The days of writing an annual marketing plan and evaluating it on a quarterly basis are over. With the pervasive nature of the digital age taking over, marketers must adapt and speed up their consumer response rate. According to the Quanzi Institute, Responsive Marketing is the attention to consumer response in the marketing strategy to attempt to reach a high consumer satisfaction rate.
While the old marketing strategies’ platform of developing content based on pre-determined consumer interests remains linear and unresponsive, the new platform of all things digital including social and mobile, is increasingly circular. Having the ability to identify trends and respond in real-time is imperative to keep up with what your customers want. Not only is excellent customer service expected, now consumers expect their needs to be responded to as rapidly as the evolving technology that continues to impact consumer expectations.
The new methodology for responsive marketing is an on-going cycle of creating responsive content, tweaking, testing, adapting and improving along the way. Successful organizations are also likely to use technology to assist them in executing these strategies. The quality and the efficiency of a service are no longer enough, having a strong Internet presence adapted to the needs of customers is now a must to succeed.
As Darwin said, “the species that survive are not the strongest, nor the fastest, nor the most intelligent, but those that are better adapted to change.” In this vein, responsive methodology must be integrated into all aspects of communication to keep pace with the web marketing landscape. The sooner businesses embrace and adapt to the new “circular” platform, the more ahead of the curve they will be. Netflix is a great example of a business utilizing technology to respond to their customers’ interests and needs in real-time. Not only are they being responsive to the changing digital landscape, they are also utilizing the technology as part of their service. As a result their business has increased exponentially.
Business owners that are resistant to change and adapting responsive mechanisms are also succeptilbe to higher attrition rates. While customers expectations become more immediate, businesses must be quicker to respond. Like any other shifting paradigm, adapting requires a refocusing of strategies and support services.
Here are some things to consider when creating “responsive” marketing strategies:
- Websites must be engaging and designed to solicite consumer action or response.
- Social media strategies – such as Facebook – should invite engagement and be tracked to keep up with what’s working and what isn’t.
- Every call, every piece of mail, every e-mail is about building a relationship.
- Outreach strategies such as email campaigns should ask questions, invite response and be quick to respond.
The good news is that with the adaption of responsive marketing, there is a unifying effect. Turn-key strategies can be implemented and easily managed. Tools designed to manage and respond to customers are also adapting and becoming more user friendly. A common mistake independent business owners make is thinking they can keep up with the trends and the technology, as well as manage their businesses. However, if the time and resources are devoted to implementing a responsive strategy, the on-going effort is minimized. If you would like help in creating an integrated, responsive strategy, we can help!
Call AMG – we’ll take care of your marketing so you can run your business! In addition to Social Media Marketing, AMG offers a variety of services to manage your online presence and help grow your business. Contact AMG today!
