In a 2017 survey, 71% of small businesses claimed to understand the importance of going digital. Yet almost 30% of those surveyed did not even yet have a company website, and 21% of those who did, reported that the site was not mobile friendly.
A working website, let alone one that is compatible with mobile devices, is now the bare minimum. In order to compete in the new digital world, the most well-established legacy companies are having to rethink their marketing strategies. They’re integrating social media, web analytics services, creating their own media sharing platforms and mobile apps — and it’s paying off, too.
ONE: More Effective Marketing
LEARN ABOUT THEM
Once upon a time, companies relied on the gut feelings of ad men to strategize their approaches to branding and marketing. Thankfully, the guessing games days are over.
In the digital world, marketers use analytics programs to learn about consumers, what they like, what they value in a brand, what turns them off, and what keeps them excited and coming back for more. This data helps companies understand their existing target audience, where they can expand that audience, and how.
STRATEGIZE AND PERSONALIZE
Embracing the digital world not only makes marketing more effective than the old ways of trial and error, but more efficient, less time consuming, and less costly, too.
Taking the information provided through web traffic analytics and imbedding that information into marketing strategies, the result is a personalized campaign that feels personable, too. In other words, rather than sensing they’ve been tracked, studied, and targeted, consumers feel as though it were they who discovered a cool new, perfect brand, not the other way around. And this is a powerful difference, because who doesn’t want to find a hidden gem?
TWO: Consumer Lives
BRAND IDENTITY
There are two discernible shifts that takes place when companies embrace the digital world. First, rather than trying to devise a quick and often temporary marketing strategy, they begin to build a much more powerful and longer-lasting brand identity. Digitally savvy businesses understand that this is how you go from being an industry afterthought to becoming the first or second that comes to mind.
You can tell when companies have a strong brand identity if their brand name is somewhat synonymous with the goods and services they sell. For example, when people think of liquid dish soap, they think of Dawn. When people think of toilet paper, they think of Charmin. So rather than the brand just being another option, the name in and of itself essentially becomes a symbol for the industry as a whole.
ENGAGEMENT
The second shift that occurs is rather than trying to sell their goods and services to consumers, their new brand identity allows companies to engage with consumers instead. In the new digital world, to actively engage consumers is to become a part of their day-to-day lives. Establishing a presence on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat is the most common way to start engaging consumers, but there are other ways, too.
One way is to create online content that is valuable, informative, and relevant to the lives of your target audience. You can also start discussion boards, online contests, surveys, test groups, giveaways for tagging and sharing your brand’s content, and insider rewards programs via email and/or mobile texting.
Another way to engage is by turning your product or service into an entire consumer experience. For example, a Colorado ski resort created its own mobile app for skiers to measure their performances. The app also serves as a social network by encouraging guests to connect with each other, share ski performance data, photos, and even meet up in person.