Do you have a terrific product or app that can make people’s lives easier and better, but no one knows it exists? Don’t worry you are not alone. We talked to Max Nodland, a Marketing Strategist with IdeaPros, about 101 Foolproof Marketing Strategies and Ideas to not only let people know your brand exists but get your business booming, too.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is an exciting space to explore, especially for product and service companies. Although most people think of influencers as an Instagram thing, you can do it through other platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, TickTack, Patreon, etc. It can be someone with a large email base or someone with a small number of followers that are specific to your niche.
“If you have a tight-knit niche community there might be a few people that are influential in that space.” – Max Nodland
Influencers or content creators are people whose opinions and thoughts influence your potential customers’ opinions and purchasing decisions. You can reach out personally, or you can find influencers through platforms. A great example is Influencer.co because you can see their pricing and potential exposure.
On LinkedIn, you can connect with people associated with the big players and start from there. It doesn’t always have to be social media or have a big budget. You can give free or discounted products to smaller influencers, which is called nano or micro-influencer marketing in exchange for an honest testimonial. It is a great way to drive brand awareness. You can convert some of their followers as well. If you offer a good deal then impulsive buyers might decide to buy after seeing the testimonial.
Funnels
“Funnel means taking somebody through all the stages of the buyer’s journey.” – Max Nodland
First, they don’t know your product exists then they know it exists, but they don’t trust it. You have to do some trust-building and make your potential buyers understand the benefits of your product. After that, they might be ready for conversion.
If you have a high priced product, it is easier to start with a smaller conversion, as it takes less trust upfront. Once you establish the trust, you work to increase customer lifetime value. Funnels go well with paid marketing because you want to get the most from your advertising money.
A funnel is a way to narrow your messaging to fit a buyer persona. If your product solves a problem for different personas, you will target them differently and take them through specific funnel pages that speak to each of them individually. A crucial component of a funnel is a landing page where you define your message and possibly upsell or downsell your product. This all depends on what your target audience is specifically looking for.
Email Marketing
Email is not dead, and it can be very beneficial for your business. Email marketing is still effective especially if you pair it with text marketing. When you send an email, you can text the person to check if they got it and make the whole process more personal. Of course, you have to offer them good value for it to work. It also helps email-open rates.
The more people open your email, the more it is going to show in people’s inboxes. Email deliverability helps Google decide if your email goes to inbox, spam, or promotion because it is based on the open rates. There are tags you can add to your website backend to improve the delivery mechanism. Make sure you get high open rates.
Email is more personal than social media and it is not affected by the changes on different platforms that you have no influence over. You own that channel of communication with your customer. There are all kinds of technologies out there that help you make beautifully polished customized emails, but you can start with something simple. You can use MailChimp to help you collect emails very early on.
“The biggest step is getting the email address so that you can send them emails.” – Tessa Ashford
Frequent Buyer Program
Frequent buyer programs are at the very end of the funnel. These programs increase customer lifetime value. Having a relationship with your customers, nurturing it, and providing constant value is critical.
“It’s much easier to convert an existing customer again than it is to get a new customer.” – Max Nodland
Amazon doesn’t offer any follow-up to their buyers, and there’s no relationship between the company and the user. When you sell directly to the consumer, there are various ways to work on that relationship by offering them frequent buyer programs, subscription services, discounts for reordering, and much more.
Some technologies can help you, but you can send a simple card with the shipped item telling buyers you appreciate the purchase. You can also give them a way to get back in touch with you, order more products, and get a discount, etc.
Need more marketing ideas? Get a list of all the 101 Foolproof Marketing Strategies HERE.
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