How Good is Your Marketing… Really?
Are you just trying to work a “spam cannon”?
Just sending out a bunch of spam messages, i.e. a “spam cannon”, is not good marketing.
First off I have to thank the Category Pirates for righting Play Bigger, as that is part of the inspiration for this post. I would also check out Follow Your Different by Christopher Lochhead (one of said pirates). Both great resources that will really get you thinking differently.
Now on to the ideas. To engage with your customers is an important part of the sales process, but if you do not want to just be shooting a “spam cannon” and hoping for the best you need to add value. You can do that in a number of ways, but you have to be intentional. You have to understand your target market and know what challenges they have, it is not simply just sending them a bunch of discount codes, or sales. Share a thought of the day, or a new resource that you started using. Look at challenges in their market and offer a path to a solution, even if it means using a resource that is not yours. Yes, this will take more time and you may have to have specific communications to specific groups of customers, but that is where the value is created. After all anyone can send out a 20% off coupon. Just ask Bed, Bath, and Beyond, or maybe don’t since they went bankrupt.
Consistent communication is important, but again make sure there is value. If you send out a weekly newsletter, make sure it had some value to the customer. Just reaching out to them with a bunch of headlines you scraped off the internet, does not help them… unless that is your business. Be plugged into the industry and market enough to have 3-5 value add items that you can offer them every week, or whenever you reach out.
Have a conversation with your customers as well. Ask for feedback, listen to that feedback. Sure you can use social media ads to help get the word out, but make sure there is a conversation with your customers. Targeted ads can be helpful, but they can also be like yelling at your customer every time they open the app. I recently looked at one ad for Mud Water, then every time I opened that app again, every other post was someone sponsored by Mud Water. I still have not tried the product, but I sure know the name. So use ads sparingly, but make sure that when customers reach out to you about more information you are understanding their questions and concerns. How can you help them go from interested to invested?
So remember:
Make sure you are adding value when you reach out to your customers. Do not just fire a spam cannon.
Communicate consistently, but ensure it is value added communication.
Yelling at your customer in the form of targeted ads, adds no value. Engage in a conversation.
Thank you for your time reading this post. If you found any value please share it with a friend, every little bit helps.