Win The Marketing Game: Be Proactive Or Perish

The game of marketing has changed. That's because the way consumers gather information and make purchasing decisions today is completely different than it was just 10 years ago. No longer are newspaper and magazine ads, yellow pages, radio and TV the primary ways people learn about products. New media has arrived and thrived, such as the internet, email, cell phones and personal digital assistants.

The volume of advertising pitches has exploded as well, in both traditional and electronic media. Technology has enabled the detailed tracking of consumer buying habits so that lists can be assembled for a very narrow target-market segment. Printing technology now enables mass mailings to be personalized - addressed to you by first name with information specific to your buying habits.

Similarly, television has become a much more targeted medium. There are now hundreds of channels with niche audiences such as Home and Garden, Arts and Entertainment, BET and Disney.

The question now is, "How do you make your company stand out amid all the noise and clutter?" Think about your own buying habits. How do you make your purchasing decisions today?

Two key factors are emerging. The first is "Experiential Marketing" - paying attention to every aspect of the experience your customer has with your company. The other is "Viral" or "Guerilla Marketing" - using Internet or interpersonal word-of-mouth to create "buzz" about your product.

Experiential Marketing

Experiential marketing is the process of exposing consumers to an environment where they experience your product or service in a positive way. It's about building an emotional connection with your customer through shared values. It's about creating memories - creating a social experience around your brand.

The successful brand experience can operate on multiple levels - environmental, alternate channels, auxiliary products and services. For example, the Starbucks experience is not just about the coffee, it's about the environment. It transformed the mere activity of drinking coffee into a total lifestyle experience and raised the amount most people are willing to pay for a cup of coffee. The Disney experience is defined by the theme parks, but children of all ages can get the Disney experience in theme stores as well. Harley Davidson fans can buy all paraphernalia that identify them as part of the "club."

Proactive customer service can increase customer loyalty as well. Imagine those companies that look out for your best interests as a customer. Wouldn't you rather deal with a credit card company that calls you about unusual activity? A bank that knows when you've mixed up your mortgage and equity line payments and calls you to straighten it out?

Another aspect of experiential marketing is live events where consumers interact with products, brands or "brand ambassadors" face-to-face. By creating experiential zones - in your store, at public events or online - you can place customers in a comfortable, home-like environment to experience your brand.

Viral Marketing

Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others. Like a pathogenic virus, it has the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence.

Interpersonally, viral marketing is done through word-of-mouth. The goal is to create a ÒbuzzÓ around your product or service that gets people talking. Social scientists say that each person has eight to 12 people in their close network of friends and family. Their broader network may include hundreds. Getting people to spread your message through their network is an inexpensive and extremely effective way to get your message out.

Web-based implementations of "word of mouth" are numerous and powerful - and usually inexpensive. The most common forms are newsgroups and blogs. Every time your company is mentioned in a newsgroup or on a blog, it's a potential touch point between your customers and you. And when those touch points include a URL, that's an additional door to your website.

Most important in viral marketing is to maintain credibility. For your words to carry weight with your audience you must make sure that people have a positive experience of your brand. Understate your brand promise and over deliver. Consumers will be turned off by brand experiences that donÕt deliver what they promise.

How do you create buzz?

Most viral marketing programs give away valuable products or services to attract attention. Viral marketers practice delayed gratification. They may not profit today, or tomorrow, but by creating a groundswell of interest from something free they can attract eyeballs that will consider buying their other products.

Be different. Don't just mimic the tactic of your closest competitor. Look at other industries to get ideas for creative programs. Clever viral marketing plans take advantage of common human desires and emotions - the desire to "be cool," for example. People pay hundreds of dollars for the latest variation of the blue jean, simply to be part of the "in" crowd.

Make sure that your "virus" is easy to transmit. If it's not, it won't replicate. Make sure your message is simple, easy to remember and easy to repeat. Effective viral marketing plans use others' resources to get the word out. Place links on others' websites. Position articles in others' publications or on others' web sites.

Be Proactive

In this complex new world of lightening-fast change, communication and information, you must be proactive. Unless you have all the customers you want, don't rely on what you've been doing for the past 10 years. Try new things. Try something different. When everyone else is shouting, perhaps it's best to whisper. To get seen amid the clutter, keep it simple. Most of all, make it memorable. Make it interesting. Make an emotional connection that will keep your customers coming back.