MARKETING and BRANDING IN THE DIGITAL AGE This post is going to be a bit longer than most things I share here on Facebook, but I think it is important that business owners and entrepreneurs in the culinary world understand the amazing shifts that are taking place in the New Digital Economy... Many marketers and brand ambassadors across all industries see Amazons announcement of its new self-serve media buying tool and Walmarts leap into the media business with Walmart Exchange as signs of a major shift: Retailers are doing nothing less than transforming marketing. This no doubt surprises those who think of retailers as lagging in marketing capability. But retailers do have a unique advantage with their ability to target and measure media. Consumers are much more digitally engaged and investment in digital marketing has grown accordingly. While retailers are on the ascent, there are two issues most CPT and restaurant marketers continue to face with their digital plans. First, typical measurement of digital relies on the wrong KPIs or key performance indicators (impressions, views, clicks, likes, shares, etc.), which dont actually correlate to building the brand or driving business results. Its difficult if not impossible to close the loop and measure true marketing effectiveness. Second, most data used for digital targeting isnt much better than the data used for mass media targeting. Buying demographic segments, targeting based on website content, retargeting product ads -- none of these standard tactics really cut it today. Targeting methods which prioritize getting in front of the consumer at the expense of being relevant will be annoying at best or completely unseen at worst. Talk about a complete waste of time AND money! So how can you as a brand meet this challenge? Its shockingly simple...talk to your customers and web visitors. Take their comments and insights and focus your marketing plans into extremely relevant and personal connections with them. Now you are building the brand instead of just marketing to your prospects and trying to sell them stuff. With the growing ability to target, deliver and measure media, brands should rethink their strategies with a focus on three transformational approaches: 1. Invest in loyalty. Contrary to popular belief, loyalty marketing doesnt amount to subsidizing purchases that would happen anyway. I have yet to find a single brand whose consumers are 100% loyal. Every brand is constantly challenged to acquire new customers to offset those they lose. Theres always an opportunity to engage with consumers at the right place, right time, and with the right message -- or to foster brand loyalty. Imagine the potential growth if a brand could get every current customer to buy one more product, one more time. 2. Develop one-to-one marketing plans with individual consumers at the center. Some brands believe that multi-channel marketing is needed to surround every consumer with your brand message. But if the message isnt right for a specific person, delivering one media impression is just as ineffective as delivering ten. 3. Rethink the role of retailers and partner with them. Retailers are no longer just a sales channel where brands execute shopper marketing. With the rapid shift in digital consumer habits and e-commerce, the role of the retailer is much more strategic. Amazon is both a retail partner to CPG brands and a media property for brand marketing investment. Traditional retailers may lag behind Amazon in digital audience, but that gap will close. Traditional retailers also bring something pure-play e-retailers dont have: huge physical audiences that can experience brands both in-store and out-of-store.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 16:00:00 +0000
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