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This is a guest post by Lauren Wiseman.
The way consumers go about their shopping has changed quite dramatically since the arrival of the internet. Nowadays, consumers are extremely savvy, meaning that they’ll do a whole lot of digging before finally deciding on whether or not to make a purchase.
As such, marketing has also evolved from the more direct ‘inspire to action’ approach, into a complex process where the consumers go back and forth between their investigating and decision making before they’re actually spurred into buying. For this reason, marketers need to expand their marketing efforts to multiple channels, both online and offline, in order to drive potential customers towards the brand’s website and ultimately its brick-and-mortar stores.
In that regard, here are five ways how this integration can successfully inspire consumers into action.
1. Influence Customers With The Right Peers
Today, customers are absolutely flooded with digital content, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for marketers to get their message across without it being completely ignored by consumers. This is why a lot of brands out there are turning to influencers to mitigate this problem of marketing oversaturation and expand their reach. Likewise, influencers are great for two things: firstly, they effectively humanize the brand’s products, and secondly, they play a vital role in increasing said product’s conversion rates due to the word-of-mouth marketing approach. By some accounts, 92% of people are more likely to trust their peers than direct brand advertising. Hence, influencers are an excellent way of passing the torch to eager customers who then proceed on a quest of their own to share and discover the brand’s product with others.
2. Boost Brand Awareness
Ever heard of people asking for a Kleenex when they actually just wanted to say any regular piece of tissue paper? You’ve probably done it yourself.. As seen in the above example, the product has become synonymous with the brand’s name, thus showing the power of branding every tissue paper on the market as Kleenex. Again, due to the outstanding brand awareness, people will promote this product by word-of-mouth and thus motivate others to buy from that specific brand instead of a rivaling one. The only thing brands have to watch out for in order for this to work is staying consistent with their online as well as offline branding. An excellent example of this offline marketing consistency could be seen in Apple stores which are made to reflect the ingenious design of its products, and therefore drive more sales on the very spot.
Getting customers to scan a QR Code for marketing campaigns is another great example of technology in action at offline marketing channels to improve branding and customer engagement.
3. Utilizing More Traditional Methods
People have become inseparable from their smartphones to the degree that the majority never leaves the house without them. They act as outstanding virtual assistants while on-the-go, especially for tourists in huge metropolises. In this case, tourists would interact with different forms of offline marketing items, such as brochures, flyers, catalogues, and so on, while sight-seeing. Next, they’d use their hand-held devices to browse for these products and services online, to check for reviews, etc. and come to the conclusion that they wish to make a purchase.
4. Provide Incentives
Similarly how offline marketing efforts can persuade customers to scour the web for more data, online methods can inspire customers to visit physical stores to make further inquiries about certain items. The best way to achieve this is by providing them with an incentive to hop down to the store and make it worth their while. Limited-time offers, sales and discounts create a sense of urgency that motivates them to take the next step and actually step inside the store. In addition, 57% of first-time customers are willing to complete a purchase with coupons and 91% have said that they would visit such retailers again due to the discounts in question.
5. Focusing The Target Audience With Co-branding
Finally, brands with similar values and ideals often join forces to focus their efforts on a specific demographic in order to drive more sales. Such co-branding events provide ‘a two for one’ personalized experience for customers which helps them form an emotional bond with both brands. For example, both Red Bull and GoPro are well-known for promoting adventurous, and often dangerous, lifestyles even though their products aren’t in themselves dangerous. By now, everyone has heard of their joint campaign in which Felix Baumgartner jumped off a space pod in the middle of the Earth’s stratosphere in 2012. This way, they’ve not only made history, but inspired countless people into action, quite literally, as well.
A single method out of all these would not prove as effective as a mixture of a few of them. Proper integration will ensure interaction with customers on multiple fronts and thus successfully spur them into action.
Author Bio: Lauren Wiseman is marketing specialist, contributor to bizzmarkblog.com and entrepreneur. She helps clients grow their personal and professional brands in fast-changing and demanding market, strongly believing in a holistic approach to business.
