With the new year upon us, most organizations are beginning to or are in the process of building out a 2020 marketing strategy. If you are one of those people that doesn’t have time, do you regurgitate last year’s strategy and update a few dates here and there? Many people are likely guilty of this practice. And they are missing out.
Consider how your audience might change from year to year. By taking a few extra minutes to consider your current audience, you can create a strategy that’s not only easy to execute, but one that is effective.
Not all audiences are the same; your audience last year may be completely different from this year’s. Did you grow your business? Are you planning to focus on a new offering? How about a new territory? Does your audience consist of current customers or are you attempting to break through to new customers?
By just focusing on your audience goals for 2020, you can easily determine tactics for the upcoming year.
For example, if you’re attempting to onboard and engage new customers, you may want to consider a more robust marketing strategy that includes account-based marketing (ABM), email marketing, social media marketing, paid advertising, or networking opportunities.
ABM is an effective strategy to personalize directed marketing tactics. In a nutshell, it is marketing directly to a targeted set of accounts. This allows you to personalize your messaging specifically to that account and their needs. To successfully execute ABM, you need to have a solid list of accounts to target, as well as the knowledge about how your organization can solve their problem or fill their need specifically.
Email marketing is still alive and well in our industry, but keep in mind that people aren’t receptive to spammy emails. If your emails look spammy or gimmicky, they won’t even be read. Be honest, we all delete those emails that look like they’re just another sales pitch. If we do it, you know your customers are, too. Keep your messaging succinct. Be clear with your call to action. Let your customer know exactly what it is you’re trying to tell them and be sure your call to action is easily accessed. Many marketers today are even foregoing the graphics and “look” of a marketing email and rather utilizing the ability to create a standard looking email in their marketing automation platform.
Social media marketing is becoming a bit trickier and calling for more nuanced approaches. Our audiences are becoming less tolerant of stock photos and redundant content. They want to see real people, real success, real stories. I have found the best way to engage in social media is to base your messaging around your upcoming events, webinars, and trainings – things in which people are going to be involved. Build out a monthly calendar and set the content to post on the day and time you want. This allows your social channels to continually have fresh content that’s unique without the daily hassle of trying to think of something to post. Then, spend a few minutes a day scrolling through and reposting relevant content and responding to comments, showing you’re an engaged member of your social network.
My last suggestion for your 2020 marketing plan if you’re attempting to recruit new customers is to network, network, network! I’ve mentioned before the importance of face to face engagement and I can’t say it enough. Join those trainings that your distributor is offering, attend those events that the larger vendors like Cisco host. You’ll be amazed at the relationships you can build.
