Any good marketing plan always has to take into account the end goal. If you want your customers to fill out a form so you know more about them, that is a result. They don’t just come to the website looking to provide you information. There must be some compelling reason that they would want to furnish the info. That is where strategic planning can really make a big difference. What is most important is that you hit your target right in the middle.
HOW TO HIT THE TARGET
I once went to a medical website looking for clues as to what was ailing my son and the site wanted me to register and provide all kinds of info. What do you think I did at that point? You’re correct, I left the site as fast as possible. There has to be a compelling reason for me to provide the info. My son wasn’t going to start to get better as I sat there and filled out an information gathering form.
The next website that I landed on had a fancy intro video that was fun to look at, but I was looking for info, not a cool display of colors and special effects. So, you can see that the website creator needs to have a more customer service driven approach. Social media is a great way to have customer interaction and understand what a customer is looking for.
Watch this video on social media marketing and you will see the benefits from your customers perspective.
SOCIAL MEDIA MATTERS
I’m not sure if you noticed but the strategies mentioned don’t have your website visitors filling out a long form and collecting personal information. Many time a marketing company isn’t thinking about the effects that these things are having on the customer. Someone that leaves a site is not coming back anytime soon.
People are funny these days when they are trying to determine who to buy from. They will go to great lengths to make an informed decision. If a friend tells them they should buy a certain item, there is a great likelihood they will buy it.
The best thing a business can do is engage the customer and respect their time. Give them an opportunity to connect with your social profiles and then they will know you better. Companies that do this are companies that will be around in the future because their people know them best. Facebook is the main that will give your customers a great way to learn about you. There you can also get them to follow your business on Twitter or maybe Pinterest. Just understand that the more you engage with them the more they will love you and tell their friends about you.
Managing these social media accounts can be a little time consuming but just know that it’s worth it. There is nothing better for a business than having good relationships. They will think of you when they need your services. Don’t look at it like it is a waste of time because customers are worth it. Plus, these social sites are a great way for them to spread the word. This will start to snowball and before you know it, your success will seem easy. Having a successful online advertising campaign that takes into account all these things is a real difference maker. Many fortune 500 companies have experienced marketing departments that get this 100%. We can learn from them and duplicate the things that are working. Most often it is not necessary to be highly educated in order to do the things that the experts do, just do the same things.
Just always see things from the visitors perspective. You don’t ask your friends to fill out a form and you’ll get back with them, so don’t have a website that does. I met an advertising fellow on wall street and he expressed the same thoughts. He had been working in his field for a long time and these things have always been this way. You can attract many more ants with sugar than you can with anything else. Always keep this in mind when doing your business planning.