Online marketing is an essential tool for communicating your brand’s message to customers.
By Henry Brown
Effective communication is essential in all walks of life. For small business owners, it’s undoubtedly important to run a team of multiple people with as few errors and misunderstandings as possible. But good communication is perhaps most important when it comes to your customers. They need to understand the business and what it offers. No matter whether they’re new customers, old customers, online, or offline, having them understand the brand and the strengths of what you offer is crucial.
Define that relationship
Before you start with the brand itself, you have to decide a certain truth behind the business. It’s a truth that dictates whether or not a business idea is even a good one in the first place. That truth is the brand promise. It is essential you identify why customers choose your brand over any other. It’s the value you offer them, without any exaggeration or marketing language. If you can’t define that, there’s no way you can properly communicate it.
The versatility of the web
Once you have the promise sorted out, it’s all about how you deliver it. Online marketing needs to have a home in every business, not just because it’s an effective way to reach more people. It’s also one of the most versatile methods, as marketing companies like wearetg.com demonstrate. Depending on what social media sites you find your customers, you can develop specific brand messaging specialized to them. There also are more developed methods of showing the values and expertise of the business, such as content marketing.
The real world matters, too
If you want your message heard loud and clear with true versatility, you can’t just stick to the online world. Even the smallest businesses need some way to show that their offer is real and to reach those who aren’t as ‘plugged in’ as others. Trade shows, public relations, and print media are some of the most accessible and relevant ways to build an image that ripples across more than just the Internet. The best marketing plans integrate several approaches to strengthen one another. Print advertisements and press releases can lead to your site, just as social media can be used to hype a trade show appearance.
Sometimes you need the targeted approach
If you deal with customers on a client-to-client basis, then you have to meet them face-to-face. There are very few exceptions to that rule. Besides having personal charisma and confidence in your brand promise, it’s important to remember the kinds of tips featured on sites like creativeboom.com. You have to research and know the clients wants and tailor your promise to fit them specifically. This means knowing every inch of what you offer and being able to pick the most relevant parts of that offer for the individual.
Mastering communication is about knowing both the message and the best ways to deliver it. Depending on your business model, these methods change. In reality, you’re likely going to need to use a mix to ensure no one is left out of the loop.
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Henry Brown is an online marketing executive. When he isn’t talking shop he’s roaming the streets of London, uncovering the extra-ordinary in the ordinary.
