The New Face of Marketing

It’s no secret that the world of marketing has changed vastly over the last several years. The “do not call” list has put an end to those dinner-time telemarketing calls. The amount of paper junk mail has decreased, while e-mail SPAM has increased dramatically. More people are ditching brick-and-mortar stores for online shopping. Social media has become a marketer’s playing field, as companies scramble to figure out the best way to “play the game” of online promotion. TV commercials can be fast-forwarded through thanks to DVRs.

But all of those does not mean marketing is a lost concept. It’s just a changing concept. We’d like to point out some ideas from this article that make a few good points about marketing to today’s audiences:

1. Go Retro

While this article describes “cultivating a local buying experience,” we’d like to point out another aspect to the idea of “retro” marketing, which is printed materials. For more than 20 years, people have been telling us “print is dead.” Guess what? Print is very much alive and well. We’ve actually seen case studies showing that direct mail marketing has a much higher return rate than email marketing … because printed mail materials are becoming less common, they have a much larger impact than they did in the past.

Let’s also not forget the tangible appeal of a physical item, especially in a world that is increasingly focused on digital.

2. Cultivate Customer Sales & Marketing People … Outside of Your Company

The article shows an example of Microsoft embracing a popular Excel blogger to reach customers, and gain insight on their products. The same can be said for any industry. For example, how publishers work with book bloggers (as well as traditional review publications) to reach new readers.

3. Build Customer Communities

Embrace your clients. Consider them “fans.” As the article points out:

The key to forming customer communities is not to try to build them around your brand—a common and obvious mistake marketing departments make. Rather, ask, “What does our product or service mean to our customers?” Or, “What could they mean?”

4. Get Customers Involved

The quickest way to grow your business is to deliver exactly what your customers want … so let them show you the way! This article has some excellent examples of how LEGO and 3M are using customer innovation to drive development.

For the comments: Now tell us … what are YOUR tips for marketing in today’s world?

Want more ideas of upping your marketing game? Check out our review of the book The Unbreakable Rules of Marketing by Cathey Armillas and Jeff Berry.