15 Nov Marketing in 2011 and Beyond

We have come to a new age in marketing. Businesses now have more competition than ever with the huge explosion of websites of every niche. Competitors with cheaper pricing are just a few keystrokes away. Our marketing tactics must be targeted, memorable, and measurable. We must stand out from our competitors and show our potential clients why we are better than their thousands of other choices. Through creativity, we can succeed. However, if we remain stagnant and don’t adapt to the times, we will stumble. I recently received a great marketing piece in the mail. It was a nicely packaged box with a prepaid cell phone in it. The only other item in the box besides the phone charger was a note that said this phone will ring at 10:00 am on a specific date. So do you think I just tossed it aside? Of course not, my curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to know what this was about. Because the cleverness of the marketing, I already had a favorable outlook toward the unknown caller. This was no longer a cold call coming in. It was hot, very hot! Because this vendor had already targeted me and knew that I could benefit from their services, their next step was to make it memorable. Well, it’s not everyday that you receive a live cell phone in the mail, so it was definitely memorable. Lastly, they could measure the results. I did end up purchasing the service as I’m sure many others did who received the mysterious cell phones in the mail. Determine who could use your product or services, give them a reason to remember you, and track your results. The more clever your effort, the more memorable it will be. And the more memorable it is, the higher conversion rate you will see.