In a world that is constantly changing and developing new advances in technology, it is becoming easier to keep up with consumers’ wants and needs. Businesses now have different options to choose from when conducting their advertising and marketing strategies. These new options have opened the door for reaching out and exploring different creative outlets for retaining customer relations.

Over the past few years, new tracking and reporting technologies have been developed. These technologies assist marketers with appealing to their target audience on a broader scale. Options marketers look to in order to form their decisions include demographic statistics, psychographic tendencies, customer preferences, and how customers and content connect with each other.

As new techniques and tools are created, old techniques are used less. Old techniques, such as click-throughs and open rates, are being replaced with measures that track more detailed components. These new techniques measure which consumers are considered highly valuable to the company; which consumers respond to long-term effects of the marketing plan; interactivity between the content and the customer; as well as determining if the brand relationship is powerful or flaccid.

Moreover, there are advances with how companies distribute their marketing plans. One way this is possible is through data mining. Data mining is where the consumer is tracked throughout their purchasing cycle. There also exists software, such as database management, that allows for the storage, management, organization, and retrieval of information from within databases.

If followed correctly, these new developing techniques can be very efficient. With time, courage, and the initiative to approach marketing differently, these new paths yield success. With mass individualization on the rise, marketers are better able to reach their customers. Examples of this attainability include monitoring tools, online templates, and e-newsletters, which all make it more simple to deliver a good branding experience to the consumer.

Altogether, retaining customers and maintaining customer loyalty are major key objectives that are changing with time and technology. The main goal of customer retention may still remain the same, however, new methods and online templates are quickly making it easier and more defiant to attain this goal.

One great steal in the marketing industry is to build and maintain loyal customers. Doing so will create repeat customers as well as repeat sales.

What does it mean to have loyal customers? Customer loyalty includes customers who make routine repeat purchases, buy from both service and product lines, refer other consumers, and stand by the company’s side even though the competition’s pull is great. In order to have these wonderful traits from customers, marketers must know how customers behave, how customers think, what needs and demands the customers have, and how the customers chose to conduct their business with marketers.

In order to attain this customer based knowledge, marketers must do their homework. Marketers must research customers’ habits and behaviors. Marketers must also interpret and analyze the found data as to what drives consumers to purchase specific products and pushes them into one preference or another.

Marketing can also be looked at from yet a different angle. According to Deborah Athens, “Marketing requires the left brain to have the quantitative discipline to do the analysis, and the right brain to have for the broader ability to think outside the box.” Both halves of the brain must exist for marketers to have a successful strategy that utilizes both creativity as well as knowledge.

After researching the various traits of customers, marketers must next set out on the road to success. First, marketers should understand the industry and its strengths and weaknesses. Marketers must also develop a strategy that compensates for the customers. Then, marketers need to pen out a marketing plan and in turn execute that plan to further their success among their customers. In order for this idea to be successful, marketers must pay close attention to the marketing plan. When doing so, marketers are making sure the plan is staying en route and following though with its objectives.

Embarking on such a journey, marketers are taking a huge leap when reaching out to customers. They are driving blindly on a road that keeps changing and in order to stay on path, marketers must continually give their customers what is expected. If marketers do not continue to change and grow with their customers’ needs, they will quickly get lost in the ever-expanding world of marketing.

When initially starting to market, companies have to start small. First, they need to figure out the product, find a business partner not afraid to venture on the risky side, and market to their target audience. Once the specified group of consumers starts purchasing the product, a buzz effect erupts, causing other consumers to buy that product and populate the industry with that product. Consumers typically won’t purchase products from unestablished companies that only talk about their great features. Instead, consumers buy products that other consumers are buying.

One problem with marketing to the masses arises when companies think they can reach everyone through mainstream advertising. This presents a large mistake on behalf of the marketing team. Often, marketers will try to cut corners and save money by advertising to everyone with the same ad. What they don’t realize is that marketing varies across a wide spectrum of businesses and needs to be specified. Things to consider when advertising to specific groups of consumers include gender, age, race, and social class. Be sure to realize that there is a distinction between advertising towards pop culture and stereotyping in separating consumers.

What one marketer might consider off limits and offensive, might be a great pitch for another marketer. One game plan could potentially draw the target audience in closer for one marketer, but push the target audience of another marketer further away. Marketers can show they know who their audience is by researching their interests. When focusing on how diverse consumers are, marketers recognize the needs of individuals and strive to better provide for that group. Good marketers sponsor products that appeal to their target audience. They take interest in their consumers and show respect by advertising to their culture. In doing so, marketers form trusting bonds with their consumers all while not forming bias.

If a company wants to be the best company for a specific group of people, that company should advertise to that specific group. Directing your advertisements towards your target audience will illustrate your knowledge of how to gain customer loyalty. It also strengthens the fact that you recognize your audiences’ needs and dedicate your services to bringing them better awareness about the products and services you offer.

In the end, marketing really depends on who the product is directed at. The advertising of a product is also key. When a company combines these concepts, they begin to build they will be able to better understand the target audience, they can study the consumers in that area and begin to build their status up by acquiring the right consumers.

In this day and age, technology is developing so rapidly that changes are occurring all across the board. Faster internet, digital photography, and interactive programs are all making advertising and marketing much easier in the ever expanding world of consumerism. With all these new advances, there are bond to be numerous changes.

One area that has been undergoing vast changes is media. Mobile devices and cellular phones are expanding their capabilities all the time. Just as soon as you purchase the new and hottest item of the week, the industry has turned around and produced something even better. Examples of such devices include the iPhone, BlackBerry cell phones and Sidekick cell phones.

Another area in media that is advancing the way we communicate is social networking. Sites such as MySpace and Facebook exist for personal use of staying connected with friends. These site allow people to post photos, music, videos, blogs and anything else they wish to share among friends. People are now even able to stay connected through music. Such sites allow people to connect with others who share the same music tastes and build relationships on. XM Radio and Sirius Satellite allow listeners to hear music of all varieties whenever they like. Jango is another new music network that connects people through their own designed radio stations.

Another venue experiencing change is the trends in marketing. New techniques are being developed to improve revenue and ROI’s. Better and more blogging must be done to increase gains; shifting with the cultural changes helps accumulate profit; and product develop reflecting the ever changing pace of technology also help with expansion.

Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization are also changing with the times. Upon SEM and SEO’s arrival, the basics of word-of-mouth, keyword searches, and public relations with brand control have all transitioned to the need for CMOs, blogs that reach out to clients, and ultimately engaging the community through any means possible.

Determined by the fast pace we move at today and all of the world’s new technology, marketing is evolving at a much faster rate then ever before. In order to maintain and accrue clients and profit, businesses have to adapt to the new forms of marketing and the ever fast and constant technological changes.

In order to produce revenue, great marketing options and strategical roads must be taken. Aspects to consider are page layout, advertisements,

The overall presentation of the content and page layout make a huge impact on the target audience. The design of your services should be neatly organized and easy to read. Bright and friendly colors that appeal to the eye go a long way to ensure the consumer’s interest and desire to partake in your service.

Realize how much strategic planning accounts for your audience enrollment. Gaining interest can be as simple as producing advertisements. Also consider that there are many different venues to explore when advertising. Google and Yahoo ad words both allow businesses to promote oneself and shed light on their alternatives.

Other ways of providing options for your audience include multiple services that examine different areas of the same field. Try offering different types of services that all work towards the main goal the company prides itself to be. Experiment with Paid Search Management, Search Engine Optimization, Mapping Out Customers Locale, Email Set-Up to Strengthen your URL address.

So, in order to keep different types of customers satisfied, experiment with various arms of business to ensure gaining their reliability.

Sidenote: I love our new name. Marketing Ease. It doesn’t get much easier than that to remember. Marketing made easy. Marketing Ease

So it’s that lovely season of fall again, and it just so happens to be my favorite time of year! There’s a tangible change in the air. The leaves change color and fall to the ground, the air becomes crisper, and I begin to think about things such as cleaning up outside, and bringing things in for the season. For example this past weekend I just emptied my garden of it’s tomato plants, which was disheartening, but needed to be done before it freezes. (which for Minnesota is right around the proverbial corner!)

Marketing in the fall is much the same thing as life in the fall. Each marketing season brings a different set of needs and a change in marketing strategy. Have you set up your Fall Time Marketing Campaigns?

Time to clean up and bring in the new Fall Marketing Strategy….
Have you considered getting your stalled projects moving by marketing to the Pre-Holiday quiet before the Holiday-craze begins? Now is the time to market to your existing clients about this time of year. By simply making your prospective clients aware of that fact- it may make them “spring” into action.

Happy Marketing!

-Amy

It has been long rumored that Google is in development of their own “iPhone Killer.” Being an iPhone owner myself, I have doubts about the possibility of any company, even Google, being able to develop a phone cool enough to have even a chance of getting me to switch away from my beloved phone. However, word on the street is Google plans to sell their phone dirt cheap, and then provide “free” monthly service. Sound too good to be true? Guess again…

Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, announced in July that the company will participate in the Federal Communications Commission auction for the old 700MHz wireless spectrum. Google is certainly in a strong enough financial position to win the auction, and if that happens, look out! It would enable Google to create a nationwide, ultra high speed network that it would likely offer to consumers for free. Why would they do that? Because by controlling the network millions of people are connecting to, they are assured the default search engine (along with all other default media) used will be their own, and their sponsored advertising revenue would go up exponentially.

This is where the Google Phone (gPhone) comes into play. Computers, even low end computers, are relatively expensive. Cell phones, on the other hand, can be manufactured and sold for less than $100. The Google Phone will be similar to the Apple iPhone by actually being much more than just a phone. They will be miniature, inexpensive “internet devices”, that happen to also be a phone.

The new Google network would not only allow for computers to connect to the internet from anywhere, but it would also double as a free phone network- working exclusively with the Google Phone. Bingo. Why would anyone spend hundreds of dollars for a non Google phone, that also requires an expensive monthly contract with Sprint, ATT or any other major players?! Some still would, of course, but many (dare I say even most) won’t.

How would this change SEM? Well, Google will certainly include a new search tool, that will work a bit differently than normal web searches. It will basically be a sophisticated yellow page like search, yet in classic Google simplistic fashion and style. Users will be just a few touches away from getting 1) a brief description of the business along with a map and directions if they wish 2) a link to the full web site 3) a phone number that will simply need to be touched in order to dial.

Advertisers will literally be lining up to show up at the top of these phone searches, and Google knows it. It’s these advertisers that will enable the free network, and the (possibly even free) Google Phone. The Google Phone will be everywhere, the major cell phone carriers will go out of business, along with many internet service providers… basically, everything is going to get turned upside down, and the resulting tidal waves of users will also change the current landscape of PPC advertising- forever.

Your opinions and comments are welcome.

Anyone that has ever run a booth at a trade show will tell you it’s a great idea to have a “Give Away” in order to drive traffic to you. Early on, we gave away free web services such as free hosting, free site designs, and even free SEO. All of which were fine, and seemed like a good idea at the time, but we eventually realized it’s much better to give away a physical item… something your prospects can touch and ogle over.

Don’t waste your time or money giving away just any-old-thing. I’ve seen all sorts of silly things given away; clock radio’s, drivers/putters, even a fancy plunger (it was a plumbing convention). Nothing creates excitement like a fancy plunger! Right?

About two years ago, we decided to try an iPod as our give-away, and it made an immediate impact on our success. Again, the goal of participating in a trade show is to drive foot traffic into your direction in order to sell your product. We don’t sell iPods, but giving one away certainly did the trick for getting people into our booth, and getting them talking to us about our products. Apple has already created the buzz, it’s possibly the easiest way to cash in on some of that buzz.

When I ask myself this question, I often rattle off a few different answers. The first aspect to making a good blog is grabbing the reader’s attention with great headlines and repetitive keywords.

Some pointers that I find helpful in attaining reader concentration are starting with a quote, referencing a relevant statistic, illustrating word pictures in reader’s minds, and telling a story. All of these aspects are imperative when achieving readership, but also keep in mind that at the same time you must not overload your readers’ minds.

A second component that makes a blog good is to write what you know. By saying this, I mean to provide your readers with real opinions written from the heart, as well as real information written from reliable resources.

A third facet is to use an active voice to get your content across from the beginning. Don’t be afraid to explain things, rather get into depth on discussing your opinions and any controversial topics within your blog.

A final element to consider when creating a blog is the saying “practice makes perfect”. The more you write and the more you practice voicing yourself through text, the better your writing style will evolve into. It is not until you can be self analytical of your work that you will become a successful blogger.

And so I ask you, the readers, what do you think makes a good blog?

Does marketing have to be difficult? Would you like the simple answer? Absolutely not! I count my bad days by how many glasses of chardonnay were had. Luckily, it’s not often and so I am not an alcoholic. If I got to the point where I was regularly drinking, this business wouldn’t be worth it, but I digress…  So to put it simply, I love this company and business.   It’s a fascinating and enjoyable industry.

It’s also amazing to watch the excitement of marketing that works!   Here’s the main question… How is your marketing company working for you?  If you are not having a stellar marketing experience what happens to the project you are marketing?  Well, you’re paying, but you’re not getting the kind of bang for your buck you should. So now you’re asking yourself this question, “Well, I’m doing what other companies are doing in my field so why am I not getting a good return on my investment?”

Let me take the initiative and answer that one for you, because it’s simple. You don’t have the right company. You need a company to assess your needs correctly, and then go to work for you and deliver the goods in a great way.  A mediocre company yields mediocre results. Having a spirit of a competitor (which is what it takes to be successful in business) means that you are willing to figure out what your competition is doing, and then you do it ten times better.

Not only that, but you are striving to continuously find new ways to be ahead of the curve, on top of the heap, and placing yourself at the head of the pack. Are you ready for that adventure? Then we are your company.

-Amy ﾠ ﾠ