New technologies and communication tools, such as social media, have forever reshaped the way marketing is thought and done. It no longer matters what kind of business you run, whether small or large. If you are still stuck with outdated marketing techniques like billboards and newspaper ads, it’s about time you realized that they are ineffective in the digital world.
Of course, you could argue that many of your customers don’t use the Internet or cell phones. But marketers who aren’t embracing new tech are just leaving money on the table, incapable of reaching as many potential customers as possible. After all, technology also represents a lot of new opportunities.
Let’s take a look at six common marketing hurdles and how you can overcome them to reach new consumers and stand out from the competition.
- Not Understanding Your Audience
In the past, it was common for marketing to target all the people – which explains those legendary advertising campaigns that cost a fortune. Today, any marketers who try to reach too broad an audience will probably just waste money, time, and resources because people aren’t all looking at the same places anymore.
To establish the best way to reach your customers, you first need to identify and understand your audience. Create a profile or multiple profiles that represent your current types of customers (for example, young people up to 30 years old who prefer sustainable products), markets that you do best, and even new customers who your business wants to target. That way, you identify how to reach these people – through traditional media or digital tools – and the best way to do it.
- Only Focusing on Client Acquisition
Another frequent mistake is investing in advertising, whose only focus is on getting new consumers, instead of creating strategies and campaigns to retain those old clients who have already sought your business.
For these customers to feel valued, marketing must also focus on them. There are many ways to do this, such as offering outstanding customer support after the sale, sending engaging, personalized emails with exclusive discounts, reaching out after some time to collect customer feedback, etc. All these tactics to keep existing clients are less costly than those created to get new ones.
- Not Updating Your Marketing Plan Every Year
Today’s market is constantly evolving, and you must adapt to how quickly things change. But often, marketers merely “tweak” last year’s plans (e.g., updating some numbers) rather than designing the best way to tackle next year.
Even if last year’s strategies were successful, you could be leaving money on the table if you don’t spend more time and effort updating your marketing plan. Among many things that will need to be evaluated, it’s necessary to stay up to date on the current marketing trends, as they change drastically year after year, and what worked in 2022 may not work as well in 2024.
So try to spend some time upfront on your marketing plan, brainstorming and investigating new marketing techniques that can save you some time and money.
- Over-relying on ‘Old School’ Marketing
Billboards, flyers, newspaper ads, and other print media are outdated, expensive marketing techniques that today don’t reach nearly as many eyeballs as digital marketing techniques. You can continue to use these old-school strategies to keep in touch with old customers, but you’ll have to adapt to reach young customers.
If you don’t understand what’s going on, try to stay afloat on new marketing techniques by attending marketing conferences, networking, and speaking to other marketing experts to keep updated with the latest marketing trends.
- Not Embracing New Tech
Although the world is increasingly digital, many businesses still need to embrace new tech. It happens mainly because of expenses and because some managers fear new tech. It’s often necessary to have some training and make investments to understand how to master these tools that can make your marketing more effective, quicker, and easier to track.
In this brave new world, you can turn your old newspaper ads into podcast/YouTube channel ads, which reach a much wider audience for a much longer time. You can even combine the best of both worlds using tools like AR print ads, that allow you to incorporate responsive augmented reality (AR) features into both digital and print ads.
- Not Using Data
Last but not least, new technologies aren’t just there to make connecting with new and old customers easier. These tools also allow you to measure how well your marketing plan is working, something that can save you a lot of time, money, and headaches in the long run.
Now companies need to track things that once sounded like science fiction: click-through rates, conversion rates, lead generations, and other relevant data points. That way, you better understand how consumers interact with your business and what they say about your products.
Adapt Your Marketing to Modern Times
Emerging technologies are changing how we communicate and, consequently, how marketing communicates with us. A challenge for new professionals is identifying the best ways for their brands to benefit from these changes.
From now on, any marketing strategy needs to consider the evolution of technology, understand consumers’ needs and identify how they interact with these technologies. In the past, it was enough to create a website or a “business profile” on Facebook to be up to date. But not today: you’ll need to review all the items above to find out how technology can bring you closer to your customers.
This article was provided by Rebecca Stuart
