360 Articles
Engagement Marketing: The Future of Client Marketing ©Lida Citroën, 2008
Effectively marketing to prospective clients involves clear communication of brand values, multiple touch points, and use of tactics like direct mail, events, networking, etc. But how do we continue to market to our clients, once they are already on board? Other than more of the same, traditional tools, how do we turn existing clients into loyal, engaged clients?
The purpose of marketing to prospective and current clients is to build engagement and participation with your brand. The term “Engagement Marketing” reflects the need to give your audiences (clients, prospects, constituents, stakeholders) a reason to find your brand relevant and necessary. Engaging them with you is a direct way to give the audience value, and enables you to assess and monitor effectiveness at every step.
Having your clients involved and engaged with your brand is critical in today’s competitive market, where even the best service offerings can easily become commoditized. Without attention to every action your brand is involved with – from the front desk receptionist, to your logo, to your client base, to your advertising – it is easy for your competitors and your clients to define your value without you.
It’s a Market Of One
Today it’s a market of one. Each person looking for a product, service, and opportunity sees everything through their own eyes. They ask themselves, “Does this feel relevant to me, personally? Do I see myself as a client of this company? Are my needs (which I believe are unique and personal) reflected here? If so, I feel that this company understands me and may be able to help or interest me. I will go on to learn more."
With this in mind, effective marketers are looking for every opportunity to show direct and unique relevance to their audience. Whether it is soliciting feedback, signing up for permission-based marketing initiatives, participating in discussion groups or engaging the client in person, the key is to demonstrate the necessity of participation and action with your audience.
Slide Over and Let your Audience Drive
Letting your audience drive the experience with you, means they control the relationship and messaging they receive from you. In today’s world of abundant choice, audiences know they do not have to settle for a “one size fits all” communication. Clients today seek individuality and direct relevance at every turn. For example, if I am a potential customer of your extreme ski tour business, I need to see marketing that shows you understand my needs, desires and interests. I need you to understand that I don’t want to ski traditional out-of-bounds areas, I crave the unknown, the untapped, the extreme! Speak to me in my language and you’ve got my attention.
Many businesses offer “opt out” options to clients for information such as newsletters, electronic invoicing and other communications. How many truly allow their clients, and potential clients, to “opt-in” and tell the company what they want to hear about, what they find relevant?
Opt in strategies engage your audience at their most personal level. Offering the ability to tailor messaging, information and participation from the user’s perspective, means you give up some control over how, when and what they will receive. On the flip side, you gain tremendous insight into their interests, buying habits, purchasing power and goals. This can be the most effective, efficient and powerful form of marketing that exists in the digital age.
Fingers off the Keyboard
Assuming you have made the leap to opt-in strategies, your responsibility is to uphold that end of the agreement. For example, if clients tell you they are interested in hearing about new product releases, your obligation (under the opt in agreement) is to send them information, which is clear and relevant to those areas. There are ways to cross-sell and leverage that preference, but trying to slip existing product promotions by them will not fly. You cannot break the trust your brand seeks to establish with engaged clients. Permission-based marketing is not only the trend, it is a must in building trust and loyalty with clients. Let them tell you what they want to receive, then only send them that information. Watch your trust build within this audience!
Dialogue, not Monologue
Engagement marketing is all about two-way dialogue. You put information out there, and your audience lets you know how they feel about it. While this may sound unbridled and unnerving (why would I let them tell me how to do my business?) the reality is feedback is a part of our ingrained society today. Conversations that used to occur over the fence, offering feedback and input about companies, products, services and individuals, are happening online. The online forum is 24/7, international and instantaneous. You can chose to ignore it, or you can get in the middle of it and mitigate how your audiences see and feel about you.
Think Like a Teenager (yes, you heard me right!)
I recently heard it said that online audiences are like teenagers – they want what they want , how they want it, and they want it NOW! Just look at the influence of My Space, eBay and iTunes – all offer immediate, custom gratification.
Personalization and customization need to drive online strategies. It is less important how you want to say it, than it is what your audience needs to hear from you and how they want that information delivered. Many of our clients are exploring alternative means of delivering content to their clients and prospects including: online community forums, RSS feeds, electronic newsletters, and blogs. Rather than letting the technology lead, and investing in the latest new thing… find out what your clients need and want and let the marketing strategy unfold from there.
Seeing your brand the way your customers do is difficult, but not impossible. Does your organization have a way to measure online feedback and input? Are you monitoring blogs and postings related to your product or service? Do you know what your customers are saying about you, so can you direct your marketing to support your brand position? Engagement marketing may be your solution.
Effectively marketing to prospective clients involves clear communication of brand values, multiple touch points, and use of tactics like direct mail, events, networking, etc. But how do we continue to market to our clients, once they are already on board? Other than more of the same, traditional tools, how do we turn existing clients into loyal, engaged clients?
The purpose of marketing to prospective and current clients is to build engagement and participation with your brand. The term “Engagement Marketing” reflects the need to give your audiences (clients, prospects, constituents, stakeholders) a reason to find your brand relevant and necessary. Engaging them with you is a direct way to give the audience value, and enables you to assess and monitor effectiveness at every step.
Having your clients involved and engaged with your brand is critical in today’s competitive market, where even the best service offerings can easily become commoditized. Without attention to every action your brand is involved with – from the front desk receptionist, to your logo, to your client base, to your advertising – it is easy for your competitors and your clients to define your value without you.
It’s a Market Of One
Today it’s a market of one. Each person looking for a product, service, and opportunity sees everything through their own eyes. They ask themselves, “Does this feel relevant to me, personally? Do I see myself as a client of this company? Are my needs (which I believe are unique and personal) reflected here? If so, I feel that this company understands me and may be able to help or interest me. I will go on to learn more."
With this in mind, effective marketers are looking for every opportunity to show direct and unique relevance to their audience. Whether it is soliciting feedback, signing up for permission-based marketing initiatives, participating in discussion groups or engaging the client in person, the key is to demonstrate the necessity of participation and action with your audience.
Slide Over and Let your Audience Drive
Letting your audience drive the experience with you, means they control the relationship and messaging they receive from you. In today’s world of abundant choice, audiences know they do not have to settle for a “one size fits all” communication. Clients today seek individuality and direct relevance at every turn. For example, if I am a potential customer of your extreme ski tour business, I need to see marketing that shows you understand my needs, desires and interests. I need you to understand that I don’t want to ski traditional out-of-bounds areas, I crave the unknown, the untapped, the extreme! Speak to me in my language and you’ve got my attention.
Many businesses offer “opt out” options to clients for information such as newsletters, electronic invoicing and other communications. How many truly allow their clients, and potential clients, to “opt-in” and tell the company what they want to hear about, what they find relevant?
Opt in strategies engage your audience at their most personal level. Offering the ability to tailor messaging, information and participation from the user’s perspective, means you give up some control over how, when and what they will receive. On the flip side, you gain tremendous insight into their interests, buying habits, purchasing power and goals. This can be the most effective, efficient and powerful form of marketing that exists in the digital age.
Fingers off the Keyboard
Assuming you have made the leap to opt-in strategies, your responsibility is to uphold that end of the agreement. For example, if clients tell you they are interested in hearing about new product releases, your obligation (under the opt in agreement) is to send them information, which is clear and relevant to those areas. There are ways to cross-sell and leverage that preference, but trying to slip existing product promotions by them will not fly. You cannot break the trust your brand seeks to establish with engaged clients. Permission-based marketing is not only the trend, it is a must in building trust and loyalty with clients. Let them tell you what they want to receive, then only send them that information. Watch your trust build within this audience!
Dialogue, not Monologue
Engagement marketing is all about two-way dialogue. You put information out there, and your audience lets you know how they feel about it. While this may sound unbridled and unnerving (why would I let them tell me how to do my business?) the reality is feedback is a part of our ingrained society today. Conversations that used to occur over the fence, offering feedback and input about companies, products, services and individuals, are happening online. The online forum is 24/7, international and instantaneous. You can chose to ignore it, or you can get in the middle of it and mitigate how your audiences see and feel about you.
Think Like a Teenager (yes, you heard me right!)
I recently heard it said that online audiences are like teenagers – they want what they want , how they want it, and they want it NOW! Just look at the influence of My Space, eBay and iTunes – all offer immediate, custom gratification.
Personalization and customization need to drive online strategies. It is less important how you want to say it, than it is what your audience needs to hear from you and how they want that information delivered. Many of our clients are exploring alternative means of delivering content to their clients and prospects including: online community forums, RSS feeds, electronic newsletters, and blogs. Rather than letting the technology lead, and investing in the latest new thing… find out what your clients need and want and let the marketing strategy unfold from there.
Seeing your brand the way your customers do is difficult, but not impossible. Does your organization have a way to measure online feedback and input? Are you monitoring blogs and postings related to your product or service? Do you know what your customers are saying about you, so can you direct your marketing to support your brand position? Engagement marketing may be your solution.
"Having your clients involved and engaged with your brand is critical in today’s competitive market,..."
