Connect with your customers using these important marketing lessons

Marketing is a must for any business

Marketing is an essential channel to allow businesses to connect with their audience. Regardless of what you sell, whether that be products or services, without customers your business will cease to exist. Marketing allows you to showcase your business, engage consumers, build thriving communities, and enhance your brand’s reputation.

Marketing helps you connect with your customers, wherever they may be online, to create an opportunity for them to learn from you and buy from you. It involves using a number of strategies, including social media, email marketing, webinars and free downloads, blogging, “Pay Per Click” advertising, and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).

COVID-19 has accelerated the consumer shift to digital channels. More and more people have been forced to make their purchasing decisions online, and when consumers were restricted to shopping from their computers, instead of scanning their local shops, how a brand showed up online was what counted the most. There’s a lot that can be learnt about a brand from its online presence, website, and the overall tone and “feel” of their messaging. These first impressions count, so you must adapt your marketing to suit.

Consumer behaviour and attitudes have changed throughout 2020, here is what we know about marketing moving forward.

Lesson 1: Use empathy and the correct language to connect with your audience

Marketing can be very complex, but leading with your audience in mind will help you to put your best foot forward.

This is an example of how to use empathy in your writing. What you say is just as important as how you say it, and your customer wants to know that you understand them, so it’s important to use their language. A common trend often seen in marketing is using fear-based language to entice a customer to buy from you. No one wants to be bullied into buying something, and they certainly don’t want you to highlight their pain or areas of concern in a way which leaves them questioning your level of care.

Consumers want to know that you both understand their problems, and can offer them a solution. Using empathy and sharing personal experiences will allow you to connect on a more emotional level.

Even before Coronavirus, 59% of consumers felt companies had lost their touch with the human element of customer experience.

Lesson 2: You must stand out in a crowded marketplace

The sheer volume of content and advertising thrown across people’s newsfeeds today has caused the attention of consumers to plummet. People are now experiencing information overload, with businesses fighting for attention over every square inch of the online world. This means you must stand out and grab the attention of your audience quickly, and establish a recognisable brand. An example of a brand who does this particularly well is Squarespace.

Studies show that 50% of consumers become more loyal to a brand during their first purchase, so it’s important to create a great experience for your customer. Every element of your brand, from the messaging, to the logo, to the colour selection, and user experience, will capture the essence of your business, and what you have to offer.

Building brand recognition takes time, and the best place to start is through tracking website traffic to understand where your customers are coming from.

Lesson 3: Your marketing must be flexible and adaptable

Businesses and communities have been turned on their heads as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses who can adapt to a digital world quickly, while continuing to meet their customers needs, are best placed to weather the storm.

Just as businesses and industries are evolving, so must your marketing. The way we speak with our customers, through to the images we select on a blog, are now geared toward being considerate of the current landscape, and the changes to how we live our lives.

Goalposts continue to move, and businesses must share the ability to turn on a dime, and communicate messages that count in response to what is happening around them, at any point in time.

Lesson 4: Offer social proof

Given that more people have been forced to shop online from the safety of their homes, the number of consumers conducting online research before settling on a purchasing decision has increased dramatically. Consumers are now looking to online reviews and recommendations to formulate their opinions of a brand.

Sharing case studies is also an effective marketing tool which enhances the social proof of your brand.

Lesson 5: Listen, listen, and listen some more

If you aren’t listening to what consumers have to say, you’re leaving money on the table. Social listening requires you to track online conversations, social media channels, competitor products, and keywording relevant to your business.

By improving your marketing strategy to suit new trends, your business will be best placed to thrive in the future.