You can have it all– the business plan, the investors, the website– and see high-profit margins and business success just down the road. However, even the most practical business owners and entrepreneurs have to answer one imperative question before they can say they’ve made it: How do I attract loyal customers?
Targeted marketing strategies are essential to building and scaling businesses. Though the marketing world is constantly adapting to changing consumer demands and preferences, some techniques have withstood the test of time. They will help you reach your target audience and craft messages based on your customers’ needs.
OOH Advertising
Despite the boom of social media and online marketing, out-of-home advertising remains one of the primary ways consumers learn about brands and events. In highly populated cities, the sight of billboards, murals, and street furniture greets locals and visitors on every street, subway stop, and shopping center. When visiting Minnesota, for example, Minneapolis billboards will show you and over 400,000 residents local brands and product releases from companies looking to expand their reach.
You might be up against more competition and crowded spaces in big cities, but they also present opportunities for increasing your brand awareness. They offer tourist attractions, universities, sports arenas, entertainment venues, highways, and airports. One of the main benefits of OOH advertising is that it’s contextually relevant. If you invest in OOH advertising, you can reach locals and visitors and customize your advertising messages based on their interests and locale, making it highly impactful even in smaller towns.
OOH provides opportunities for storytelling, which is the crux of marketing success. Outdoor advertisements feel less invasive than online pop-ups on a customer’s device. They present larger-than-life imagery and calls to action that are sure to capture. They’re also constantly updating and improving. New methods such as geofencing and beacons have expanded the possibilities of OOH beyond vinyl and digital billboards (though both still encourage customer engagement).
Consumers may take pictures of your advertisements to scan QR codes and remember information to look up your brand. OOH also encourages customers to visit stores or attend events. It’s hyper-present in consumers’ lives, and consumers tend to have positive reactions to it, making it worthy of consideration for an updated marketing strategy.
Content Marketing
Effective marketing doesn’t stop at gigantic billboards and pop-up notifications on your laptop. One of the best ways to attract new customers and retain current ones is to focus on content marketing. It is a cost-efficient strategy that demonstrates your expertise and your product’s quality.
Content, whether it’s blog posts, video testimonials, or images promoting new product launches, is easily shared between platforms. It is adaptable and relevant. You can solicit customer feedback to create and share information your target audience wants to know, basing your content and ads on consumer demographics and behavior.
Customer Engagement
Building a website and social media profiles is not enough to attract and retain a loyal customer base. You must share targeted content, communicate with users, and optimize your platforms according to SEO best practices.
Using social media and website chat options, you can answer customer queries and build connections, establishing your reputation. You can also encourage customers to submit reviews online. Positive reviews act as social proof validating the efficacy of your products and services, encouraging new customers to make confident purchases with your brand.
You can also reach out to consistent customers and influencers to build a team of brand ambassadors or paid partners. These groups will give you access to marketing content that meets your parameters and expose your brand to established consumer bases likely interested in your products. Through these partnerships, you boost your credibility, split up the marketing work, and increase the value you offer customers.
In addition to increasing customer interaction, you must keep your content up to date on SEO practices and keep track of the competition. When you use common keywords in your content and generate organic backlinks to your website, you make it easier for your target audience to find your brand.
As idyllic as it sounds, you’re not the sole company in your industry. You’ll inevitably compete against other brands with similar products and mission statements to capture customer attention. You can use this reality to your advantage by conducting competitive audits. You’ll learn about your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses to find new, effective ways to reach your target audience while avoiding potential pitfalls. Combining competitive audits with A/B tests improves your content, timeliness, and customer service.
Conclusion
Whether it’s through classic advertising approaches like billboards or trending digital marketing practices, there are many ways for you to reach customers and generate leads for your company. You’ll find business success if you base your marketing techniques on your target audience’s preferences.
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