DOES E-MARKETING WORK?
DOES E MARKETING WORK ?
E zines using your database
Yes it’s the easy, effective, and affordable way to keep your customers and potential customers coming back ! There are millions of people using it around the world and there is a proven format that hundreds of Irish use successfully in Ireland. The key to success are simple; It must be attractive, professional-looking and regular to build strong customer relationships. It’s better and more effective than regular email.
Social Media
From Twitter to Facebook, to Google + toYou Tube, to Foursquare and more, social media use is the hottest thing in marketing. But does it really work? Brands and businesses are certainly moving this way which makes sense — that’s where the people are ! Figuring out just how much social media marketing returns on investment of time and money, however, is harder to do.
A recent analysis by Facebook’s marketing company Pagemodo revealed the following;
Sixty-four percent of business owners say social media marketing is a promising tactic and they believe it provides returns — but they aren’t willing to go all in with it just yet and favour a more cautious approach. Another 20% are more bullish on its potential, according to the same study, while just 6% are hardcore skeptics.
How do marketers and entrepreneurs measure whether social media will pay pay off ? Most do so by measuring the accumulation of friends, likes, followers and other online connections. Thirty-nine percent look at shares of brand content, while 35% measure actual leads from social media. Just 18% measure success by overall brand awareness and favourability as gauged by consumer surveys.
The key to success
• Know your target audience.
• Send them something that is relevant and appealing.
• Do it gradually.
• Be be prepared to stop if it is not working (unless of course you are a major brand).
• If you are a major brand build a community and keep in touch.
Should your company use e marketing now?
The internet demographic is changing. In the past it was just teenagers and 20-somethings. But this is changing quickly. For every year that goes by, consumers are becoming more comfortable with integrating web-surfing into their daily routines. More consumers are watching television online which means less couch-potatoes and more internet-potatoes. What does this mean for brand awareness? It means that it’s just not enough anymore to barrage the traditional marketing channels to trigger buying impulses from consumers. If one looks at Nike as a brand. It is treating the Internet the same way they are treating the rest of their marketing plan. As a company it sells its products to consumers through a broad distribution chain and over the next 10 years they must develop a diverse body of Internet marketing campaigns that pivot on well designed product-centric sites, not company-centric ones. Can a leading brand be wrong ?
Fergal Maher
MBS in Marketing, FMIIGrad, Dip. in Strategic Marketing
Managing Director
Strategic Marketing Consultants Limited
Rathangan
Co. Kildare