New marketing tools of the 21st century
Small and medium enterprises have limited marketing budgets. While you are able to launch a brochure or leaflet and a website, costly advertising campaigns on TV, radio and in newspapers might not be within your reach. Nor is it that necessary to use these traditional methods. You also need not make attempts to get to know editors or journalists in the hope that they will write a story about your company.
Social networking tools
A growing number of wired businesspersons use social networking tools to build networks of individuals whom they otherwise would not have reached easily. If you do know editors by all means use your contacts - but also build your network or networks with these tools if you are not already actively busy doing so.
A range of Web-based marketing, PR and networking tools place SMEs, non-profits and others in a position of running very effective marketing campaigns - from your PC, laptop or mobile phone. The costs are minimal. The creation of blogs, digital newsletters and news releases will cost you nothing - except time and an effort to learn about them and to actually use them.
Visit www.wordpress.com (an open-source product) or access Google's Blogspot through the Google Website at www.google.com and be assured of two super blogging software products.
Also research a range of social networking tools which have serious business applications e.g. LinkedIn, Xing, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, a microblogging tool.
Listen to a most interesting interview (in podcast/radio format) between Paul Dunay and David Meerman Scott, the author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR by clicking on my delicious link.
I bookmark items on delicious on a narrow range of topics on the Web. Visit delicious to see how this bookmarking site works, if you are not yet familar with this great service.
New consumer mindset
Consumers are tired of hype, of marketing messages being forced on them by TV, magazines and newspapers. Seth Godin, an influential writer on "New Marketing", points out that these messages basically interrupt the TV programmes which you enjoy viewing. They clutter the pages which you enjoy reading. Many consumers are turning to Google, Yahoo and other search engines as their main sources of information on products and services. Information on any conceivable type of service and product is immediately acessible by entering a few search phrases. Such phrases lead the consumer to a broad range of websites and blogs.
Consumers are also tired of dealing with bland, impersonal companies, with call centres. Informed, sophisticated consumers are not willing to put up with average products and average services. They seek up-to-date information, interaction, direct communication and honest products and services. They also search for the opinions of other consumers and experts who supply comments on blogs.
It is almost certain that you have used Google for exactly the reasons mentioned. You know what websites and blogs impressed you.
Ensure that quality information about your company's products and services is available on the Web. Are you getting the maximimum advantage from Web-searches launched about your products and services?
Is your website really informative and worth visiting?
Interact with your clients
SMEs should interact directly with clients and prospective clients. Build your company around products and services which will provide value to the consumer. Take your marketing and PR directly to your clients and prospective clients and develop a conversation with them. Make them cocreators of your products. Allow them to make inputs and react to their needs and wishes. They will spread the word about you and become your co-marketers.
ABPLAN is able to advise and steer you in appropriate directions - although the application of social media sites is becoming more sophisticated each day.
If you landed on this page without having read the previous page, please first go to marketing - client-centric as the client value proposition (or what the client values) is the departure point of all marketing.
Go to worth reading for details about The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott and about Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin. Gain further insights about how marketing has changed because of the Internet.
Last modified: 11-09-2009