Remember when the only way you could market to a customer or prospect was if you had their mailing address to send a {non-personalized} direct mail piece? Or had to buy billboard space just to get one blanketed message out to the masses? My how times have changed! Today, we have the ability to send segmented and targeted emails to customers who have purchased from a certain category or product before and we can track that email from send to sale! We can also target users on Facebook by using retargeting technology to display an ad in their newsfeed from the store that they just visited. And who can forget about social? Companies are sending relevant and timely messages out to their fans and followers – and now have the ability to track those posts back to sales. Marketing has changed and now is the time to embrace the integrated approach!
This is why the key word for 2014 is integrated – it’s important to start looking at holistic messaging strategies, and then how to track ROI for those strategies to see what’s working, and in fact, what’s not. What I am asking you is this: Are all of your marketing tactics working together in real-time? Is your Twitter account being updated at the same time your Facebook page receives a new status update? Are you sending out timely, relevant and regular emails to your subscriber list? No, not sending out an email every few months, but regularly scheduled emails that will keep you top-of-mind when your customer needs something. These social channels need to coexist and work in tandem with each other.
Go ahead and send an email out to your best customers telling them to LIKE your page on Facebook and follow you on Twitter just so that they can receive the latest news from you, including promotions or special announcements. And then stay true to that. Post your latest product release on Facebook, share a promo code on Twitter – make it worth their time to be your fan. And when you do, they’ll reciprocate by buying from you and sharing their experiences with their own social network. Ah, good old word of mouth – it’s still so important.
Bottom line is this … If you aren’t using the channels that your customers are using, then you are having a fragmented conversation with your customers and possibly costing your store dollars or worse, an unhappy customer. By bringing all of these channels together, you can develop an integrated marketing plan that not only keeps your customers happy, but helps them become advocates for your company.
Have questions on how Springbot can help you understand and drive your integrated marketing approach for 2014? Email Amber at coaching@springbot.com or post your questions here and we promise to put them in the queue and answer them.
Inside the eCommerce lab daily, Amber Haack is responsible for customer success at Springbot.