A diverse set of marketing tactics lets you cast a wide net over your target audience. This creates enough coverage to connect through their preferred channels and engagement funnels.
86% of marketers cite a customer journey is the up-most important business concept. This 'journey†is the experience of an interested party to a verified customer.
Many will approach the journey only through digital marketing tactics.
But:
There's a broad selection worth exploring if profits and ROI are your key metrics.
Let's explore this broad selection.
A Diverse Customer Journey: 5 Harmonious Marketing Tactics
Consider the 'big picture†of marketing.
There are several touch-points along the way, each building brand value and authority. This blog explains this concept in deeper detail. Let's go beyond the concepts and focus on actions to create this customer journey.
This is how you should approach it:
Part 1: Face-to-Face and Relationship Marketing
Consider: Nielsen found 92% of people trust referrals from people they know.
Friends and family are the two largest influencers. But, imagine becoming part of the trust factor through your marketing efforts! This process begins on a local level through face-to-face interactions and relationship building.
How can you build locally and radiate your brand?
- Get your site listed in local search platforms like Google Business or Yelp
- Rapidly respond to reviews to show you care and display authority
- Create localize content highlighting your expertise and community
Attending local meetups and sponsoring local events are a priority, too.
These parties funnel through a CRM creating qualified local leads and touchpoints.
What else can you do locally?
- Contribute to news articles and local industry thinktanks
- Encourage word-of-mouth marketing through incentives
- Host contests or provide tours of your facility
The point is being active in your local community. And, leveraging the connections to grow outward. This creates reviews and feedback needed to improve branding and marketing efforts.
Part 2: Print Advertising and Offline Efforts
Consider: 4/5 SBO's find print effective with standing out.
The info gained through local efforts and existing business assets fuel your print marketing efforts. You likely have the data/materials else work with design talent to secure the following:
- Business cards
- Flyers
- Brochures
- Postcards
- Mailers
What can you do with these?
- Distribute business cards at local events, conferences, and meetings
- Place flyers at relevant business locations and bulletin boards
- Include brochures with each shipment or handed out at events
- Send postcards to new prospects or customers to retain business
- Mass distribute mailers (including coupons) to cold contact prospects
Each item should include contact details and site URL. This will funnel people through your marketing funnel. Or, drive them to targeted landing pagespromoting offers and branded materials.
Part 3: Digital Assets and Distribution Channels
Much of the offline efforts and print materials morph into digital assets:
- Website
- Social Media Account
- Display and PPC Advertising
- Digital Media and Branding
There are hundreds of digital marketing strategies you could explore. Each provides unique challenges and ROI.
Where should you start?
1. Website + Content Marketing
Do this:
- Set up a website adhering to best practices and mobile-friendliness
- Populate the basic pages with killer content mixed with branding
- Brainstorm ideas and create a content schedule
- Produce amazing content based on keyword research and feedback
- Distribute the content through social channels and email newsletter
This will boost your search listings. And, provide entry-points for those searching for your business and/or its offers.
2. Social Media + Contests
Do this:
- Join the major social channels like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
- Find, follow, and start discussions with your targeted audience
- Share your blog's content and interesting industry-related pieces
- Use social for customer relations and brand reputation management
- Encourage backlinks, reviews, and mentions from passionate followers
This interaction builds trust and authority helping it reach more people. And, close more sales.
3. Display + Contextual Ads
Do this:
- Gather your business assets including offer photos and design elements
- Sign up, fund, and begin running Facebook and Google display ads
- Send visitors to targeted landing pages with sales pitches or opt-in forms
- Track and optimized campaigns through A/B testing and CRO efforts
This bypasses barriers by placing your ads and materials in-front of targeted prospects.
Part 4: Multi-Media Channels and Visual Engagement
The print materials become digital content:
- Brochures become interactive landing pages
- Business cards become microsites
- Flyers (with added data) become infographics
- Presentations become explainer videos
Consider: Cisco predicts video will be 80% of all online traffic.
How can you leverage this?
- Pull site data to find 10 - 20 popular search queries and pages
- Condense the page data into a script (50 words per 1-minute of video)
- Set up a camera & mic and record yourself (or team member)
- Edit the video while including titles and call-outs
- Publish the video to video sites and embedded in relevant blogs
This now gives you content for:
- Social sharing
- Blog media
- Internal training
- Email newsletters
- Free or paid training
- Landing page content
This diverse marketing effort gets content shared (and reshared) on platforms and channels.
Part 5: Social Outreach and Closed-Loop Marketing
Lastly:
- Create a list of your most passionate followers
- Create a list of potential industry influencers
- Create a list of relevant industry blogs and sites
These are your three targets for social outreach.
Here's how to work them:
- Followers — Provide incentives to encourage shares/reviews to build your reputation and reach.
- Influencers — Use their popularity to reach people while leveraging the association to build your authority.
- Blogs/Sites — Contribute to get in front of audiences while building backlinks and business relationships.
Approach these efforts with closed-loop marketing in mind. This exchanges information between the sales and marketing team. Better data for optimization is the result of this closed-loop system.
Combining the Efforts and Moving Forward
There are hundreds of marketing tactics you could explore within each of these five main categories. Each will likely improve your effectiveness. But, it's very typical to overwhelmed yourself (and team) by taking on too much.
Instead:
- Base your marketing strategy on top-tier, proven methods
- Test the major offline and digital marketing tactics
- Track data and feedback comparing them to key metrics
- Refine and double-down on those strategies showing a positive ROI
This combined strategy will ultimately cement your sales and marketing funnel.