There is a famous quote which says ”change is the only thing that is constant in life.” Companies have to update their marketing strategy on a regular basis so that it can serve the changing requirements of the customers.
Customer’s requirements are bound to change with the changing lifestyle. The products or services which worked at the beginning suited the needs of that generation while the same thing is not going to work for the next generation as the world has undergone many social and technological changes during that period. The “VUCA” world which means the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous term used in today’s business scenario. It demands that businesses have to be always on their toes, to align the features of their product or services with the requirements of the customers otherwise it might lead to the death of the businesses just like the dinosaurs became extinct.
1. Redundant Content Strategy:
Every human being is different, and this difference makes the world beautiful as we all are unique in our way. This difference is also noticeable when it comes to content liking. Some people like to read well-detailed content with lots of information denoted by facts and figures while others like visual content with images and infographics. .There is also a specific section of people who love podcasting and audio content as it makes them comfortable and easier to understand.
A marketer has to understand the needs of all the customers by providing information in all the possible ways so that they do not miss out any of the prospective customers.
As per an article published in Forbes, content marketing needs a minimum of six months to show results that means one should adopt a long-term content marketing strategy and have the patience to wait till that time to see the results. In this case, companies cannot afford to follow a redundant content marketing process and need to be as much creative and innovative to get the results. Some companies have adopted a different approach for marketing their services.
American Express (Amex) is one of them. It has one of the best creative marketing strategies, an open forum which is a collaborative website. On this forum, it invites the guest authors from different industries to share their experience and knowledge resulting in a content-rich site with varied styles of writing and presentation. The content is original thus making it popular in search engines.
2. Excess Promotional Content:
Too much of a promotional content can be a turn off for many customers as the customers feel that the product or service is not worth trying. The message has to be conveyed in a subtle manner, which helps in maintaining a rapport with the customers. This pull marketing strategy makes the customer come forward asking for your service.Excessive promotion of the service like sending bulk marketing emails can be irritating for many of the prospective customers. In this scenario, the marketer has to plan the frequency of emails so that the customer does not feel overwhelmed.
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In the current market scenario where every marketer is trying to be different and think out of the box to promote their product, Apple is unpacking simplicity. It understands that the common man does not understand many of the technical jargons. As Steve Jobs said “Let’s make it simple. Really simple”. Even Apple advertisement has just the product name and the picture. Apple understands that all their customers want it to “talk to them in their language” and “understand their emotions.”
Along with the premium quality of the product, Apple’s primary marketing strategy connect with the customers thus maintaining a good relationship with them.
| Push marketing | Pull marketing |
|---|---|
| Short term relationship with customers | Long term relationship with customers |
| Just the introduction of the product or service | Increases the brand value |
| It’s like a gamble, may or may not connect with the right leads. | Connects with the right customers as marketing is done after proper research |
The above reasons are enough for the marketers to focus mainly on pull marketing strategy for long-term gains.
3. Wrong Segmentation Of The Customers:
In the technological world, the best example of how wrong segmentation led to the downfall of a well-renowned company is that of the Nokia. The company adopted a wrong strategy and failed to give importance to customer segmentation on the basis of geographical location, behavioral aspects, etc.
When Nokia entered the mobile market, there were few competitors. Most of the people did not have the alternate choices. Moreover, customers had the basic requirement, but as time passed by many new companies entered into the mobile market. These companies were providing the latest features at the leading prices.
Nokia failed to enter this segment of the market at the right time with the correct analysis. There was a lack of proper strategy and tactic which should have been adopted at that time. With wrong choices in terms of OS and platform, the company ended up being dethroned from its monopoly in the mobile market. The company could not keep pace with the disruptive innovation which was taking place in the technical field resulting in losing its market share to its competitors.
The millennial generation is attracted to the new products which give better user experience. Nokia failed to tap this market as there was no proper marketing strategy.
4. Non-Engaging Social Media Content:
According to HubSpot, Facebook is now increasingly been used for professional purposes, so the content has to be engaging enough with more images to attract the followers. The content which is interactive and engaging makes the follower comfortable.
74% of Facebook users are known to use it for professional purposes
Marketers have to check whether they are getting proper responses for the published content or it’s just blasting of mass messages which are getting ignored.
An original content holds the attention of the reader and dramatically increases the engagement with the reader. Nike is the best example of good and engaging content.
In 2017, the company added 7 million new fans on Instagram. It uploaded around 53 posts during that time, and astonishingly it received the highest engagement for the photo which also had 30% published content.
The photo received an impressive 780K likes!!!! which was a massive achievement for the company.
Thus the two-way communication is helpful as it engages the customer and keeps them interested in the product or service.
Conclusion
An outdated marketing technique should be ditched immediately, for the benefit of the company. Most of the customers seek value proposition in any product. Marketers should make a strategy to highlight the unique feature of that product. The content should be relatable and exciting that appeal to the customers. Discarding old marketing techniques and adopting new ones will help in the long run for the company.
