When you take into consideration the practically unstoppable development of technology alongside the increased ability of consumers to be always present and available to marketing by way of the said technology, you should really ask yourself – are we ready for this? This relationship between the technology and customer expectation is what keeps the on-demand marketing going, reaching some of the heights that might have been thought impossible just a decade ago. This type of marketing is getting more relevant by the minute. Why is that?
Consumer demands are on the rise
Now that they have felt the possibilities, the consumers are left wanting more. The interactions they crave are instantaneous. The technology is expected to deliver new things to the consumer at the time of their choosing, personalized for the best experience. This most likely means that the relationships between consumers and brands are bound to become more intense, especially having in mind that 48% of consumers say that their initial purchase is the time when their loyalty is earned.
Rise to the occasion
The future, which is already here, requires an absolutely responsive design. Making your website mobile-friendly is just the tip of the iceberg. If you are aiming for the real responsive design, there are many other things to take into consideration. Start with website navigation, keep it simple and logical. Reviews and testimonials should be easily located for reference. Keep your payment options and especially prices front and center – people like to find the price easily, even if they don’t want to buy the product. Your website needs to be fast and equally easily used with a mouse or a touchpad – people sometimes forget that there is more than 150 million laptops sold every year.
Engage your audience
What the consumers will expect from you is the interaction – they want to participate in your content. You will see this often at music festivals, where the audiences are easily activated to interact with the brand in one way or another, have fun and develop stronger relationship with the brand. As the consumers get more aware of the brand, they develop more connection with it, practically becoming your best brand ambassadors you never have to pay. Building strong relationships with your consumers is the best way to have them demand more of your content.
Personalization to the max
We have already seen some of the rudimentary personalization in marketing in the cans of non-alcoholic drinks getting custom writing on them, whether names or interesting words or slogans. Now imagine that every little part of a product is individualized. Any interaction you make with your smartphone could be made more personalized by companies that have huge amounts of personal information – that you have willingly given them. Imagine getting a prepaid credit card with artwork of your choice – or a selfie of you, why not? The consumers are generally ready to always give more information than you thought they would.
Promote wherever you can
Of course, generating buzz for your brand is best done when your message is delivered across all channels you are using. This goes without saying, but make sure to bet hard on the social media – whether you are looking to reach millions on the most popular channels, such as Twitter or Facebook, or you are looking to break new grounds, testing the waters on dozens of new, still relatively unknown social networks. Remember that you need to experiment, because you never know what is the next dark horse of the social media world.
Don’t forget the influencers
If anything, influencers are your key to generating both demand and awareness. It is no wonder that influencer marketing is expected to become a $10 billion industry by 2020. The beauty of having an influencer on your side is that people’s trust in them is pretty much based on whether they like them or not. If people like someone, this means that they are more willing to look past their potential bad sides. This rubs off on any brand that the influencer is connected to, creating a one-off shield for improving your status in the world, as well as bringing you closer to a whole new generation or niche group that follow the influencer in question.