The right framework for marketing in a digital world

When most B2B companies realized that they weren’t making it big from old digital marketing playbooks, most opted to create relevant digital marketing frameworks that could meet and solve their modern business needs.

The previous framework included social media management, blog publishing, and email campaigns. The main focus was on traffic. It had no focus on lead conversion, building a holistic buyer’s journey, or excellent customer experience. However, as a business owner in today’s saturated marketplace, you need to begin thinking critically about how to reap sizeable rewards from your marketing efforts.

This article will help you do just that.

1. Define the “why” and you’re on the right track

Why do you think customers buy your services or goods? You need to take time to think about this critically. You see, you should always understand that even though the digital marketing era has brought in new sales processes, customer buying physiology will always remain true. You only need to upgrade your toolbox as a successful marketer.

If you look around, no business wants to come second in the mind of customers. All companies want to beat their competitors. They will want to show their customers how they are the go-to company to solve challenges. However, if a business focuses solely on beating the competitors, then it means it gives its customers less attention, time and satisfaction.

People love to buy, but don’t sell it to them

Customers have needs to fulfill. They have particular challenges and want you to solve them in exchange for money. You must always understand that marketing is not a hunting art for new customers. It’s rather a gardening art. Don’t sell to your customers, but aim to tend to their needs. If you view marketing in that perspective, you will always have the upper hand.

Customers buy based on emotions. Think about it. When did you buy your latest iPhone? Did you buy the iPhone or the desire to fit in the trend that the iPhone is superior to an android phone? The same case applies to customers who buy from you. They buy because of emotions such as fear of missing out on something, or the desire to feel important.

It’s all about emotions. Modern marketing should engage the emotions of customers in order to make an impact.

2. Understand what disrupts digital experiences

Digital disruption is when new digital models and technologies affect the value proposition of current services and goods. If you’ve noticed, there is a rapid increase in mobile phone usage at work and at home. A shift referred to as the consumerization of IT. This trend has been a significant cause of digital disruptions in the modern world and it cuts across most niches.

You should aim to understand what causes these disruptions to avoid being left off the bandwagon because these disruptions affect the evolution of customer behaviors and expectations. If you notice changes occurring, your company needs to align itself to satisfy your customer’s needs and wants. The key to doing this is innovation.

Take, for example, Uber. This new service has disrupted traditional car hiring services because of it’s customer-centric innovations. Uber saw a need and fulfilled it. Netflix is another company that has aligned itself as a go-to site for video content on the Internet; among other modern companies that have adopted the subscription economy, business model.

Marketing is constantly evolving. However, you will realize that the three main behaviors that disrupt digital experiences are:

Customized customer experiences

Digital networks have taught customers to expect a wide range of personal choices. They expect to feel in control of their purchases and subscriptions. With the number of e-commerce sites, video content sites, or web pages available to them they will always veer towards the option that caters to their needs. A personalized and targeted product or service will always have the upper hand.

Quick access

Customers don’t want to waste time. They will always prefer the option that gives them fast results. Think of Google, for example, it has simplified the way people search for information on the internet. The main idea is to create products and services that solve customer problems quickly and conveniently.

Desire to engage with digital content

Customers have a constant willingness to engage with content and this has been a significant cause of change in customer behavior patterns. Customers prefer what is interesting and interactive. You should keep this in mind in modern marketing because a company that brings forth one-on-one interactions online brings forth massive results. You should always think about how your company can become a go-to site for valuable and interactive content.

3. Build a powerful customer experience to maintain trust and loyalty

As products and services reach commodity status due to intensified competition, it has reached the point where encouraging customer loyalty and building brand preferences is more critical than never.

Good customer experience isn’t only what’s felt when someone does a transaction with the business. It’s the overall feeling a customer gets whenever he or she comes into contact with your operational business environment. Top companies are now offering refined customer experiences as a means of differentiating themselves from the competition.

How do you gain insight into whether or not your company is providing the best customer experience possible? Well, as challenging as it may be, you need to measure what counts and what doesn’t to accurately determine your outcome. Don’t measure overall traffic on the web and determine favorable user experience on the traffic you are getting.

The best way to determine successful customer experience is by reviewing your market share and revenue because, ultimately, excellent customer experience results in sales.

Example

Do you like tattoos? Well, there is a company that’s making it big in this niche by focusing on excellent customer experience. The Inkhunter app allows you to make informed decisions on getting your new tattoo by showing how it will look on you. It uses AR to give a preview of the actual tattoo on your body. The best part is that it links you with a tattoo artist who can deliver that specific tattoo style. Incredible, right? Imagine the buzz it’s created among tattoo lovers.

To create an omnichannel and frictionless customer experience, your company needs to blend an excellent customer experience strategy into a customer journey strategy. Sure enough, no company has room for obstacles in their customer journey Your customers should be able to solve their needs on any channel without any difficulty.

4. Social media marketing: The big wave in marketing

You can’t think of marketing without thinking of social media. It’s a big wave that has taken over. With more and more people joining social media (there are about 3.2 billion social media users worldwide), it’s now a booming tool that businesses can leverage to boost leads, sales, and growth.

It doesn’t matter if customers are there primarily to connect with friends and family members, you should know that 71% of consumers are more likely to buy from companies they follow on social media. Do you have a social media presence? If you do, there are ways to make it big in this arena.

Perhaps the best thing about social media is its customer engagement levels. Imagine interacting with customers in real-time on Messenger, Instagram, or Twitter; replying to their comments and liking their posts. You can even have a Facebook business group or page. The personal touch and engagement brings forth more customers and encourages excellent customer experience.

Understand when to jump

Social media is now fuelling trend creations. These trends gather momentum fast and since they affect customer behavior and purchasing power, your company should take note of the changing trends before making the dive.

There are now many tools that enable you to use technology to make informed decisions on the best position for you in the Social Media arena. By using consumer data, you can gain valuable insights to make effective business decisions. With data, you can know when to make the jump and ride in the right wave.

Social circles create waves

Online social circles are growing far and wide. Customers the world over are connecting and sharing their thoughts on topics that matter to them. As people consume products and services, they will want to share their experiences with their friends online. If it were an excellent experience, it would be a plus to the company. A lousy experience always gets shared quicker than a good experience though; be wary of that.

As these ripples create waves, the trends emerge. These trends affect consumer behavior and ultimately affect businesses.

In the modern marketing landscape, it has become essential that you involve all departments in your company in order to determine a top-notch social media marketing strategy.

5. “Think globally but express it locally”

This phrase was first coined to tackle environmental challenges before multinational companies adopted it as an essential marketing strategy. You see, to make it big, a multinational company has to tailor its products and services to specific regions. At the same time, they’re expected to maintain their global values.

Think about it. The “one size fits all” approach may not work when going global because of different cultures, which affects the customer purchase behavior. If you can establish credibility with the local market, you will realize how it boosts ROI, brand awareness, and reach.

The main challenge facing marketers in the digital world is that they’re expected to maintain the brand’s marketing core elements while creating content that goes in tandem with the local market’s needs and wants. You have to strike a balance here because it’s critical when attempting to truly impact a global audience.
Starbucks Coffee

The global coffee chain provider understood the concept of think global but act local. The company devised a strategy of adapting to regional differences. While keeping their promise that their coffee would taste the same globally, the design of each coffee shop depicted the local culture in which it was located.
Starbucks didn’t focus on the menu, which could still have been an option; they focused on maintaining their global value while taking into consideration the local cultures of their consumers. As a result, they maintained credibility both globally and locally.

Verdict

One constant challenge that companies face while attempting to get to the marketing front line is aligning their marketing practices to meet the ever-changing needs of the marketplace. With modern marketing, it has become critical to nurture excellent customer experiences, understand digital disruptions to jump into the right wave at the right time, and leverage social media for leads and sales.

Do you want to explore the benefits of having a top-notch digital marketing framework for your company? We can help with that. Check out our excellent services.