There are way too many marketing strategies out there. And every marketer believes their strategy is the holy grail. This makes it really hard for beginners to identify the best marketing strategy, especially when you consider that some information contradicts.
But the truth is, you don’t really want to settle for someone else’s best strategy simply because it worked for them. A good marketing technique addresses your unique situation. It fits with your product, business model, and audience.
Therefore, you don’t really want to find the “marketing strategy in the world.” What you need is the best strategy in a particular niche. Even better, narrow it down to the specific product and audience you want to target. The results from such a technique are usually much better.
Sadly, coming up with such a marketing campaign can be very challenging. And that’s why we prepared this review to give you tips and tricks on how to do it. Let’s get into it:
1. Understand The Customer Journey
The customer journey typically uses the analogy of a funnel, hence the name sales funnel. At the top of this funnel, you have a huge number of people who are trying to understand your product.
As you move down the funnel, the number of leads reduces. However, the ones who stick around have also moved from the stage of awareness to interest and are even making a decision on whether to take action or not.
The last part of the funnel is where the leads now take action and become paying customers.
So, why is it important to understand this journey? Well, because it helps you serve the right content to your leads. For instance, there is no point in trying to sell a product to a new lead who is simply trying to understand what your product is. The chances of converting such a prospect are very low.
What you should do instead is give them content on what your product is and how it addresses an existing pain point. This will move the prospect down the funnel.
Taking your prospects through the journey takes time, but it’s better than losing them altogether.
If you don’t want to go down the long road, you can target individuals who are already towards the bottom of the funnel. Google and Facebook can help you reach these prospects with their effective targeting algorithms.
Also Read: Pros And Cons Of Podcasts As Marketing Tools
2. Know Your Audience
You simply cannot run an effective campaign if you don’t know who your audience is. That’s why your strategy needs to start with researching and understanding your target audience.
This is where most businesses build buyer personas. The personas provide data on who the ideal customers are. You will know the socials your audience loves, their interests, pain points, and even purchasing power.
How does this data help you market your product? Well, you’ll know where your prospects hang out, so you can design your marketing campaign for that specific area. Suppose you are an eCommerce website, and you notice most of your audience is on Pinterest and Instagram. In that case, you can invest your resources on these two socials instead of wasting your time on other platforms.
The data will also help you refine the other marketing strategies discussed below.
3. Use Paid Marketing
Paid marketing is a great way of getting your product off the ground. It is particularly effective if it’s a new product. It also works well for brands that are new in the industry.
There are different ways of going about paid marketing. A Google shopping ad is a great example here. Social media ads also fall under this category. These options can be quite expensive, though.
Another popular option is influencer marketing. This is usually cheaper than the two options discussed above. You just need to find an influencer who is trusted by your target audience. You can then pay them in cash or supply your products for free, and in exchange, they’ll share your product and brand on their social media pages.
4. Use Email Marketing
Email marketing is another brilliant marketing technique with a great ROI. You can use it to communicate discounts and move your prospects down the sales funnel. It’s also effective for follow-ups, e.g., reminding a person that they abandoned a cart.
Email marketing is more effective when you have your audience segmented into several groups. Then target each group with a unique template for better results.
5. Use Social Media
With billions of active users, you simply cannot afford to overlook social media.
Use the data gathered from your customer research to identify where your potential customers are and set up your social media accounts there. You can then start engaging your prospects and promoting your product.
6. Introduce Contests And Giveaways
Contests are a great way of generating a buzz around your product while having fun in the process. Simply post on your social media pages that you are running a contest and the winner gets your product for free or at a hugely discounted price. Then ask your audience to perform specific tasks, e.g., follow, share, and comment under a certain post.
Your product and brand will get massive exposure by the time the contest comes to an end. This exposure will generate more sales and followers for you.
Also Read: Marketing Tips to Get New Clients (and Retain Old Ones)
7. Provide Introductory Offers
Most people are willing to try out a new product if it has a decent offer. After all, they don’t know whether they’ll like it or not, so the discount acts as an extra incentive to buy from you.
Offers can also help give your brand some visibility and increase your sales. For instance, the buyers can leave reviews, which will help other interested people purchase the product at its full price.
Do your calculations and develop a good discount for your first few buyers. You can cut the price or provide one of those buy-one-get-one-free campaigns. In any case, make sure your audience knows the campaign is time-limited. The urgency will make them act fast.
It’s clear that the best way to promote a new product is through multiple channels. Don’t rely on social media alone; use email marketing too and spice up the campaign with offers and giveaways. With these techniques, your sales are bound to increase.