Technology is gradually evening the playing fields between small businesses and large corporations. This is welcome news for many Northern Indiana business owners who now have more access to utilize more marketing channels than ever. From radio advertising to podcasting, businesses expand their marketing channels to embed themselves in consumers' minds.
Consumers are bombarded with a plethora of different advertising options every day. Many adapt by "compartmentalizing," or forming consideration sets that contain the brands they commonly consider before making a purchase. Marketers, in turn, make it their mission to enter those consideration sets and occupy as much mental real estate as possible.
To compete with current marketing campaigns, marketers must look to the future: integrated marketing. That means going beyond “cross-channel marketing” to provide a unified, consistent experience that sticks with consumers whether they listen to podcasts or use voice technology.
In the marketing world, staying "top of mind" means your brand positions itself at the forefront of a buyer's consideration set. This positioning ensures that your brand or product will be considered by the buyer when they decide to make a purchase.
Staying top of mind rarely happens by dominating a single advertising channel. Instead, you must strive to become part of the buyer's ecosystem. The best way to achieve this goal is to combine radio and other traditional marketing channels with the newest digital marketing channels. By using a hybrid approach, you can expand your audience and maximize the impact of your message.
Ultimately, the marketing channels you choose will determine whether your brand stays top of mind among your target audience.
Some popular choices include the following:
There is no substitute for data-driven marketing. Through regular monitoring, you can use past information to predict buyer behavior in the future.
More importantly, you can isolate the tactics that are working well for your organization and tweak them to optimize their impact in the future. Finally, you can further separate your brand from the competition by going beyond basic analytics to incorporate artificial intelligence into your future strategy.
Another great way to stay top of mind is to deliver an unforgettable customer experience. Integrated marketing does this by focusing on the customer's total experience instead of zeroing in on individual touchpoints throughout the sales funnel. Consumers can be exposed to a variety of marketing messages throughout the day. Here are some examples:
Integrated marketing has emerged as the key to etching your brand in the minds of consumers. And within the integrated marketing arena, there will be a return to undervalued technologies like voice. Branded podcasts that feature their own local influencers will become more commonplace as marketers compete to enter consumer consideration sets.
By developing a strong working knowledge of integrated marketing, you can more effectively localize your advertising efforts to Northern Indiana. Local listeners will be more apt to listen to your message because it is more relevant to them. The end result is a stronger, more established brand image. To learn more about how integrated marketing works, download "The Importance of Digital & Radio's Combined Efforts."