Mar

Shift Happens!

Things are really changing in marketing….and fast! What’s great about all the new channels available with online and interactive is that the shifts are benefiting both the customers AND the merchants that want to grow new business, keep existing customers and find new ideas to offer. The customers get relevant information served to them just the way they want to see it, when they want it and how they want it. The marketers get higher return on their marketing investments, more efficiencies, more relevance and increased lifetime value of their customers.

In the March 16th emarketer.com newsletter, Beverly Thorn, Senior VP of Marketing for Century 21 reported a decrease in cost per lead by over 60% and an increase in the number of leads by over 235% by shifting budgets from traditional advertising to online. So how do we know how to shift? That’s where analytics is more important today than ever. Analysis of our buyer behaviors can tell us a lot about how, where and when our existing and potential customers want information. Listening is something we can do online and interactively, and is a great way to shift. In general, shifts today are about moving from traditional channels to customer-focused channels, from acquisition to retention and customer referrals, from “push” telling strategies to “pull” listening and attraction strategies.

Marrying an analytical approach with relevant creative and channels that promote customer interaction with a brand is a formula for success. The leading benchmark in any shift today is relevance. What are the metrics that can be tracked that are relevant to the marketer? Is it the number of leads? Same store sales? Retention? Referrals and number of new customers? Average spend? Lifetime value? Also, what are the messages and channels that are relevant to the customers? A unique combination of listening, tracking and testing everything leads to ever greater relevancy.

This isn’t the first time that major shifts that impact sales and marketing have happened, and it won’t be the last. Organizations that use available tools and have a plan that is based on relevancy will not fear the new media opportunities, but embrace them successfully and ultimately be rewarded for it. I guess the question of all of us is, “Is what we are doing today meaningful? Meaningful to us and to our customers?” If not, let’s shift!

Image source: roychung1993 via Flickr