Marketing technology overwhelm

The good old days

Before the internet a small business would think about?where their customers would go?to look for their product or service. There weren’t many options:

• The Yellow Pages or equivalent
• The local paper
• The newsagent’s shop window (you know – the little postcards offering cleaning etc.)
• The High Street
• Face to face networking

Add to that leafletting and possibly local radio advertising and that was about it for a small business.

Technology and complexity

The internet and technology has changed all that.

Today there is a huge choice of marketing channels:

• E-mail marketing
• Google search and ads
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Podcasts
• Webinars
• Plus the new big one - TikTok (and loads I've missed out)

Technology is supposed to simplify things. To make them easier and quicker.

But for marketing, the huge choice can be overwhelming.

?And the distractions can mean you lose focus on what's important– the customer.

?Which channel(s) to use

Many business owners get drawn towards the latest thing.

Shinny object syndrome.

Many more get drawn to what other businesses are using. It must be good if others use it, right? Remember that 80% of all businesses are struggling or just getting by (see Why you shouldn't copy the competition)

Others are drawn to what they are comfortable with.

But they’ve forgotten the key message from the old days –?where their customers go.

Nowadays there are two questions:

1. Where does your customer hang out?
2. Will they interact with my business there?

?How we buy

People are prompted to buy for two core reasons:

They need or want something so the search for it

?For the former they may start with a search engine like Google.

Or they may go to a local Facebook group and ask for recommendations.

Or they will ask people they know for a recommendation.

?They see something that piques their interest.

This is interrupt marketing. The prospect is doing something else. Say they are scrolling through Facebook. Then your message or ad pops up and gets their interest.

The right messaging

?The messages for search is much more direct. They want something. You have the solution.

For interrupt marketing it's all about the pain or desire., not selling.

People searching for something are much more likely to be ready to buy.

People you 'interrupt' may not even realise they need you. They are much further down the ladder of awareness. This is just the start of their customer journey with you.

?Your target market

So the first thing to think about is your target market.

Who are they?

What messages will resonate with them. How can you take them along your prospect-to-customer journey?

Where do they hang out? How do they like to interact

Those answers drive the choice of platform.

Weight loss example

For example, let’s say you are in the weight loss business. You've identified two types of customer:

• Post-childbirth mums looking to get their pre-pregnancy figure back.
• Over 50’s trying to lose that middle-age spread.

Their reasons for buying will be different even though the ultimate goal is the same. The messaging will be very different. And where the target markets hang out could be very different.

?Time for action

Step one: revisit you target market. Is it defined in enough detail? Where do they hang out?

Step two: map out your prospect-customer journey

Step three: choose your channel(s)

?If your business is B2B, the chances are that one of the channels you should be seriously considering is LinkedIn. If you would like to find out more about how I can help you leverage LinkedIn in your business, book a discovery call here: LinkedIn discovery call

#marketing?#smallbusinessmarketing #marketingclarity #MondayMarketing #linkedinmarketing