Technology allows us to connect with each other, it makes everything easier and it helps to get things done faster. It’s one of the reasons we’re so superior as a species compared to our mammalian brothers and sisters in the animal kingdom.
Unless you want to set up shop among the most remote tribes in the world, you need to start embracing technology. Business just isn’t the same without it.
You can’t rely on word-of-mouth alone and you can’t bet on serendipity. Smart marketers know who to target because of the wealth of information provided by technology. There’s a greater intimacy between customers and businesses and the whole experience is far more participatory.
If you’re looking for a fresh take on your marketing strategy or your business needs an extra push to become the way you envisioned it, you’ve just entered the technological toolbox of the marketing world.
Physically Digital
Say you’ve got a brick-and-mortar store and you want to give online retailers a run for their money. You’ll have to use technology to spruce your store up a little. Digital signage can turn any passer-by into a client as all the information they need is crammed into a quick message that doesn’t strain their attention span.
Sometimes your inventory changes or you want to introduce a new product, maybe you’ve a Tuesday special that you’d like to promote. The advantage of digital signage is in its versatility, you change the words to fit your agenda at any particular time and a stream of real-time information can help both customers and employees stay up to speed with what’s happening.
Rather than having customers pick and probe at your products, why not set up a simulation where they can virtually go through all of your stock? It’s no industry secret that if the shopping experience is fun, your customer’s guard goes down and you can turn them in your favor without breaking a sweat.
No Domain, No Gain
You need a website if you want to be taken seriously nowadays because everyone is on the internet, from nine-year-olds to pensioners. See how you can maximize your visibility by employing Search Engine Optimization, while making sure that it’s easy to get around your site.
The more eye-catching your webpages are, the better. Put your all into design and make sure your page is easy to find. Before you know it, people will be clicking their way into your invoice book.
Social Media Is What You Need Right Now
Communication would be much harder without social media. Every day, businesses are turning to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to market themselves. Social media takes you straight to your customer, you don’t need to wait around for them to walk in your store.
Smartphones are also everywhere, even people in the rural areas have them. Of course, the suburbs are packed with people with their faces in them, and there’s no way you can’t take advantage of this as someone trying to sell something.
You don’t want to just make a sale and be on your merry way. It’s important that you stay connected to your customers because customer loyalty is business profitability.
Impressing one person on Twitter can cause a ripple effect. When that person likes or retweets your post, all their followers and friends are exposed to that post, allowing your gospel to spread like a wildfire. The key here is to come up with exciting and original content that people won’t find anywhere else. That way, you keep your die-hard customers interested while attracting potential ones.
Data Collection
Marketing requires that you do some research first. What type of content does your target market respond best to? The internet is not like the streets, traffic is far heavier and there are infinite posts, links and pages that are fighting for everyone’s attention.
How do you make sure your customer relates to your content? Most importantly, what do you do with all the data that you collect? Not only can you gain valuable information, but with technologies like machine learning, you can figure out how to make use of that information to gain an edge over the competition.
Instant Sales
Having a website and being on social media is great and everything, but businesses are pushing the envelope to make sure they make sales on the spot. Many customers hate having to talk to a sales rep, it’s an inconvenience they’d rather avoid.
That’s why chatbots are so popular. Customers don’t have the pressure of having to talk to an actual person and they’re more comfortable asking as many questions as they can.
Also, you may have come across discount coupons that are activated when you make an online purchase. These are worth looking into.
Automated order follow-ups by way of email and other communication technologies will turn interest into solid purchases. You can save time and energy, and the speed at which these follow-ups are made goes long way in proving you’re in it to win it.
