We live in a tech-infused world – that is a fact. However, many small business owners refuse to change their old ways and continue to employ outdated marketing tactics. That can only be a recipe for failure or, at best, stagnation.

Here’s the thing: if you want to survive in today’s business environment and grow a successful brand, then you must go digital. But, because technology and society evolve faster than your organization may adapt, you shouldn’t get hooked on fads and trends. Instead, focus on developing an online marketing strategy that will serve you in the long run.

The question you may be asking yourself now is how you can prepare your business for the digital world?

Here are ten possible solutions. 

1. Consult with Digital Experts: The hard truth is that you will not be able to turn your business digital by yourself. Even if you spend a lot of time reading and doing research on the best digital marketing practices, it may still be hard to understand how this world functions. Don’t hesitate to ask for the help of experts and hire an agency to help you create your online marketing strategy.

2. Use Freelancers: The days when you needed an office and employees available in a set location are long gone. Now, with the help of the internet, you can secure talent from all corners of the world. A lot of young professionals prefer mobility and flexible hours rather than high compensation or status.

3. Pick the Best and Most Effective Digital Channels for Your Business: If you’ve got a retail brand, considering social media may just be the best way to double your conversions. However, the channels that may work for a brand may prove to be ineffective for you. Explore your customer preferences and test more than one digital channel to see what makes them tick.

4. Be Ready to Turn Your Brand into a Story: You should consider turning your business strategy into a narrative that resonates with your audience. Digital storytelling is a growing trend among organizations and for good reasons. The ones that tell the best stories are the ones with the most devoted customers.

5. Center Your Brand’s Story around Solutions, rather Than Products: Hear this– a writer can never create a good story around mere objects, and a company can’t build a business strategy solely around their products. Of course, your customers need your products, but they need them because they help them overcome certain problems. Try focusing your narrative on your customers’ pain points and the best solution rather than your products. 

6. Be Customer-Centric: People are tired of aggressive communication and are becoming very cautious about the brands they choose. Make sure to invest in user experience, both online and offline and show your customers that you care about more than just their wallets.

7. Adapt: Sure, turning digital is mostly about technology, but it is also about people.  Keep your team educated about the importance of change and help them greet innovation with enthusiasm.

8. Track Your Progress: Use analytics to discover where your audience is coming from so that you can intensify interactions in those areas.

9. Leverage Social Media Platforms: Facebook, Twitter and most notably, LinkedIn all offer marvelous opportunities to grow online. Be sure to plan your social media strategies well-ahead, and always deliver quality content.

10. Be Social: So you’ve started your social media campaigns, and everything is looking pretty well. Sustain this by engaging with your prospects and building meaningful relationships with them.

Conclusion

The digital era is at its dawn; there’s a whole lot more to unfold, so be prepared. When taking the digital road, you will encounter a variety of risks. But the benefits are well worth it.

Today’s marketing revolves around the idea that the customer is in charge of the brand, not the other way around. As such, the user experience is the primary focus in today’s business world, and companies are spending a lot of time and resources trying to figure out why people pick one brand or product over another.

Sure, prospects may choose a product out of curiosity first, but they won’t repeat the purchase if the solution doesn’t deliver on its promises. More often than not, customer satisfaction largely depends on how well your brand delivers experiences.

The idea is rather simple: if you want to win over your audience and turn them into loyal customers, then you need to do more than just advertise to them. You also need to ensure that they’re having the best possible experience when using or interacting with your brand.

That’s where experiential marketing can come in handy

Message Broadcasting Is Slowly Turning Obsolete

Every brand has a message, but that’s not enough for the 21st century consumer. Sick of the same old “buy from the best there is” advertising tune, customers will slowly turn their eyes to wherever some new, fascinating experiences may arise.

That’s because experiential marketing is all about engaging all five senses and not merely sending a message. Consumers care more about having their senses caressed than they care about what you are trying to tell them. They’ll surely understand your message better if you give them an actual taste of it.

Focus your brand strategy on how and what your prospects feel. Align your business with your audience’s expectations if you want to deliver great experiences.

The Benefits of Experiential Marketing

Young consumers view experiences as more valuable than things. As such, they are more likely to buy products from someone who engages with them directly rather than a business that uses advertising to communicate. Experiential marketing is all about creating peer-to-peer interaction and engaging audiences in ways that will make your brand stay top of mind.

That’s not to say that you should ignore conventional tactics, such as social media, content marketing or email marketing. These are still beneficial and will bring impressive results to your business. However, make sure to mix these strategies with experiential marketing tactics and create interactions that will enable your audience to connect to and absorb your brand’s values.

For example, you could organize events where people can taste, hear or feel your products and get a close look at what your brand is about.

Another excellent and simple way of putting experiential marketing to work is by giving away product samples. Just think about it: what protein bar are people more likely to buy – the one they see advertised on TV all the time or the one that organizes funky events at their local gym?

It’s not that hard to guess the correct answer.

Keep in mind, though that this type of marketing is not just about food samples and parties. Due to recent developments in technology, you may also lure your prospects into your brand’s narrative through virtual reality. If you own the right infrastructure, you can have worldwide expositions of products or services and grow your customer base in ways that couldn’t have been possible otherwise.

Conclusion

Whatever the case, sharing positive experiences with your prospects builds trust and deep relationships that can ultimately translate into loyalty. Nowadays, your value relies on what your audience feels about your brand. Make sure they get it right.

1. Digital Surround: Be certain your digital surround content is current, relevant and practical.
2. Tell Human Stories: Make sure you add human and thought-provoking commentary.
3. Get Strategically Fit: Renew your strategy for success with fresh insights.
4. Save Money: Make sure you’re getting the most value for your marketing dollars.
5. Share with Others: Create content that drives engagement, excitement and loyalty.
6. Get Real: Develop smart, real world guerrilla marketing to captivate your audience.
7. Push Emotional Keys: Leverage emotional branding “keys” that strike a chord.
8. Go on More Dates: Explore working with agencies that take you out of your comfort zone. (hint: Canopy)
9. Add a New Skill: Integrate new technology marketing tactics into your mix (like AR or Bots).
10. Feature Immersive Experiences: Create rich and highly immersive, in-and-out-of-store, brand experiences for customers.

Now, you don’t have to do all of these, but try picking out a few. It could make all the difference in this being a great year for your brand and business.

Thanks as always for listening. And we wish you a Happy New Year!