The start of a new year is the perfect time to refocus, revamp, and re-structure your marketing plan. Whether it’s data, communication cadence, analytics, creative design, or landing page effectiveness, there is something that every marketer can continue to strengthen within their marketing strategy. This new year, there is one thing that every marketer should resolve to focus on: putting your customer first throughout the customer lifecycle.
When it comes down to it, customers are what make a marketing strategy successful so it’s important that we listen to their interests and focus on what will keep them sharing, clicking, and purchasing.
How can you make sure you‘re putting your customer first?
Stay on top of current trends.
Not all trends are worth following but as a marketer it‘s important to know what‘s happening now and implement current trends in your 2015 plan. One trend that can’t be ignored is mobile-first marketing. In order to reach every customer, marketers need to use responsive design to make sure the email is fully digestible on mobile devices. Consumers are easily discouraged and with that, purchases lost, when functions do not work as easily on mobile. For example, a find location map feature that would be clickable on a desktop does not always work properly on mobile. Or simply, the search button is not clickable and there is no way to activate your search or question, so you have to wait until you get on your desktop.
Social media is another critical trend to stay on top of and since it’s ever changing it’s probably one of the most difficult. Sharing blog posts and content on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook etc. is one of the most beneficial things marketers can do for their brand. The more people to see and hear about your brand, the more traffic on your website to engage, shop, and hopefully make a purchase.
Provide seamless multi-channel marketing.
In 2014, mobile opens versus desktop opens increased 2 to 1. However, desktop clicks still outnumber mobile clicks by 65%. With that in mind, marketers need to make sure they‘re creating an effortless transition from one channel to the next. Consumers are on the go now more than ever, therefore the ease of going from checking emails and shopping on a mobile device to later making purchases on a desktop is crucial. Think of when you’re sitting in a doctor’s office or waiting for a train, you may do some shopping online to pass the time. Later, when you get home and are ready to make a purchase on your desktop, the items you added to your shopping cart just a few hours earlier are no longer there. Now the search begins again before you can complete the purchase. How frustrating! The smooth transition between channels is key from a customer standpoint and one that marketers should focus on improving this new year.
Listen to your customers.
What are customers saying about your product on social media and in customer feedback emails? What are they clicking on in email offers and on your website? What demographics do they share? These are questions that should be asked when putting your customer first in planning for 2015. Listen to your customers’ opinions and make necessary changes or sell more of the products they love. By using both analytics and feedback to tell you what customers are interested in, you can better target their preferences with future offers.
Personalize your strategy.
Personalization is the best way marketers can show consumers they are listening to them. This year, it is expected that retargeting and location targeting will take marketing personalization to a new level. With both targeting techniques marketers can continue to hone in on a customer’s every need.
With all the possibilities of resolutions for the new year, resolving to put your customer first throughout the customer lifecycle is one that will definitely bring higher response rates, a larger network of consumers and most importantly, more customer loyalty.
