Gaining a client’s trust used to be as simple as putting forth a firm handshake and looking the individual in the eye, but globalization, interconnectivity, and leveraged data has transformed today’s commercial environment and redefined our mode of interaction.
In this regard, it seems as though the days of radio ads, television spots, and newsprint promotions are long gone, which is why today’s business owners and marketers have to stay on the cutting edge of advertising and adapt to the accelerated pace of the digital revolution.
The Ever-Changing Landscape
However, if you happen to be clinging to the schemes and tactics that might have worked well ten years ago, it’s important to note that the modern marketing arena is shifting, expanding, and changing at an unprecedented rate:
- On a global scale, social media advertising has grown 40-60% per year, while television ad revenues haven’t budged in almost an entire decade after accounting for inflation.
- The younger generation has all but discarded print media and magazines in favor of online marketing and streamlined digital content, as evidenced by the fact that traditional media consumption has dropped by about three hours per week while digital consumption has increased by almost seven hours during the past year alone.
- More than 70% of today’s consumers prefer digitally-disseminated content over celebrity endorsements, television commercials, or print ads.
- On average, contemporary firms are able to generate more than $6.00 in revenue per $1.00 spent on digital marketing tactics, which is almost 60% higher than the dollar-for-dollar return on traditional media initiatives.
By 2019, video marketing and personalized internet content will comprise over 80% of all online foot traffic, which is why so many firms spend more than 40% of their advertising budgets on digital advertising initiatives.
Internet video streaming and downloads will grow to more than 80% of all consumer Internet traffic by 2019 (Data via Cisco) source: http://tubularinsights.com/2019-internet-video-traffic/
Of course, these reverberations and transformations can be attributed to the recent advancements in smartphone technology and the rise of intricate data analysis, but the crux of the digital revolution revolves around people and their research habits.
Consumer Habits Are the Driving Force
Consumers used to be able to plop down in front of the television or radio and hear about new products, services, and special offers, which negated the need for extensive research and cross-comparisons – if you saw or heard about something you liked, you simply went out and bought it.
However, the search and purchase cycle nowadays is entirely different:
- Awareness: The consumer develops an intrinsic need or want for a particular product or service, and then begins researching the subject matter online.
- Enquiry: The prospective shopper will input a particular term into a search engine – such as “the best local automotive school” or “the highest rated laptop” – and begin sifting through the results.
- Evaluation: Next, the individual will start assessing and critically analyzing the search results by scouring the web for reviews, first-hand accounts, quality ratings, comparisons, editorials, and any other relevant content.
- Decision: After gaining more knowledge about the specific subject, the consumer will begin forming ideas, notions, and preferences with regard to their next course of action – the entire goal in the decision phase is to find something that stands out above the rest and truly jumps off of the page.
- Purchase: Once he or she has obtained a comfort level with regard to the product or service and ascertained a desirable supplier or provider, the consumer will reach out to the firm in question and begin the purchase process.
How to Weave Your Product or Service into this New-Age Paradigm
If you’d like to reach out to your target audience, convert potential clients into long-term customers, and bolster your bottom line through modernized marketing strategies, you’ll have to get with the program, so to speak, as shown below:
- Create a business account on popular social media platforms and begin networking with industry leaders and interacting with other users.
- Start publishing germane, informative articles regarding your scope of services.
- Link your educational articles and content to your firm’s homepage, and utilize real-time data analytics to refine your approach and improve click-through rates.
- Partner with a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) specialist to reinforce your ranking in the most prominent search engines, such as Google, for instance.
- Include innovative video content and flash animations in some of your initiatives – grab the attention of your ideal target market.
- Reduce acquisition costs by refining your website, streamlining web-based request forms, and compiling pertinent data for future analysis.
- Build your own third-party blog to provide advice, recommendations, and calls to action for your particular suite of services or product line.
- Establish mutually beneficial partnerships with relevant organizations and begin cross-promoting your brand name.
Although the Internet might seem like a vast, unconquerable landscape, it’s in your best interests to begin slowly and methodically reimagining your advertising approach – especially if you haven’t seen a desirable marketing ROI in the past several years.