You'll need to get quicker and more agile. And then you'll have to tap into the power of already-established, credible voices within the communities you hope to capture.
Contributed By:
GUEST WRITER
Co-founder
of Startup Change Group
Source: Entrepreneur
There’s never been a better time to be a trep. That's because
the ability to sell and
create brand awareness never has been more robust. At the same
time, this is the worst time for entrepreneurial marketers to sell products and
services. Consumers are more fickle-minded and more distracted than ever
before. Brands and marketers alike face the bigger challenge of
capturing the consumer's attention without breaking the marketing budget.
Here are five predictions to keep in mind as you prepare
and finalize your marketing plan for the coming year.
1. Consumers
will prefer convenient online transactions.
Millennials will buy through Instagram shops or Amazon. Boomers
will continue to buy from the comfort of their homes, relying on
television and newspapers. Shoppers are shoppers, and they'll still come out
to stores.
In 2017, maximize product sales and fend off the competition by
being more than a Google advertiser or an Amazon seller. Cater to the way
consumers want to buy, recommends Charlie Fusco -- CEO and creative visionary
of Synergixx, a marketing and media agency. "2017
will be about making customers feel comfortable about your purchasing your
product/service, however they prefer. Start reworking your marketing channels
now.”
2. TV isn't
going away.
You’ve heard people say, “Everything is going online. In a year,
no one will order anything on television or in a store: It all will be an app
on your phone." That's simply not true. Millennials are changing
buying behavior and that necessarily influences how we market. But
millennials alone aren't powerful enough to break old habits.
Consider that Baby Boomers and older generations have been
watching TV for 50 years and listening to radio even longer. They trust
these media, and they've created habits around each. These consumers seek
the credibility of a celebrity testimonial. A fancy new app, Facebook
livestream or Instagram post isn't going to nudge their comfort
levels. Google any product name. You’ll find 10 or 20 products,
each offering a better deal and a better price. Which brand or company do
you trust? Credibility is how a brand thrives.
In 2017, look to use TV as a credibility driver for direct
sales, online traffic and retail engagement. “A client will come to
Synergixx and they may already have a product in stores, on
television or on Amazon," Fusco says. "We step in and come up
with marketing strategies and advertising campaigns that allow them to generate
more customers for less money. How do we accomplish this? TV infomercials,
personal endorsements, national talk radio hosts, Facebook and video ads. Our
business is built around adding customers to the bottom line. We analyze a
client’s budget, and from there we create and deliver."
3. You won't
be able to afford crunching numbers only at year's end.
Be adamant about knowing your business' numbers. Marketers
very often are so excited about selling the product they forget about the
important costs and metrics that determine success.
Do you know and understand the impact of your media costs, your
customer acquisition costs, the customers repurchase rate and the lifetime
customer value (LCV) against your cost of goods?
I recommend entrepreneurs understand these number sets or
give good estimates against their values before committing to any sales channel
or marketing budget. Break down those numbers, and the math will reveal how you
can get into marketing channels you never thought you could afford.
4. The focus
will be on lifetime customer value, not attracting new clients.
There's that phrase again: lifetime customer value (LCV). Every
prospect has an LCV that represents how much money he or she will spend
with your business. LCV is the backbone of any product-driven
business. Somewhere, people are wanting and willing to make a purchase. It
doesn't matter whether you're a lawyer or a pitch wizard selling steak
knives on TV for $19.95 apiece.
Be sure you ask these critical questions:
·
What is your customer's LCV?
·
Do you know where that number stops? It is in your direct
database, in retail or online?
·
When do you give up on that customer?
·
How can you increase LCV?
It's cheaper to keep a customer than to acquire a new one. Don’t
"gamble in Vegas,” as the saying goes. You can't establish a budget on Day
One without knowing how much money that customer is going to generate for you
18 months from now. Work your LCV into your cash-flow models. Then determine
the most profitable advertising channels based on LCV, not Day-One revenue.
5.
Influencers will keep their status.
If you're launching a new product or service, think about where
a buying community exists. Who are the major influencers? If you're selling to
moms, for example, identify a few established Facebook or Instagram communities
and seek to partner with their largest contributing voice. Financial products
or aging products should be in communities centered around personalities
from political-news radio channels. Don’t pay for tweets. Cut through
the clutter by attaching your product to celebrities and voices that speak to
controlled communities.
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