
Thankfully, there are numerous tried-and-true marketing ideas that can help any small business gain a foothold in its sector and eventually boost the bottom line. If your company needs some financial help and you’re looking to revamp your approach to marketing, try posting tailor-made company content, advertising across several types of channels, crafting creative print advertisements, and boosting word-of-mouth advertising.
These approaches can help you reach more consumers and possibly even improve your revenue streams over time.
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Despite digital marketing strategies being effective and robust with their outcomes, these need to constantly evolve since consumer needs and habits are continually changing.
That’s not different from the voice of the customer or VoC marketing campaign. The strategy is one in which a business strives to listen to what the customer has to say and gain insight from that feedback in order to act on concerns or needs.
The customer’s experience is optimally significant, making it vital that the business leaders hear what the customer has to say to fully understand where improvements to this experience need to be made to garner a greater sense of satisfaction.
A robust VoC program should reveal the target demographic’s expectations about the goods and services you provide, whether these expectations are being met, and what needs to happen in order to ensure this happens in the future.
The ideal strategy will incorporate a variety of sources to collect this feedback, so the customer knows they’re being given a voice when it comes to their products.
The concept might sound simplistic, but it’s a bit more challenging than it seems. Learn about VOC from an AI standpoint at https://www.sixsigmadaily.com/how-innovative-technology-can-improve-voice-of-the-customer/.
What Is VoC Marketing?
Business leaders might believe their marketing strategies are comprehensive enough to help them understand what the customers have to say but do these leaders hear and understand what the target audience has to say?
The facts indicate that many organizations are not up to speed despite significant investments in their research strategies. With those “statistics,” new marketing concepts are developed constantly to make businesses more consumer-centric, including a robust new process referenced as “VoC” marketing or “Voice of the Customer.”
With this process, the audience's feedback is collected, heard, understood, and steps are taken to move their suggestions forward. It sounds relatively straightforward but can be a time-intensive and involved process. Let’s look at it more closely.
1. The Interviews
With VoC, there is a need for in-depth responses from the target groups. While surveys are usually an integral tool in the marketing scheme and a budget-friendly method for collecting poignant insight, detailed input is lacking.
In order to get a feel for the true nature of a customer’s opinion, this new research tool uses “quantitative” and “qualitative” methodologies - not merely surveys.
These can include focus groups, interviewing, site analytics, journey maps, and more. The process is used with both the clients and the internal teams having a goal of obtaining “multi-dimensional” feedback on methods of improving the customer’s experience and the products.
2. Answering the tough questions
All businesses prefer to receive positive input. That can influence how questions are relayed with the survey creation, with results then being relatively useless. The point with VoC is to step outside of your comfort zone with the difficult questions you might not want to hear the answers to.
While the responses could be harsh, these sharp insights are what bring change, improvement, and growth. If you can’t recognize weakness, there’ll be no capacity to make changes. Without constantly evolving along with the consumer’s changing behaviors, the company can’t grow. Read here strategies to help understand VoC.
3. Action is the reaction to the feedback
Collecting feedback is only one component of VoC. The leaders need to gain insight from what the audience is indicating with this input. They need to hear and understand what’s being said by their target group, and that consumer wants proof their voice has been heard.
How can a company do that? Act on their input and let them know you did so and how. Show the customer the results of their feedback. By churning out more desirable results, you achieve better customer relations and decrease the instances of dissatisfaction.
Final Thought
Voice of the Customer is a powerful marketing strategy meant to bring the customer’s voice to the business leaders to create a more outstanding customer experience.
In exchange for their dedication to the consumer, the company will see an influx of word-of-mouth referrals, greater loyalty with their audience, and a higher retention rate.
A demographic who shares their experience with their network will likely make more purchases with the business. Plus, those in their network will come on board to buy goods or services, substantially increasing business revenue.
These transactions equate to opportunities to learn where improvements can be made and how the company can evolve positively for the benefit of each person as a consumer.
Identifying the customer’s voice is a crucial component not only of a marketing strategy but essentially of growing a business overall. The VoC process is what allows you to connect on a deep and direct level with that target group but also with the individual consumer. That will translate into change, evolve further into growth, and ultimately result in success.
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Every marketer would tell you that there are reasons why text marketing continues to become a mainstay in marketing agencies.
In fact, both conventional and modern companies highly rely on their efficacy when it comes to reaching out to their target audience. Because when you think about it, every person checks their text message inbox every time they receive a ping.
Leveraging communication strategies like an effective SMS marketing campaign allows you to grow your brand more, target more audiences, and even build closer relationships with prospects.
There are a lot of things that SMS marketing can help you with in terms of achieving business goals. But before you partake in this marketing tactic, it’s important to understand the concept behind this marketing practice. Use this guide to make successful SMS marketing campaigns.
What Is SMS Marketing?
It’s crucial to understand first the concept behind this old but gold marketing strategy. SMS marketing refers to a short message service you send to your customers to build relationships with them. It’s important for text marketers to communicate with their target audiences in a respectful and compliant manner.
No matter what your business goals are, SMS marketing puts you one step ahead of achieving them. For instance, you can drive more leads, introduce new products, lead them to check your website, and so on. The ideas that you can do with this marketing method are limitless.
Compared to email or push notification marketing, SMS marketing has several advantages. For instance, every person who receives an incoming message in their phone inbox will surely take the time to check and read them one by one.
While some people might check their emails at least once a day regarding text message inboxes, people often check them as soon as they receive a message.
Your message can be concise and clear with SMS marketing. There’s no need for lengthy advertising messages. With brief sentences that can take up less than 160 characters of the SMS limit, you can already deliver what you want to say to your prospects.
Choosing The Right SMS Marketing Tool
Now, it’s time to understand the tool to use for this marketing strategy. With the advent of technology, there is now text marketing software at your disposal. For one, you can take advantage of Drop Cowboy Ringless Voicemail service and some other brands that offer reliable text messaging as marketing services.
Text message delivery depends on the tools and services you choose. Such software comes with pricing plans that fit your marketing budget and goals. Unlike any other conventional marketing promotions like print ads, TV ads, and billboards, this marketing campaign is priced reasonably better. Also, consider partnering with the best SMS marketing service provider to automate your text messages to your target recipients.
How To Maximize On SMS Marketing Campaigns
As mentioned, a high percentage of people open text messages every time they receive one. By sending promotional messages via SMS, you ensure your customers will read them because they will arrive directly in their inboxes.
Check out these ideas in which you can maximize your SMS marketing campaigns.
1. Limited-Time Promotions
You can use an SMS marketing strategy to encourage your customers to avail of coupons and discounts or even redeem incentives or gifts. Offering these incentives for a limited time makes them even more effective.
Announcing that the campaign only runs on a promo period is an effective call-to-action strategy so your customers won’t miss out on such opportunities. It’s one effective strategy to get your business to high ranks.
Considering SMS marketing's high open rate, it’s the most effective way to communicate time-sensitive offers with customers. As a result, you ensure your customers don't pass up a good deal. This yield win-win situations for both the customers and your brand. They get discounted rates, and you could convert your sales funnel more effectively.
2. Reminding Customers
One good purpose for SMS marketing is when you could send notifications regarding the recent actions of your customers.
For instance, whether they checked your website, changed passwords, or linked different payment modes, an SMS notification will be sent to inform them that the activity is successful. Sending notification messages is essential for many businesses, and they’ve realized how effective it is in retaining customers.
By relaying notifications about their recent purchase or online activities, the customers will grow their trust in your brand. It could lead to continuous patronage. Also, they will feel at ease by getting reminders of how your brand is already dealing with their orders or purchases. Receiving reminders is valuable, especially for customers who are always busy with other things and obligations.
Make sure your brand is always at the top of your customer's minds. It’s a job that SMS is best suited for. With SMS marketing, you can remind your customers about everything from their most recently liked products to the purchased ones that are going to arrive soon.
3. Order Updates And Confirmation
An SMS is also useful for customers to receive updates regarding their orders. Once they make a purchase, a message will be sent regarding the successful transaction. It ensures peace of mind for the customer.
Also, the confirmation messages sent via SMS will allow them to use them as proof or evidence regarding their purchase. If products don’t arrive as planned, they can refer to the SMS notification.
4. New Product Release And Launches
SMS advertising is also useful for announcing new product releases. It’s the most cost-effective way for marketers to advertise new product launching. Without paying for the expensive talents of celebrities to promote new products, a large number of users will discover your new product offering through the message they can read in their SMS inbox.
Using this method will generate buzz and interest, and you could even entice old customers to come back and check out what's new. You can also use SMS campaigns to drive traffic to your website or storefront. Thus, you can simply include a link they can visit to check your new product or any offers.
5. Send Welcome Messages
Send your customer a welcome message once they subscribe to your SMS marketing campaign. Companies must start building relationships with their customers. As a result, you will be able to communicate with them right away, as they will know they have been subscribed.
It also alerts them to expect a few messages from your end every now and then. There’s no need for lengthy or complex welcome messages. Sometimes short but sweet thank you message about their subscription are already enough for your customers to remember your business.
6. Customer Service Tool
SMS is not limited to being a marketing tool; it’s also a customer support tool. In this era where customer service should be at the forefront of any business, SMS strategy can be used to ensure customer satisfaction.
It’s imperative that your work processes are as transparent as possible, and you can achieve this by constantly sending them SMS in case necessary. After all, a text message is the easiest way to communicate with pre-sale customers and post-sale tech support.
7. Collect Customer Feedback
It’s essential for businesses to receive customer feedback to determine what they are doing well and what they need to improve. And it’s something that’s being offered with SMS marketing. You can send out surveys through SMS, and customers can answer them timely and convenient.
There are many ways to create survey forms for them to easily fill out. The key is to attach the link to your SMS. Another option is to ask customers to rate you using a ranking system that’s easy for them to use.
8. Announce VIP Programs
By offering a VIP program, you can encourage loyalty among your subscribers and customers. If you want to make your VIP customers feel special, offer them VIP-only discounts. This sense of exclusivity allows your customers to treat your brand with more respect and value.
Also, use this program for customers to gain early access to sales and other promotions. One way for them to qualify for your VIP list is to encourage them to fill out a signup link. However, since it’s VIP, make it seems more challenging for them to enter this list. The harder it feels to qualify, the more special and valued they would feel.
Tips To Apply Effective SMS Marketing Strategies
Applying SMS marketing strategies require effective implementations. When done right, they can produce the best outcomes for your business. Here are some tips to apply effective SMS marketing strategies for your brand:
1. Ensure That Your Customers Opted In
Your customers probably already provide you with their phone numbers. However, one common courtesy is to get their approval to start receiving SMS from your brand. Mass texting them without their consent is ethically wrong and will only lead to adverse effects on the customer. Ensure to get your customer’s clear opt-in before starting to send out text message campaigns.
Your website or other online channels can allow customers to opt-in to receive text messages. However, you should get a text confirmation before you send them anything. There are ways to get their opt-in consent. One is to make them reply Yes or No to your single SMS regarding SMS subscription. Another way is through your website.
They can press a CTA button regarding their receiving SMS messages from your brand. When the user clicks the link in the offer, they can fill out the subscription form and enter their number so they can start receiving your SMS campaigns.
2. Take Time To Introduce Yourself
A good practice is to take the time to introduce your brand in any of your SMS campaigns. Chances are your customers don’t know where the messages are coming from. Failing to include your company name or brand name on the message will only forfeit its purpose. Hence, it’s important to include your company or brand name in that short message that you’re sending.
3. Make Messages Fun And Short
It’s common for people to use SMS messages to communicate with friends and family informally. Texting should remain fun in your SMS campaign in the same way as a fun communication tool between people. Be friendly and personal with customers to build trust.
Use local trending words that are popular with your target audience for the time being. It ensures to catch their interest and make them read your text message completely. The maximum number of characters in an SMS message is 160. With an opt-out option and the need to identify yourself, that's not much to work with. Don't waste any characters, and go straight to the point of what you want to say.
4. Don’t Forget To Use Target Keywords
To encourage users to connect with you, you should select contextually relevant keywords alongside simple messages and shortcodes. Using such keywords will allow them to easily remember anything about your brand or company. If they want to research you online, they can use the same keywords found on your SMS.
5. Give An Option For Customers To Opt Out
All marketing communications should follow these standards and rules. Much like getting their buy-in, you should also give them the option to opt out and unsubscribe from your SMS campaigns. You are more likely to lose customers if you constantly text them when they do not want to hear from you.
Your messages should come with the unsubscribe option, so your customers can freely opt out anytime they want. There are some viable reasons for them to do this. But it doesn’t entirely mean that they won’t be good prospects for you in the future. It’s just that not everyone prefers to get this kind of information via text.
SMS open rates tend to be much higher than those for email, so you should also expect a higher unsubscribe rate. After a message is sent, unsubscribes may spike and treat it as a normal occurrence.
6. Be More Informative Than Promotional
You should be extremely considerate of your buyers' inboxes since promotional SMS messages can easily be turned off. Therefore, staying informative and interactive is best, and not focusing too much on sounding sales or promotional.
A good rule of thumb is to focus most of your communication on order, whether a status update or a request for feedback. Schedule your promotional messages and send them at least only twice a week at a minimum. No one wants to keep receiving promotional messages that are obvious that they want to make money from you.
Conclusion
You can increase engagement with your target audience by using SMS marketing. Keeping your customers' attention is easier if you market to them where they are most active.
Therefore, if your target audience is always in their phone’s SMS inbox, it’s worth considering SMS marketing as part of your marketing mix. Use this guide and wait for results to reflect your bottom line soon.
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