As companies transition from this tough economy to the stability of business basics, it's time to re-think and re-innovate your marketing.
Whether you're in the business-to-business or business-to-consumer sectors, "personal connection-oriented marketing" still works. Although it's a throwback to the old days of "mom and pop" marketing, it has made Nordstrom a success - even in this economy.
Make sure you add "human touch-points" to your sales-building plan. These include a genuine smile and honest conversation, a thank-you note and a post-sale phone call.
Make "personal connection-oriented marketing" your competitive edge. Very few companies are taking this approach, believing that shaking a hand and having a conversation takes too much time and is simply old-fashioned.
How effective is the personal connection? After all these years, through good times and tough times, this strategy still works for Nordstrom and no matter what business sector you're in, it will work for you.
Having a difficult time securing a strong ranking on Google for your prime search phrases? Getting your company's Web site into the top range of the search results is a difficult and daunting task, especially if having a strong Internet presence is a critical part of your marketing plan.
The best solution to this problem is a company blog. A blog can enhance your search engine rankings simply because Google looks at blogs differently than it looks at web sites. Google views blogs as being extremely relevant in terms of the content.
In addition, Google likes frequent copy changes. A blog with frequent postings gets spidered more often than a static Web site. Ultimately, the more frequently you blog and the more relevant your posts are to your company's expertise, the more often Google will visit your blog and believe that it is important enough for users to see it, thus giving it a much stronger consideration for a higher placement in the search results.
Contrary to what the pundits have been spouting for the past decade, advertising is not dead. In fact, it is more alive and popular than ever.
While there have been changes and course corrections in some of the more traditional media, the popularity of advertising is evident on countless new mediums. Witness advertising on the different transit systems, billboards, escalators, grocery carts, gasoline pumps, T-shirts, pizza boxes, grocery receipts, bus shelters, park benches, buildings, movie theaters, airline boarding passes, washrooms, baseball stadiums and of course everything related to the Internet.
So, is advertising dead? Certainly not. It's just that the venues to reach different targeted groups - your customers have changed and multiplied.
There's no doubt that your "daddy's same old marketing plan" won't grow today's business. The Internet and an influx of new and non-traditional mediums have made life a little more complex and much more interesting.
Need help separating it all out? Need help determining what will work best to reach your target customer? Let us know. We can help you get there - faster than ever.