1. Focus on “Customer Engagement,” not on “Likes”: According to Mashable (5 Marketing Predictions for 2013), “Napkin Labs analyzed 50 brands with between 200,000 and 1 Million likes each and found just 6% of fans engaged with their Facebook pages on average.” This and other studies show that brands with more Twitter followers and Facebook Likes tend to have less engaged customers as a percent of total. This does not surprise us as most who like or follow a brand are responding to a promotion or hoping for a promotion. These consumers are not “engaged” with the brand, but instead are “feeding” off the brand. Engaged customers are much more likely to voluntarily promote your brand, pay more for your brand and be loyal to your brand. This can only be achieved through developing a strong bond with the identity of the consumer. What to do? Do not focus on how many “Likes” or “Followers” you have. Instead, conduct a brand tracker with your consumers to measure their level of engagement or attachment with your brand. Focusing on attachment and engagement will have much greater impact the bottom line than “Likes” and “Followers.”
2. Integrate “Big Data” into your Marketing Strategy: Organizations are collecting an enormous amount of data on consumers. However, we find that many organizations have been unable to effectively integrate this data into the development of marketing strategy. Consider leveraging this data in your marketing strategy by using techniques typically used in the analysis of quantitative marketing research. For example, are there metrics being monitored that can be used in the development of a market segmentation that can be used for understanding the different types of consumers in your market? By segmenting and profiling your customers, a business can identify customers that are the most profitable, segments in decline, and unprofitable businesses that may be eroding your bottom line. More and more, we are finding unrealized value in the data clients already have, saving them time and money.
3. Focus on the Customer, not on the Marketing: Marketers are becoming the least liked and trusted of professions. Customers are becoming more and more resistant to what they perceive as marketing messages, and are seeking products and brands that are truly aligned with their needs and values and have integrity. Consumers are “fed up” with brands that are pushing unwanted messages at them in the same way that they would be turned off by uninvited and cheesy pick-up lines at a bar. To really be effective as a marketer, you must become a meaningful part of your customer’s culture. This means avoiding manipulative marketing messages, intrusive campaigns that block desired content, or inbox-filling spam full of self-serving messages. To be truly effective marketers should act like their customer’s best friend, not as the loud pick up artist at the bar.