Market To Mondays – Reviewed

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Over the last ten weeks, we’ve broken down a number of the most important audiences that companies should market to. We introduced the audience each week, discussed why they were ripe for marketing, and how to customize messages specifically for them.

Like all good blog series, this one has come to an end. And so this morning, we wanted to give everyone a chance to catch up on those posts in the series that they may have missed.

Without further ado, here are the 10 Market To Mondays audiences:

  1. Website Visitors
  2. Past Customers
  3. Social Media Followers
  4. Friends of Followers
  5. Google Searchers
  6. Your Competitors’ Customers
  7. The Press
  8. Unconverted Leads
  9. Loyal Customers
  10. Your Employees

Thanks for reading and stay tuned next week for a brand new blog series!

Market To Mondays – Part 10

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Welcome to the latest edition of our new weekly blog series, Market To Mondays. Each week, we will introduce you to a new group of people you should market to. We’ll tell you who they are, why you should market to them, and how you might get started.

Last week’s group was Loyal Customers.

Today’s Group = Your Employees

Your employees are the life blood of your company. Without them, you’ve got nothing.

They also have the potential to be the biggest advocates for what you do and the products you offer. But don’t assume that just because they work there, they’re champions of the company. It takes work.

Companies like Apple, Google, Zappos, etc. have dedicated programs to make their employees excited about what they do, what the company offers, and how they can help. Loyal employees who believe in the company mission are a great benefit to the marketing department.

If you can’t make your employees believe in the mission, how are you going to make customers believe?

But how?

It doesn’t cost anything to market to your employees. But it does take time and dedication. It can’t be an afterthought.

The marketing team, along with HR and upper management, need to work collaboratively to develop an employee engagement program. A well-executed program will generate a more enthusiastic team, greater productivity through engagement, less turnover which leads to cost savings, and brand advocates.

As soon as a new employee is hired, they should be enveloped in the company culture. A dedicated training program should introduce them to the details of the products and services offered, introduce them to a mentor within the company that can coach and train them, and teach them how the company markets itself to consumers, regardless of what department the person is in.

The training program should never end. Instead, after someone has been on board for a month or more, it should turn into something new. Regular training sessions should be a part of all employees’ routines. They should be the first to hear about new products and strategies. They should be connected with top managers in all departments so they can get all of their questions answered.

The Employee Engagement Team, as I’ll refer to them, should make it their job to keep morale up. Anything you can do to keep the team excited about coming to work each day should be considered.

Happy employees are better employees. And they will become advocates for your brand without any additional incentives.

What group should we cover next? Now accepting submissions for audiences that we will cover in an upcoming “Market To Mondays” post. Submit your ideas via our contact page or in the comments section below.

Market To Mondays – Part 9

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Welcome to the latest edition of our new weekly blog series, Market To Mondays. Each week, we will introduce you to a new group of people you should market to. We’ll tell you who they are, why you should market to them, and how you might get started.

Last week’s group was Unconverted Leads.

Today’s Group = Loyal Customers

Loyal customers, by definition, are those customers that will only buy from you. By all accounts they are happy with the products or services you provide, your price and customer service. And they feel that they don’t need to try your competitors or shop around. They know if they need what you offer, they will come to you.

And for most marketers, it stops there. They are loyal customers. Check them off the list. No need to market to them any further.

Well I’m here to tell you that most marketers are dead wrong! This audience is a perfect one for more marketing. It just takes a little vision and planning to turn your loyal customers into brand advocates.

A loyal customer is great. But a customer that speaks out about how great your company is can lead to even more loyal customers. They can, in a sense, become a free marketing channel for you, by sharing your company’s story via word of mouth.

But how?

Customer loyalty is a challenge, and has become more rare over the last decade or so. With increased competition in most industries, new ways for customers to research and learn about products and companies in the marketplace, and new technologies that lower prices and increase access, customers are more likely to shop around for the best value.

So if you’ve got loyal customers, that’s great. But they may not be loyal very long. So developing a marketing plan for your existing customers is important.

It starts with a loyalty program. Get your customers to become members. Membership in your loyalty program might include exclusive offers and discounts, access to products or services others don’t get, points toward future purchases, an online community, etc.

When it pays to be loyal, more people will be loyal.

An online community, social network, or even a simple email list can all help you stay present in your customers’ lives. The more they interact with your brand, the better chance you have of turning them into advocates. Give them a reason to talk about you, and then give them a simple way to talk about you.

Developing a referral program encourages and incentivizes them to spread your message through word of mouth. Some of the fastest growing companies in the world get most of their growth by simple word of mouth and referral marketing.

Encourage positive reviews on sites like Yelp and Facebook. Capitalize on people’s desire to save money, and give them a sense of belonging to something.

When your brand is more than just a company they buy from, when it takes on added importance in their daily habits, you will have a lifetime customer who helps market your products and services.

What group should we cover next? Now accepting submissions for audiences that we will cover in an upcoming “Market To Mondays” post. Submit your ideas via our contact page or in the comments section below.

Market To Mondays – Part 8

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Welcome to the latest edition of our new weekly blog series, Market To Mondays. Each week, we will introduce you to a new group of people you should market to. We’ll tell you who they are, why you should market to them, and how you might get started.

Last week’s group was The Press.

Today’s Group = Unconverted Leads

Does your company generate leads? Do people give you their information before they actually sign up or purchase your products? Do you buy lists and sell to them? Is there an application process that precedes a new customer acquisition?

If so, you probably have a standard lead funnel that most of those leads progress through on their way to ultimately purchasing your product. This is the sales funnel. And the nature of funnels is such that not all leads make it through to the end.

It would be wonderful if they did. But since they don’t, unsold or unconverted leads become an audience of people you can market to.

You may argue. You may say, “But they made it all the way through the sales funnel already and they didn’t bite, so why would I continue to waste my time marketing to them when I could be trying to sell to newer, better leads?”

You’re correct. These are clearly lesser leads than those in the sales funnel now. But if you can develop some very simple, low cost ways of following up with the old leads, you can increase your sales in a big way.

But how?

Email is your best bet in this selling scenario. The easiest, least time-consuming, lowest cost thing you can do is place all of your unsold leads into an email list. Call it “Old Leads”, or “Crap Leads”, or whatever you want to call it, as long as you have it.

Once you have it, and you begin to add those folks in who didn’t bite, start creating content for them. This content should be very basic, and your intention is to just keep in touch with them. Don’t let them forget who you are, and that they were once interested in what you had to offer.

Then, mix in your discounts. Any discounts you have in your back pocket, use them. These folks might be some of your most price-sensitive, so by taking more off the price than you might with your newer leads, you may sign some of them up as customers.

At the end of the day, it costs you next to nothing to run this type of email marketing program. So if it adds a few sales you might otherwise have thrown in the trash, why wouldn’t you do it?

What group should we cover next? Now accepting submissions for audiences that we will cover in an upcoming “Market To Mondays” post. Submit your ideas via our contact page or in the comments section below.

Market To Mondays – Part 7

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Welcome to the latest edition of our new weekly blog series, Market To Mondays. Each week, we will introduce you to a new group of people you should market to. We’ll tell you who they are, why you should market to them, and how you might get started.

Last week’s group was Your Competitor’s Customers.

Today’s Group = The Press

The press can be your best friends. Companies that know how to market to the press know that a product, a brand, or an entire industry can be made by good media coverage.

But it doesn’t happen on its own. You need to learn how to treat the press as a marketing audience all its own that needs your attention.

When you learn how to properly market to the press, you can get them to sell your story for you. Instead of spending millions of dollars buying ads, you get broadcast to the masses for free. And you get the benefit of third-party credibility on your side, helping to convince wary customers that you offer quality products or services.

But how?

Marketing to the press is a different animal entirely from marketing to potential customers. The companies that do it well have worked hard to get where they are.

The first option you have is to retain the services of an establish public relations firm. They have the relationships with media companies, writers, reporters, and editors that you covet. They can help you with strategy, refine your message, and do lots and lots of outreach. The only downside is that the right PR firm will cost you a good chunk of your marketing budget (maybe more than you have if you’re just starting out).

The second option is to go it on your own. This is much more difficult, but not impossible.

First, you can use an online distribution company like PRWeb to put out press releases. Tell the story of your company through these releases, but make sure what you’re putting out is actually news-worthy.

Then, host these releases in a “press section” on your website. It might be on your blog, or under News. Wherever it is, make it easy for members of the media to find if they come across your site.

Put someone in charge of press relations and provide their contact information with every release and clearly on the site. This gives members of the media someone to contact if they’re interested in learning more about you or your story.

Develop a list of publications, reporters, and bloggers in the space that cover your industry. Start reaching out to them with news related to your company. Establish a relationship with them and ask them what kinds of stories they are looking for.

Services like HARO and Cision allow you to monitor press inquiries and activities so that you know who needs stories, and what subjects are being covered. Again, this requires someone to stay on top of press relations and act quickly when opportunities come up.

No matter how you do it, developing a relationship with the press can be very beneficial to your marketing. When the press is selling your story, you don’t have to.

What group should we cover next? Now accepting submissions for audiences that we will cover in an upcoming “Market To Mondays” post. Submit your ideas via our contact page or in the comments section below.