The flip side of this coin is that according to research carried out by direct agency Targetbase Claydon Heeley (TBCH) to build better relationships with the public, 41% of consumer’s state that brands needs to “listen to what customers have to say – and act on it”.

More businesses particular those SMEs need to look at using the new communication channels. This will give them a way of interacting with their customers, and at the same time using these communication channels as a way of actually improving their business. A lot of businesses today still see rewards and loyalty schemes as a way to give a little back to their customers but for many customers, myself included, its more about an experience and actually having a good experience which I have found to be the fundamental principles of good relationship marketing and will far out weigh the short term goals in the long run.

The survey carried out by TBCH identified six key values that consumers appreciate in the brands. They want to feel respected, worry-free, informed, confident, understood and organised. The survey went on to find that on the other side of the scale customers are less interested in brands that try to make them feel clever, loved, stylish, up to the minute, empowered, exclusive and excited.

Within social media many brands are trying to incorporate this into their strategy but just not getting the correct mix for it to work effectively. There are some brands that have embraced this form of communication and used it to their advantage giving them an opportunity to assist and solve problems for their customers and to invite them to respond and share their experiences of a particular brand. One such brand which has excelled and benefited in this form of communication is Jet Blue. The airline uses the social media platform Twitter as a way to interact and engage with its customers while enabling its travellers to post questions and comments about its services and allow Jet Blue to build customer service capability with people on the move.

All businesses no matter how small or large can start to benefit from world of mouth by embracing social media platforms in a proactive way. It gives businesses the chance to engage and interact with their customers on a one to one basis, give their input and also raise any possible concerns or issues which they may be experiencing.

At 10thstep we love helping SMEs interact with their customers and we can help you get to grips with using social media tools more effectively for your business. Why not give us a shout and lets us help you explore the world of mouth.

Before this can happen, you must employ a calculated strategy and embrace marketing. In the past, organisations have faced financial difficulties or tough times and immediately cut their marketing budget. It is now widely accepted that this is not the best approach for your business. Maintaining or increasing your marketing outlay may be seen as a risk
but it is definitely a calculated risk. The easy option is to cut your marketing budget during a recession but how would your business function? Marketing provides you with the market intelligence you need to understand what your customers need and if you do not have this information you will not be competitive. Marketing is the only tool that allows you to provide fresh and innovative products that your customers need. Consumers become more value oriented during a recession.

Your customers will also feel the pinch and so they will become increasingly frugal and will only buy good quality products because they feel they are getting value for money. This needs to be communicated to your customers. This will set you apart from your rivals and marketing is the key. Satisfying your customers is the most important thing in business; if you get this right then you will succeed in whatever market. Marketing includes internal marketing. You need to listen to your employees as well as your customers during recessionary periods. In-house marketing can provide new ideas. You can appreciate the needs and feelings of your employees which will mean they will feel more empowered and as a result will be motivated to work for your organisation. This should yield its own benefits and should help your company cope through tough times.

When you think of marketing you shouldn’t immediately think big budgets and expensive projects. Marketing is moving into a digital age and successful organisations are recognising the importance and innovative role that the social media can play. This is a highly inexpensive means of marketing that provides a platform for huge exposure. Self promotion still remains imperative in a recession. You need to tell your existing customers and potential consumers what you do, the services you can provide, your quality product offerings and what sets you apart from your competitors.

Marketing will always play a central role in any business realm, especially during recessionary periods. Get in touch today if you are interested in how 10th Step can improve your marketing in these tough times.

They are considering the value the presence can add to it’s business, in terms of being able to trade 24 hours a day 365 days a year.

Doing business and selling via the word wide web will become the norm. It is therefore vital that when a customer visits your website, it must be as engaging to them as visiting your physical shop or place of business. Many of today’s smart businesses are actively trying to engage their visitors. Instead of standing back and ‘sitting on the fence’ they are actively involved in social media, using it as a platform to promote their business and win new customers in the global market place.

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Bebo have now become much more than just profile based platforms. They are now conversation platforms, ‘discussing organisations and their brands’.

Research carried out by Technorati claims ‘there are already over 57 million blogs and about 100,000 new ones being created daily’. These blogs are giving consumers their own platform to discuss their views and thoughts on experiences of products and services with which they have come into contact. Blogs can be extremely beneficial to businesses which use them to their advantage; for example, rather than using traditional forms of marketing research t;o find out what customers think of a particular product or service they can use information which is being discussed within their own company blog or indeed other successful blogs which they come across. Using your blog or social media effectively can give your business a valuable insight to what your customers are saying about your product or service.

Best of all…It’s ‘virtually’ free..

For many businesses this is the chance for them to re-invent themselves and listen to what their customers are thinking and saying. We are all aware that people like to feel listened to and valued as a customer. However this concept is not carried through to benefit the business. Many of our larger organisations today don’t listen to the customer on the ground and more often than not, businesses don’t ask their customers what they think? Engagement is the key…ongoing, sustained and sustainable to gain true and qualitative information on your customer.

So the question to ask your business is “Does my website engage customers?

Want to know more or have a chat over a coffee..?

Contact 10thstep.com today

If you revert back to the simple principles of marketing and the customer life cycle:

Acquisition
Conversion
Retention

We will touch base with this article on a basic insight to each of the above and how this principles can help you work on developing and building an effective online marketing strategy.

Acquisition: – This is primarily concerned with driving or getting traffic to your website. The amount of traffic which you receive will largely depend on the reach of your website for example how widely is it know or indeed the extend of your reach. As we mentioned briefly earlier many people rely solely on search engines to get traffic to their websites and forget about other online platforms which can assist them in their quest for visitors to see and receive their message. Having productive online marketing strategy which will work for you needs to combine search engine marketing, social media marketing and powerful content to give you the reach needed to.

Conversion: – As with offline forms of marketing its all very well to marketing and advertise your business or service, but turning visitors to your shop or website into customers is an altogether different ball game. For many people when they are shopping for looking to make a purchase it’s all about an experience and just how you go about engaging your customer either via your product or indeed your content.

Retention: – As in any business sector be it online or offline retention of your customers is an essential element in achieving success. The internet today is full off websites offering customers a host of different products and services and to be successful and encourage repeat business to your website you must offer a high standard of service at all times and engage your visitor with a experience of your product or service. In today’s social network environment where customers have access to public forms, blogs and social network sites it is very easy for both positive and negative comments about your business, products or services. In saying this social network platforms also give you as a business an edge in access to even more customers in a much wider target area. It is important to look at the overall customer experience from start to finish even at times putting yourself through the process. By having effective communication process with your customers throughout their experience will help you retain customers and improve their overall experience and in turn generate a much better Return on Investment on your online marketing. One thing to remember as with most things in like there is no quick fix or correct formula for online marketing but seeking help and guidance from experienced professionals will certainly not do any harm but more help develop a more effective strategy and route map forward.

Want to know more or have a chat over a coffee? Contact 10thstep.com today

There are many different types of viral marketing which can be used these include pass along messages, games, and video clips. These forms of marketing can be further Incentive-driven to offer rewards for the end user signing up or providing an email address.

One thing to remember in all this is that ‘customer is king’ and the number 1 concern for any company or business. Its very important to cater to the needs and wants of your customer giving them what they want by advertising only what you can deliver and not making false promises in any viral marketing which you do either online or offline.

For more information and help doing effective viral marketing that gets your results contact 10thstep.com