A lot has changed in the world of marketing over the past few years.
Just five years ago, the use of short videos (less than 15 seconds in length) was a new trend; a short ten years ago, social media was just being introduced to B2B marketers; and only 20 years ago, digital marketing as a whole was in its infancy, with the idea of ebooks as a novel concept!
Although much has changed, the most important thing to marketers has stayed the same: your consumers expect more from you every year.
It’s not enough to do the same thing you always have, in the way you always have. No sirree!
You and your brand need to evolve alongside the evolving expectations of your consumers.
Here are 5 things that a marketer must do to keep up with these changing expectations.
1. Offer Multi-Channel Engagement Opportunities
It can be tempting to put all your eggs in one basket — if you’ve been able to develop a single type of PPC campaign, or an email strategy, or a social media plan that’s high-performing and showing you awesome results.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? However, focusing all your marketing into one channel limits yourself and your outreach potential.
Remember: you have multiple types of buyers, and not everyone wants to consume information in the same way.
Some people don’t like (or don’t even have) social media. Others simply won’t click on ads (hello, adblockers). And some don’t have a good chance to review emails because their inbox is a cluttered mess.
For all your different types of consumers, you need to have different types of marketable content.
On average, it takes between 6 to 8 touchpoints to convert a marketing contact into a sales-ready lead.
Of course, this number can increase or decrease depending on what products or services you offer, if you work in a B2B vs. a B2C space, and how long your typical sales cycle is.
However, it stands to reason that the more touch points you have available, the more readily your marketing leads can interact and engage with you in the way they want, in the time-frame they want.
Most consumers are looking to make a decision relatively quickly. Most businesses know that the longer they wait to make a purchase, the more money they could be wasting.
Therefore, if you empower your prospects to own their researching journey and if you support them with marketing collateral that exists on a multitude of channels in a multitude of formats, you’re going to delight and entice them to stick with you…
…and ultimately make a purchase from you, too!
In today’s world, implementing a multi-channel approach isn’t only a best practice, it’s a required process.
2. Mobile Optimize Everything
This goes hand in hand with our first topic: it’s not enough to simply have a great user experience on desktops—you need to encourage and facilitate interactions with your brand on mobile devices, too.
Now more than ever, individual consumers (and businesses) are doing their research and making their purchases by using their phones.
That means that they’re consuming more content from a smaller screen, and they’re expecting immediate interaction opportunities from that same device.
People want to be able to download apps that will help save them money.
They want to get text messages offering legitimately valuable information.
And most importantly, they want to be able to jump from an email, to your website, to your social media and beyond, all with a few simple taps or swipes.
If your mobile experience is less than stellar, you’re running a huge risk. Google has found that 61% of consumers are unlikely to return to a website that they had trouble accessing on their mobile devices, and even worse, 40% of them will visit a competitor’s website instead.
With this insight in hand, it’s safe to say that mobile optimized content is no longer a “nice to have”—it’s a make or break necessity that directly ties to your brand’s success.
3. Anticipate Your Consumer’s Needs
Take a moment to ask yourself two questions, and answer honestly.
Do you enjoy being marketed to? Do you like being “sold” on a product or service? I’m going out on a ledge here, but I’m going to guess the answer is “no.”
And if you feel that way, why would your potential consumers feel any differently?
In today’s day and age, we are more aware than ever before when we’re being marketed to and we’re more readily able to opt out of that marketing, too.
It’s so much harder now to have your voice heard when there is so much noise out there.
So is this world-ending news for marketers? Of course not! It’s an opportunity—to do more, and to do better.
The best way to ensure that you retain the interest of your consumers, before and after a purchase, is to put yourself in their shoes.
For example: if you wouldn’t enjoy reading an overly salesy infographic, you can safely assume that your consumers won’t like it either.
However, you probably would enjoy reading that infographic if it focused on addressing pain points that you’re personally experiencing, and if it offered helpful solutions on how to solve these problems.
This is where you need to put on your thinking cap.
Ask yourself more questions! Yes, there’s no such thing as a dumb question! Here are a few suggestions…
- Why do my customers buy from me?
- What are the pain points they’re looking to resolve?
- Is there information do they need to receive that shows I can help relieve the pain they’re experiencing?
- What questions do they need to ask themselves to make sure they’re getting a good deal and working with a trusted provider?
It pays to do some hard work and research ahead of time.
Figure out what challenges your prospects are experiencing, what questions they have, and what answers would be most beneficial to them.
With this information, you can develop out a marketing plan that caters to their needs and positions you as a helpful, proactive resource.
You can think of it like leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for someone to follow—they won’t get lost, and they’ll enjoy the process of exploration that much more.
Stand for Something
Think about your favorite brand for a moment. Why do you like them so much? Sure, they probably provide amazing products or services, but what is it about that brand that draws in your attention and keeps you purchasing from them again and again?
Perhaps you’re a Patagonia fan—not only because they offer top of the line outdoor clothing and gear, but because they put their money where their mouth is.
As a company, Patagonia regularly contribute to organizations that help preserve the environment. They’ve donated over $10 million this year alone!
Or perhaps you’re a proud patron of Warby Parker—not simply because they provide and easy and fun way to purchase eye wear, but also because of their “buy a pair, give a pair” program that has donated over 5 million pairs of glasses to men, women, and children in need.
Increasingly, consumers are expecting the brands they patronize to stand for something more than just their own bottom line.
Although it can seem daunting or even risky to go out on a ledge and say “we as a company are publicly deciding to get behind XYZ cause,” it can often pay off.
Remember in 2018 when Nike released their bold ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick right before Labor Day?
There were speculations that Nike would lose a lot of money by so publicly standing behind a figure that had generated such controversy, and that many of their consumers would follow through with a boycott.
But what actually happened?
Their sales the following weekend rose 31% compared to the year previous.
So what does this teach us? Taking a carefully measured stance on an issue that matters to you as an organization goes a long way.
You don’t need to contribute $10 million or donate an extra unit for every one sold to make a meaningful impact—you simply need to be honest about the values your brand holds dear and find a way to incorporate those values into your messaging.
Keep It Simple, Stupid!
This one is easy (and we’ll follow our own advice:
- Less is more.
- Know what you want to say, then say it.
- Don’t make your consumers work to figure out what value you bring.
- And most importantly, know your “why.”
Thanks to technology, the average attention span of an individual has dropped from 12 seconds down to 8 seconds.
With less time to make an impact, more cynicism from your consumer, and a deafening amount of noise blaring from all angles, your brand needs to step away from marketing for the sake of marketing. Instead focus on value-driven messaging in easy to consume formats.
If you’re asking if your content is too complicated, you already know your answer.
Above All Else—Remember the “What’s In It For Me” Factor
It’s easy to get a bit of tunnel vision as a marketer. You often run up against tight deadlines and can be included to tip your head down and just pound away at your to do list.
So take a moment. Pause. Ask yourself the same question that someone would be posing to themselves if they saw this content for the first time:
“What’s in it for me?”
If you highlight your value in all that you do, you’ll be head and shoulders above much of your competition.
But more importantly, you’ll be appropriately responding to the wants, needs, and evolving expectations of your consumers.
