By Megan Belnap

The second fiscal quarter of 2019 is here, and it’s essential that small businesses have their marketing up to date before launching new initiatives. The trouble is that many small or older companies can often struggle with staying on top of what modern consumers are looking for. The good news is that modern marketing techniques can be easy to catch up on with just a little time and effort. Here are a few simple steps that will have your company on top of your industry in effectively reaching modern audiences.

Keep your ear to the ground

Market research is an essential step in developing any marketing strategy, and it should be done regularly. Trends change, and so do the tastes and values of modern consumers. One of the best ways to keep tapped into the vein of these changes is by being active on social media. This is where the fads and trends of today get started, and if you want to be aware of these changes as they happen, then you’ll want to be in the thick of it. Know what your demographic is and then watch the posts of the major accounts that are popular among that demographic. Once you’re inside their social media community, you’ll also be able to follow your demographic as they migrate to new platforms and new interests, making future market research easier.

Smaller is bigger

Personability is a major concern of the modern consumer, which means that they’re much less interested in buying from big name brands. Instead, today’s buyers are looking for small, local businesses. By being able to hear the story of the owner and know their goals for building the company, consumers feel they are better able to trust their products and services and feel better about their purchases. Larger companies can tap into this by making their company owners more public figures and to market their goals of how they plan to benefit communities with their products and services. Smaller companies, on the other hand, can simply use this to capitalize off of the fact that they are small and local, and should focus on reaching out in natural and personable ways to the community.

Humor sells 

If you notice, a lot of marketing today centers around ads that are geared more toward satires of themselves. Modern consumers appreciate companies that are able to laugh at themselves and that don’t take themselves too seriously. This relates back to the personability that was previously mentioned, and also taps into how adults today are coping with their own realities. Dry or parody-style humor helps modern adults tackle their own day-to-day problems in a way that makes them less intimidating. Because of this, making your marketing more humorous increases your share-ability drastically, especially if it pokes fun at a relatable problem to your target demographic.

Product packaging 

One aspect of modern marketing you must be aware of is that consumers today are far savvier about products than in decades past, and they are very interested in the health of the environment. Today’s shopper will judge your company by its environmental practices. This can be a sticky area for marketers, but you can easily overcome this problem by working with a design agency that actively keeps up on these kinds of trends in modern marketing demographic studies. Such resources are extremely useful in ensuring that your packaging and design only incorporate eco-friendly materials and packaging practices. For example, most consumers are environmentally aware today and will be less inclined to buy products that package with non-biodegradable plastics or use excessive chemical processing.

Consumers are label readers 

One of the major marketing mistakes that companies make these days is that they do not check their own product labels for offensive ingredients. For example, using animal-based gelatin in products may turn away the growing vegan segment of the consumer base. Allergens are best avoided in products geared toward families, and beauty products should be careful to keep tabs on what chemicals have lately been deemed dangerous by online communities. Phenoxyethanol, for example, has long been considered to be a safe alternative to other preservatives. However, more and more people are shying away as studies have come out showing dangerous side effects when this chemical comes into contact with the mouth or eye areas. Whether the research is valid or not, it’s important to be aware of consumer concerns and amass your own research to defend your choice of materials should they come under public scrutiny. This is another area where being active on social media can be helpful, as well, as it will allow you to be aware of these concerns at the same time they are reaching your target demographics.

When it comes to modern marketing, you can benefit greatly from any avenue that gives you insights into how modern consumers approach and judge products fit for personal use. Today’s consumers do a vast amount of product research, because they have access to more information to products today than in decades past. With this in mind, your company should also seek to solicit feedback from customers who buy your products. This feedback will provide you with ongoing insights into how to improve your marketing efforts to better solidify your brand as a trustworthy symbol in the eyes of today’s consumers.

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Meghan Belnap is a freelance writer who enjoys spending time with her family. She loves being in the outdoors and exploring new opportunities whenever they arise. Meghan finds happiness in researching new topics that help to expand her horizons. You can often find her buried in a good book or out looking for an adventure. You can connect with her on Facebook right here and Twitter right here.