In today’s business world marketing is all about generating the customer’s interest in the goods and services the company offers. Essentially a company’s marketing strategies drive company sales techniques, business development models, business communication etc. and the ultimate aim of it all is to win, satisfy and retain a customer.
It is imperative that any marketing campaign be designed around the customer. His needs, his choices, his demands should be the focus point of it all. So then the first and foremost aim of marketing should be to communicate the key message to potential as well as existing customers.
The trick here is to create a series of marketing techniques so that the customer gets ample time and opportunity to recognise and respond to the message being sent across. A lot of marketing tools and techniques can be used for this purpose. We will talk about some that are the most impactful, and therefore common: the key elements of a marketing campaign.
1. Publicity: All publicity is good publicity, or so they say. Well, this might not always be the case, but yes, publicity of any type does help boost sales because all the attention of target group is directed towards you. And let’s face it most big names have had their fair share of bad publicity! Cadbury had the worm episode, Coca-cola and Pepsi had the pesticide issue to tackle with, and Nano had to deal with the ‘on fire’ instances. But they all got past it with time and in the end it all worked out in the favour of the brand as the problem was strategically handled. PR has a major role to play when it comes to correcting bad publicity and infusing the media with all the ‘correct’ information.
2. Advertising: Another way of getting into the customers mind is to put your brand out there. This is what advertising does in order to get that coveted place in the customers’ mind – the ‘top-of-the-mind-recall’. Actually advertising and public relations, and all tools of marketing for that matter, have the same intent – to get the customer to first recognise, then be curious about, and ultimately desire the product. And if the desire can be converted into a purchase, then the marketing strategy behind the whole process can be considered to be a success.
3. Online Presence: Social Media is at the forefront of marketing campaigns today. You need to incorporate the online environment very neatly into your strategy. Be it Twitter, Pinterest, blogs, Facebook or your very own website, you need to incorporate these tools to get in touch with your TG. A sound online campaign can give you new customers and help you please current customers. Since the media is instant, you can measure your online performance instantly and alter/re-design your strategies as per the requirements.
4. Telemarketing: This is one element in the marketing tools kit that needs careful handling. But when applied in the right direction, this too is a great marketing tool. For instance, telemarketing works great when it comes to the business to business (B2B) segment.
It must always be kept in mind that the ultimate aim of all forms of marketing is to attain a satisfied, happy customer. Therefore, all the marketing tools so engaged in need to be fine-tuned and well balanced.
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