Tag: email marketing

There are various differences between urban market and rural market. So, it is necessary to make different market research design for rural areas as compared to urban market.

The various difference between urban and rural market research are as follows:

Difference # Urban Market Research:

1. Respondents: Literate, brand aware, individuals respond individually.
2. Time: Willing to respond, have time pressures, spare little time for researchers.
3. Accessibility: Easy to access
4. Secondary data source: Internal data, syndicate research, published media, many sources & large data.
5. Primary data source: Large number of middlemen, experts, sales force, consumers, opinion leaders.
6. Sampling: Respondents form relatively homogenous group. Income can be a criterion.
7. Data collection: Use of sophisticated instrument, style and administration. Respondents are comfortable with number ratings and timeliness.

Difference # Rural Market Research:

1. Respondents: Semi-literate or illiterate, brand unaware generally group responses.
2. Time: Hesitant but devotes time.
3. Accessibility: Tough to access, geographical distances and psychological approaches are barriers. Do not speak easily to outsiders.
4. Secondary data source: Very few sources and less data.
5. Primary data source: Less number of all categories.
6. Sampling: Heterogeneous groups. Income and land holding to be carefully applied.
7. Data collection: Require simplified instruments. Respondents comfortable with colour, pictures and stories.

In the context of rural marketing, this approach is necessary for both high value consumer durable items and capital agriculture inputs. It has been found by experience that the rural consumers do not decide on the bests of information provided by the companies or their advertisements. They prefer to consult others who actually possess the various brand of the product and also get their experience in using them.

Rural consumer makes well-considered buying decision for a specified brand often after lot of consultation with the opinion leaders. But opinion leaders change with the product category.

While for agri-inputs, the opinion leaders group consists of progressive farmers, agri-extension workers and village leaders, for other product categories, the opinion leader group consists of friends, well-informed relatives(particularly those working in nearly towns), educated youth and to an extent traditional village leaders. Dealers to play a major role in influencing the choice of a brand at the point of sale.

The electricians, mechanics and technicians which are found in almost all villages to service and repair products could be provided with free accessories, tools and their shops could be painted with company logo and brand name. These persons considered as specialists in their field could act as local brand ambassadors and could promote the products for the company as they are acting as opinion leaders for products in their field and their advice is sought by the villagers and given weight age in the purchase decision.

The following play the role of opinion leader in the case of corresponding product category:

(a) Successful farmer – for farm inputs

(b) Village youth who go to city – for lifestyle products

(c) School children – for personal care products

Asian paints launched its Utsav range during the Pre-Diwali season. Salesmen selected the opinion leaders in village and painted the village post office, library, or the house of the pardhaan to demonstrate that paint does not peel off. Salesman organized meets at the local dealers, where village painters were invited.

Integrated campaigns, which are – low cost, scalable, offer multiple contacts, and are interactive in nature, help in increasing brand penetration and frequency of usage need to be developed for the rural market.

Promotional activity must generate a lot of word of mouth publicity so that the brand is on top of mind when rural consumer purchases a product. Therefore, touch and feel aspect must be built into promotional activity. Brooke-bond organized marches in rural areas with band, music and caparisoned elephants to promote their brands of tea.

6. Folk Media:

There is a good audience available for different folk media in the rural world. Marketer can effectively utilize some of these to take his message to the rural audience. Different folk’s media are popular in different regions; therefore the folk medium selected must be popular in the region; then only it will be able to provide the desired level of audiences, some of the folk media, which can be used as a promotion vehicle, are described here below.

(a) Puppetry:

In rural India puppetry is an avenue for entertainment and creative expression, which might be ritually scared and meaningful as a means of social communication and vehicle of social transformation.

It is an excellent way of storytelling through the moving images called puppets. The cost of this medium is very less and is very popular in Rajasthan, Orissa and Haryana. People of all ages and genders can be targeted by incorporating the product in the narrative.

Song and Drama Division of the Government of India makes wide use of puppets in its campaigns to promote various government projects, several other organizations, government, semi-government and private, have also used puppets in support of individual schemes.

For example – Life Insurance Corporation of India used puppets to educate rural masses about Life Insurance. These plays were shown to the audience in villages in UP, Bihar and MP. The number of inquiries at local offices of LIC during the period immediately following the performance was compared with normal frequency and found to be considerably higher. The field staff of the corporation also reported a definite impact on the business.

(b) Folk Theatre:

Folk theaters are mainly short and rhythmic in form. The simple tunes help in informing and educating the people in informal and interesting manner. It has been used as an effective medium for social protest against injustice, exploitation and oppression. Government has used this media for popularizing improved variety of seeds, fertilizers, etc.

(c) Nautanki:

It is a folk dance drama which is performed in Uttar Pradesh on a make shift stage surrounded by a tent. It is a prime attraction in the village fairs amongst all age groups because of its narrative style and rustic humour. This folk media provides captive audience and marketers can use it as a platform to promote their products as rural audience believes that the performers are more credible than conventional media like TV or radio.

(d) Tamasha:

It involves seductive Lavni dance drama and interactive session with the audience. As only males are the audience therefore products meant for males can be effectively promoted through this media. The script can be modified to incorporate the product benefit, advantages and its availability.

(e) Birha:

Started during the freedom struggle to promote and develop the independence movement through the medium of songs, Birha is song about the current social realities of the day and is sung at gatherings, which draw big crowds. It is a musical night organized in the state of Uttar Pradesh and is popular amongst all the sections of the society. This is a very effective medium to deliver social messages and can be used for promotion of products that are very relevant for the rural masses.

Cultural practices and traditions of villages should always be given adequate weight age while deciding on the promotional strategies. A broad generalization is less likely to deliver effective results in the rural areas. Therefore, it is important to pilot-run a campaign and measures its effectiveness at a very small scale in one or two villages before launching a large-scale operation in similar socio-cultural settings. It is quite possible that a promotional campaign, which was successful in one area, might not only be ineffective but also boomerangs in the other.

While any one can think of ideas for below the line activities it requires conscious efforts by professionals to connect with the audience with the right communication package-which takes the core message of the brand and communicates it in a language, idiom, style and situations, which is easily understood by the target audience

Development

The development stage of the product life cycle is the research phase before a product is introduced to the marketplace. This is when companies bring in investors, develop prototypes, test product effectiveness, and strategize their launch. Due to the nature of this stage, companies spend a lot of money without bringing in any revenue because the product isn’t being sold yet.

This stage can last for a long time, depending on the complexity of the product, how new it is, and the competition. For a completely new product, the development stage is hard because the first pioneer of a product is usually not as successful as later iterations.

Development Stage Marketing Strategy

While marketing typically begins in the introduction stage, you can begin to build “buzz” around your product by securing the endorsement of established voices in the industry. You can also publish early (and favorable) consumer research or testimonials. Your marketing goal during this stage is to build upon your brand awareness and establish yourself as an innovative company.

Introduction

The introduction stage is when a product is first launched in the marketplace. This is when marketing teams begin building product awareness and reaching out to potential customers. Typically, when a product is introduced, sales are low and demand builds slowly.

Usually, this phase is focused on advertising and marketing campaigns. Companies work on testing distribution channels and try to educate potential customers about the product.

Introduction Stage Marketing Strategy

This is where the fun begins. Now that the product is launched, you can actually promote the product using inbound marketing and content marketing. Education is highly important in this stage. Your target consumer must know what they’re buying before they buy it. If your marketing strategies are successful, the product goes into the next stage; growth.

Growth

During the growth stage, consumers have accepted the product in the market and customers are beginning to truly buy in. That means demand and profits are growing, hopefully at a steadily rapid pace.

The growth stage is when the market for the product is expanding and competition begins developing. Potential competitors will see your success and will want in.

Growth Stage Marketing Strategy

During this phase, marketing campaigns often shift from getting customers’ buy-in to establishing a brand presence so consumers choose them over developing competitors. Additionally, as companies grow, they’ll begin to open new distribution channels and add more features and support services. In your strategy, you’ll advertise these as well.

Maturity

The maturity stage is when the sales begin to level off from the rapid growth period. At this point, companies begin to reduce their prices so they can stay competitive amongst growing competition.

This is the phase where a company begins to become more efficient and learns from the mistakes made in the introduction and growth stages. Marketing campaigns are typically focused on differentiation rather than awareness. This means that product features might be enhanced, prices might be lowered, and distribution becomes more intensive.

During the maturity stage, products begin to enter the most profitable stage. The cost of production declines while the sales are increasing.

Maturity Stage Marketing Strategy

When your product has become a mature offering, you may feel like you’re “sailing by” because sales are steady and the product has been established. But this is where it’s critical to establish yourself as a leader and differentiate your brand.

Continuously improve upon the product as adoption grows, and let consumers know in your marketing strategy that the product they love is better than it was before. This will protect you during the next stage saturation.

5. Saturation

During the product saturation stage, competitors have begun to take a portion of the market and products will experience neither growth nor decline in sales.

Typically, this is the point when most consumers are using a product, but there are many competing companies. At this point, you want your product to become the brand preference so you don’t enter the decline stage.

Saturation Stage Marketing Strategy

When the market has become saturated, you’ll need to focus on differentiation in features, brand awareness, price, and customer service. Competition is highest at this stage, so it’s critical to leave no doubt regarding the superiority of your product.

If innovation at the product-level isn’t possible (because the product only needs minor tweaks at this point), then invest in your customer service and use customer testimonials in your marketing.

Decline

Unfortunately, if your product doesn’t become the preferred brand in a marketplace, you’ll typically experience a decline. Sales will decrease during the heightened competition, which is hard to overcome.

Additionally, new trends emerge as time goes on, just like the CD example I mentioned earlier. If a company is at this stage, they’ll either discontinue their product, sell their company, or innovate and iterate on their product in some way.

Decline Stage Marketing Strategy

While companies would want to avoid the decline stage, sometimes there’s no helping it especially if the entire market reached a decline, not just your product. In your marketing strategy, you can focus on nostalgia or emphasize the superiority of your solution to successfully get out of this stage.

To extend the product life cycle, successful companies can also implement new advertising strategies, reduce prices, add new features to increase their value proposition, explore new markets, or adjust brand packaging.

The best companies will usually have products at several points in the product life cycle at any given time. Some companies look to other countries to begin the cycle anew.

Now that we’ve gone through stages, let’s review some real-life examples of them in action.

A prime need for any firm to emerge as a strong player in the rural market is by carefully identifying gaps in the rural market and crafting the right product offering for consumers. Chalking out a product strategy for rural market differs in many aspects when compared to urban counter parts. Needs and demand of rural consumer might be contrasting to that of urban consumer and therefore it’s necessary to hit the right chord when entering the rural market. The prime objective is to design products to suit rural requirements.

Conventional wisdom on rural marketing states that the needs of the rural consumers are similar to those of the urban consumers. Hence, the products made to urban specifications should suit the requirements of the rural consumers. However, this is not true in many cases, as there is a market difference between rural and urban environments. For instance, Kerosene or LPG gas stoves, where the flame can be controlled, are used for cooking in urban areas, while an open fire or ‘Chulha’ is used in rural areas. Pressure cookers with handles on one side suit the urban consumers, but not the rural consumers for use on an open fire or a ‘chulha’. Perhaps, a wide-bodied cooker within handles on opposite sides may suit rural requirements. Therefore, while designing and developing products, the requirements of the rural consumers are to be considered and rural-specific products developed.

During the late eighties, shampoo sales boomed when it was introduced in sachet pack, because it suited the consumers in low income groups. Hindustan Motors (HM) launched a utility vehicle the RTV (rural transport vehicle), aimed at rural market. Hence, product development for rural consumers is necessary.

Though marketers are still trying and experimenting ways to successfully tap the rural arena, below are few product strategies which have been widely adopted and have proved themselves to work in the rural landscape:

Small unit packing: This method has been tested by products life shampoos, pickles, biscuits, Vicks cough drops in single tablets, tooth paste, etc. Small packings stand a good chance of acceptance in rural markets. The advantage is that the price is low and the rural consumer can easily afford it.

Another example is the Red Label tea Rs. 3.00 pack which has more sales as compared to the large pack. This is because it is very affordable for the lower income group with the deepest market reach making easy access to the end user satisfying him.

The small unit packings will definitely attract a large number of rural consumers.

New product designs: Keeping in view the rural life style the manufacturer and the marketing men can think in terms of new product designs.

For e.g. PVC shoes and chappals can be considered sited ideally for rural consumers due to the adverse working conditions. The price of P.V.C. items is also low and affordable.

Sturdy products: Sturdiness of a product is an important factor for rural consumers. The experience of torch light dry battery cell manufacturers support this because the rural consumers preferred dry battery cells which are heavier than the lighter ones. For them, heavier weight meant that it has more over and durability. Sturdiness of a product either or appearance is an important for the rural consumers.

Utility oriented products: The rural consumers are more concerned with utility of the product and its appearance Philips India Ltd. Developed and introduced a low cost medium wave receiver named BAHADUR during the early seventies. Initially the sales were good but declined subsequently. On consumer research, it was found that the rural consumer bought radios not only for information and news but also for entertainment.

Brand name: For identification, the rural consumers do give their own brand name on the name of an item. The fertilizers companies normally use a logo on the fertilizer bags though fertilizers have to be sold only on generic names. A brand name or a logo is very important for a rural consumer for it can be easily remembered.

Many times rural consumers ask for ‘peeli tikki’ (Yellow Bar) in case of conventional and detergent washing soap. Nirma made a ‘peeli tikki’ (Yellow Bar) specially for those peeli tikki users who might have experienced better cleanliness with the yellow colored bar as compared to the blue one although the actual difference is only of the color.

The retail life cycle theory holds that retail institutions experience the cycle of innovation, growth, maturity and decline, like goods and services that they sell, similar to that of the product life cycle. The market traits and strategies which are taken by retail institutions should differ in variable stages of retail life cycle. The theory of retail life cycle is first introduced by William Davidson W. R, Betas A. D and Bass S. J in 1976.

Different stages of retail life cycle

Innovation stage

In the innovation stage, in which the reformation and development of business methods promote the emergence of new retail formats, the operating characteristics of new formats have not been understood by both consumers and the industry, lowering market share. Moreover, because of the development cost of new formats, it is hard for retail companies, which apply the new methods, to make profit at this stage.

This theory holds that the innovation in retail institutions is realized through the reformation of business methods. The reformation of business methods is mainly realized by decreasing the cost of operation and the price of products or services. However, it may also be innovated through improvement of product mix, customer service, sales, store selection, store design or sales promotion, business hours, logistics system and other ways, some of which are usually combined and innovated. Sometimes the company which leads the new retail format may become the target of hit (Roth, V. J., & Klein, S. 1993). During the period, the emergence of new forms can also lead to the blow of competitors and retaliation. In this stage, it has little impact on the existing competitive structure for its low market share.

Growth stage

In the growth stage, Langlois, R., & Robertson, P. (1995) points out that the new business formats start to be accepted by consumers and traits of new formats are widely understood in the industry. As a result, the market share begins to ascend and copycats are also on the rise. The competition between companies that apply traditional methods and new methods gets more intense. At that time, companies who have reformed their operating activities firstly can increase the marker sales and the profitability.

At the meanwhile, the competition between companies of new and original retail formats begin to turn out white-hot. With the rapid growth of reformed companies, customers of companies without innovation intend to choose products and services of innovative companies. Therefore, the unreformed retail institutions begin to take various actions to reduce the loss of customers. In fact, many companies which use original retail formats meet challenges of new formats with the positive attitude and apply some new methods in the existing formats. The competition of different retail formats is unique and increase the vitality in the market.

Later in the stage, with the wide application of new formats, the competition of companies which accept new formats will emerge and augment. The competition of different retail formats does not take the main role in the market. In the competition of new formats, some companies lacking competence start considering to leave the market. The remaining companies are inclined to take actions like improvement of service standard, expanding the commodity portfolio and improvement of shop facilities. Despite the continuing growth of sales, the cost will surge as well. Apart from the direct cost, indirect cost will increase sharply including promotion cost and the expense incurred by the increasing size of the organization. The cost may be higher than the sales and companies will face the non-profit situation.

Maturity stage

In this stage, companies of new retail formats are incapable of taking more market share and expand the customers’ base. In this period, companies which won out in the growth stage are trying to maintain the market share. However, the profit margin begins to decline because the new retail formats could not make any company have edge on the others and companies have to decrease the price in order to defeat competitors. Therefore, how to decrease the cost is the main problem that each enterprise faces. In order to pursue the differential advantage in the period of competition, the enterprises compete to make the market more mature and stable. Characteristics of new formats have been gradually lost and new formats change to traditional formats. Thus it becomes an important opportunity for the emergency of another new format.

For chain businesses, in this stage, they need to consider to close inefficient shops and open new shops in good addresses as well as develop to diversified and compound retail organization (Turner, S. 2002). It should be pointed out that the retail format even in the maturity stage can be improved to make the company come back to the growth stage. According to the research of Sun, L., Kay, R., & Chew, M. (2009), department stores in the United States has been in the maturity stage after World War II. After that, the development of shopping centers gave department stores an opportunity to grow again because department stores were different at that time form before and they were reformed based on the model of shopping centers.

Decline stage

In decline stage, the new formats have become the traditional ones and with the change of consumers’ buying behavior and the appearance of newer formats, the market begins to shrink and traditional formats (original new formats) could not make any profit but may suffer great loss due to the decreasing sales. During this period, some companies decide to leave the market. As a result, the competition among the same retail formats is not serious but the competition of different formats will get increasingly intense.

Companies of the traditional format compete through the price, which makes their profit get less and less. Companies of the new format have edge on the others due to their advantages in other aspects like service, product quality and operation style. The situation of decline stage is similar to the innovation stage but in the term of traditional formats.

After this stage, the market will enter the next life cycle.

Guerrilla marketing is an advertisement strategy in which a company uses surprise and/or unconventional interactions in order to promote a product or service. It is a type of publicity. The term was popularized by Jay Conrad Levinson’s 1984 book Guerrilla Marketing.

Guerrilla marketing uses multiple techniques and practices in order to establish direct contact with potential customers. One of the goals of this interaction is to cause an emotional reaction in the clients, and the ultimate goal of marketing is to induce people to remember products or brands in a different way than they might have been accustomed to.

As traditional advertising media channels such as print, radio, television, and direct mail lose popularity, marketers and advertisers have felt compelled to find new strategies to convey their commercial messages to the consumer. Guerrilla marketing focuses on taking the consumer by surprise to make a dramatic impression about the product or brand. This in turn creates buzz about the product being marketed. It is a way of advertising that increases consumers’ engagement with the product or service, and is designed to create a memorable experience. By creating a memorable experience, it also increases the likelihood that a consumer, or someone who interacted with the campaign, will tell their friends about the product. Thus, via word of mouth, the product or service being advertised reaches more people than initially anticipated.

Guerrilla marketing is relatively inexpensive, and focuses more on reach rather than frequency. For guerrilla campaigns to be successful, companies generally do not need to spend large amounts of money, but they need to have imagination, energy and time. Therefore, guerrilla marketing has the potential to be effective for small businesses, especially if they are competing against bigger companies.

The message to consumers is often designed to be clear and concise. This type of marketing also works on the unconscious mind, because purchasing decisions are often made by the unconscious mind. To keep the product or service in the unconscious mind requires repetition, so if a buzz is created around a product, and if it is shared amongst friends, then this mechanism enables repetition.

Companies using guerrilla marketing rely on its in-your-face promotions to be spread through viral marketing, or word-of-mouth, thus reaching a broader audience for free. Connection to the emotions of a consumer is key to guerrilla marketing. The use of this tactic is not designed for all types of goods and services, and it is often used for more “edgy” products and to target younger consumers who are more likely to respond positively. Guerrilla marketing takes place in public places that offer as big an audience as possible, such as streets, concerts, public parks, sporting events, festivals, beaches, and shopping centers. One key element of guerrilla marketing is choosing the right time and place to conduct a campaign so as to avoid potential legal issues. Guerrilla marketing can be indoor, outdoor, an “event ambush,” or experiential, meant to get the public to interact with a brand.

Guerrilla Marketing Types

• Viral or buzz marketing
• Stealth
• Ambient
• Ambush
• Projection advertising
• Astroturfing
• Grassroots
• Wild posting
• Street
• Pop-up retail

Strategy

The guerrilla marketing promotion strategy was first identified by Jay Conrad Levinson in his book Guerrilla Marketing (1984). The book describes hundreds of “guerrilla marketing weapons” in use at the time. Guerrilla marketers need to be creative in devising unconventional methods of promotion to maintain the public’s interest in a product or service. Levinson writes that when implementing guerrilla marketing tactics, smaller organizations and entrepreneurs are actually at an advantage. Ultimately, however, guerrilla marketers must “deliver the goods”. In The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook, the authors write: “In order to sell a product or a service, a company must establish a relationship with the customer. It must build trust and support the customer’s needs, and it must provide a product that delivers the promised benefits”

Online guerrilla marketing

The web is rife with examples of guerrilla marketing, to the extent that many of us don’t notice its presence until a particularly successful campaign arises. The desire for instant gratification of internet users provides an avenue for guerrilla marketing by allowing businesses to combine wait marketing with guerrilla tactics. Simple examples consist of using ‘loading’ pages or image alt texts to display an entertaining or informative message to users waiting to access the content they were trying to get to. As users dislike waiting with no occupation on the web, it is essential, and easy, to capture their attention this way. Other website methods include interesting web features such as engaging landing pages.

Many online marketing strategies also use social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn to begin campaigns, share-able features and event host events. Other companies run competitions or discounts based on encouraging users to share or create content related to their product. Viral videos are an incredibly popular form of guerrilla marketing in which companies film entertaining or surprising videos that internet users are likely to share and enjoy, that subtly advertise their service or product. Some companies such as Google even create interactive elements like the themed Google logo games to spark interest and engagement. These dynamic guerrilla marketing tactics can become news globally and give businesses considerable publicity.

Omnichannel Marketing is a Strategic approach that integrates multiple channels—both online and offline to provide a seamless and unified customer experience. It ensures that consumers can engage with a brand through various touchpoints, such as websites, social media, physical stores, and mobile apps, without disruptions. The goal is to deliver a consistent message and experience regardless of the platform or device being used. This approach improves customer satisfaction, fosters loyalty, and enhances overall engagement by meeting consumers where they are, creating a cohesive brand journey.

Importance of Omnichannel Marketing:

• Enhanced Customer Experience

Omnichannel marketing ensures a seamless and consistent experience across all platforms, whether online or offline. Customers can switch between different channels without losing the continuity of their journey. This improves satisfaction, as they feel more valued and can interact with the brand at their convenience, leading to stronger customer loyalty.

• Increased Customer Engagement

By offering multiple touchpoints, omnichannel marketing encourages customers to engage more frequently with the brand. Whether through social media, mobile apps, or physical stores, customers can connect in ways that suit them best. Consistent messaging and integrated campaigns across platforms keep the brand top of mind, encouraging longer and more meaningful interactions.

• Better Customer Insights

Omnichannel marketing allows brands to gather comprehensive data from various touchpoints, providing a more holistic view of customer behavior and preferences. By analyzing this data, businesses can tailor their strategies to better meet customer needs, improve personalization, and ultimately enhance the effectiveness of their marketing efforts.

• Increased Sales and Revenue

With multiple channels working together seamlessly, customers can easily transition from browsing to purchasing, regardless of where they start their journey. This reduces friction and boosts conversion rates, leading to higher sales. Omnichannel customers tend to spend more, as they can shop through multiple platforms without barriers.

• Improved Customer Retention

Consistency across channels makes customers more likely to return, as they appreciate the convenience and continuity provided by the brand. Omnichannel marketing fosters deeper relationships with customers, resulting in better retention rates. Satisfied customers are more likely to stay loyal, reducing churn and improving lifetime value.

• Better Brand Awareness

With a presence across multiple platforms, brands can reach a wider audience, improving visibility and brand awareness. Consistent messaging across various channels reinforces the brand’s identity, making it more recognizable and memorable, which is crucial for standing out in a crowded marketplace.

• Improved Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness

Omnichannel marketing helps streamline marketing efforts by aligning all channels toward a common goal. Instead of managing each platform separately, businesses can coordinate strategies and resources efficiently, saving time and reducing operational costs. This unified approach also reduces wasted efforts and maximizes return on investment.

• Competitive Advantage

In today’s highly competitive market, offering a seamless omnichannel experience sets brands apart from competitors who may rely solely on one or two channels. As more consumers expect unified experiences, businesses that effectively implement omnichannel strategies gain an edge, attracting more customers and strengthening their market position.

Benefits of Omnichannel Marketing:

• Unified Brand Experience

Omnichannel marketing ensures that customers receive a consistent and cohesive brand experience across all touchpoints, whether it’s a website, mobile app, social media, or in-store. This unified approach helps reinforce brand identity, making it easier for customers to connect and engage with the brand no matter where they interact.

• Seamless Customer Journey

By integrating all channels, omnichannel marketing removes barriers in the customer journey, making transitions between platforms smooth and intuitive. For example, a customer may research a product on their smartphone, add it to their cart on a laptop, and complete the purchase in-store. This fluid journey increases convenience and satisfaction.

• Personalized Customer Interactions

Omnichannel marketing leverages data from multiple touchpoints to create more personalized experiences. By understanding customer preferences and behavior across various platforms, businesses can deliver targeted messages, offers, and recommendations, increasing the likelihood of conversion and enhancing the overall shopping experience.

• Greater Reach and Engagement

With omnichannel marketing, brands can connect with customers across a variety of platforms, allowing them to reach a broader audience. Whether through social media, email, SMS, or in-store interactions, this multi-channel presence enables businesses to engage with customers where they are most active, boosting engagement levels.

• Increased Customer Loyalty

Consistency in service and experience builds trust with customers. Omnichannel marketing creates a sense of continuity, which fosters loyalty, as customers know they can rely on the brand regardless of the platform. Satisfied customers are more likely to become repeat buyers and brand advocates, enhancing retention.

• Higher Conversion Rates

A seamless omnichannel strategy minimizes obstacles in the purchasing process, reducing drop-offs and improving conversion rates. Customers appreciate the ability to move easily between channels without losing their place, increasing the likelihood that they will complete their purchase and boosting overall sales.

• Better Data and Analytics

Omnichannel marketing provides a wealth of data across different channels, helping businesses better understand customer behavior, preferences, and buying patterns. This data enables more informed decision-making, allowing companies to refine their strategies, optimize campaigns, and enhance the customer experience based on real insights.

• Optimized Marketing Spend

By utilizing an omnichannel approach, businesses can allocate their marketing budget more effectively. Instead of focusing on isolated channels, resources can be distributed across multiple platforms for a more holistic impact. This leads to better ROI as campaigns are integrated and designed to work in unison, maximizing the efficiency of the marketing spend.

Process of Omnichannel Marketing:

• Understanding the Customer Journey

The first step in omnichannel marketing is to map out the customer journey. This involves identifying all the touchpoints where customers interact with the brand, whether it’s through physical stores, websites, mobile apps, social media, or email. Understanding how customers move through these channels helps in creating a seamless experience that aligns with their behavior and expectations.

• Data Collection and Integration

Omnichannel marketing relies heavily on data. Collecting data from various touchpoints such as online interactions, in-store purchases, and customer service queries is crucial. This data needs to be integrated into a centralized system, such as a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platform, to provide a 360-degree view of each customer. This holistic view allows businesses to track customer preferences, buying habits, and interactions across all channels.

• Segmenting the Audience

Once the data is collected and integrated, the next step is to segment the audience based on factors such as demographics, behavior, purchase history, and engagement levels. Audience segmentation helps tailor personalized messages and offers for different groups, ensuring that marketing efforts are relevant to each segment.

• Personalization of Messages and Offers

With segmented audiences, the business can now create personalized messages, content, and offers for each group. Personalization is a key element in omnichannel marketing, as it enhances customer engagement and satisfaction. Messages are crafted to resonate with the customer’s needs and preferences, making them more likely to interact with the brand and make purchases.

• Channel Integration

A true omnichannel strategy requires the seamless integration of all marketing channels. This means ensuring that customers can move between online and offline platforms without disruption. For example, if a customer adds an item to their online cart, they should be able to see it in the mobile app or in-store without any issues. All channels must be synchronized to deliver a cohesive and consistent brand experience.

• Implementation of Technology

Omnichannel marketing relies on various technological tools such as CRM systems, marketing automation platforms, analytics tools, and mobile apps to ensure that channels are connected and data is accessible. These technologies help businesses track customer interactions, analyze behavior, and automate the delivery of personalized content across multiple touchpoints.

• Monitoring and Optimization

Once the omnichannel marketing strategy is in place, continuous monitoring is essential. Using data analytics, businesses can track the performance of campaigns, measure customer engagement, and assess the effectiveness of different channels. Based on this data, businesses can make real-time adjustments to their strategies, optimizing the customer experience and improving conversion rates.

• Feedback and Iteration

Customer feedback is important to understand how well the omnichannel strategy is working. Regular feedback from customers can help identify pain points or areas where the experience can be further improved. Businesses should continuously iterate on their strategies to enhance customer satisfaction and maintain an effective omnichannel presence.

Disruption is more a business model than a marketing approach. Most companies still tend to market through traditional means, which provide plenty of opportunities for rival companies to disrupt current messages. However, consumers have become stubbornly resilient to shifting messages, thanks to an increasingly crowded market. To combat this, a company’s product or service must innovate and pay attention to consumers, delivering exactly what the market wants.

Disruptive marketing involves using experimental tactics that challenge the status quo. Rather than following conventional marketing wisdom, disruptive marketers test daring, new tactics that haven’t been tried before. Some work while others fall flat.

Two Types of Market Disruption

New-Market Disruption: Targets customers who have needs that have been unserved by existing companies. Apple’s iTunes application is one such example.

Low-End Disruption: Targets consumers who don’t need all the features valued by customers at the high end of the market. For example, the personal computer disrupted the mainframe market and took over the computer market; this, in turn, is now becoming the case with laptop computers. Initially, laptops didn’t have the computing power of a PC, but appealed to consumers who wanted minimal computing “On the go.” Over time, innovations have made laptops more powerful; and thus, they’ve taken an even large market share from PCs.

A disruptive company has one of two goals: design its product or service to match the demand of an emerging market, or re-shape an existing product or service to meet the demand of customers unsatisfied by the current offering. From this starting point, a marketing team designs an advertising campaign with disruptive messages that either challenge the conventional thinking in an existing market or speak to a new one.

Tips for embracing disruptive marketing tactics

The Unified CRM

Unified customer relationships management (CRM) systems provide a great example. They track every touchpoint a brand has with prospects and customers. Marketers can use that insight to experiment with new tactics for personalizing outreach and delivering what customers need at each stage of the customer journey.

Use Technology

While technological advances are forcing us to invent new disruptive marketing tactics, we can use technology to do the disrupting.

Technology can help you better cater to rising customer expectations. Customers want a personalized or humanized marketing experience. To deliver one, marketers must maintain deep insight into customers’ needs, challenges, goals, etc.

Leave emotions at the door

You may firmly believe you’ve discovered the golden key to success with a new tactic you devised. And it may be the next best practice everyone adopts. But it might not be.

Be prepared to fall

Disruptive marketers constantly test new ideas and many of those ideas don’t succeed. Be prepared for that because it’s an essential part of disruptive marketing.

Instead of viewing an unsuccessful tactic as a failure, think of it as a learning experience. The best lessons come from picking yourself back up after you fall. Few great things occur without some trial and error.

The benefits of disruptive marketing

Shift the perception of your brand

One of the benefits of disruptive marketing is being able to shift the perception of your brand from just another company selling something unnecessary and boring, to someone who understands your needs and can fulfil them.

Connect to customers

The great thing about disruptive marketing is that it allows you to engage with your customers on a more personal level. This is far more rewarding than churning out the same old repetitive content because it allows you to get creative and start telling a story.

Prevent copy-cats

Another highlight of disruptive marketing is that once you’ve shaken things up in your industry, no one else can duplicate the effect you’ve had. They can try to do something similar but it won’t have the same effect because the impact comes from being original, not being a copy-cat.

Experiential Marketing is a strategy that engages consumers through memorable and immersive experiences, allowing them to interact with a brand in a tangible way. Unlike traditional marketing, which often focuses on conveying messages, experiential marketing creates opportunities for consumers to engage with a brand directly, fostering emotional connections. This approach can take various forms, including events, pop-up shops, interactive installations, and virtual experiences. By involving consumers in unique and meaningful interactions, brands can enhance brand awareness, loyalty, and advocacy, ultimately driving sales and creating lasting impressions in the minds of their target audience.

Strategy of Experiential Marketing:

• Define Your Objectives:

Clearly outline the goals of your experiential marketing campaign, such as increasing brand awareness, generating leads, or fostering customer loyalty. This will guide your strategy and help measure success.

• Understand Your Audience:

Research your target audience’s preferences, behaviors, and pain points. Tailor your experiences to resonate with their interests and create emotional connections.

• Create Immersive Experiences:

Design experiences that fully engage the senses and provide hands-on interaction with your product or service. This could include pop-up events, virtual reality experiences, or interactive installations.

• Leverage Storytelling:

Use storytelling to convey your brand message and create a narrative around the experience. A compelling story can make the experience more relatable and memorable.

• Utilize Multi-Channel Approaches:

Integrate various channels (social media, email, and in-person events) to promote and enhance your experiential marketing campaigns. This can help reach a broader audience and create buzz.

• Encourage Participation:

Make the experience interactive by encouraging participants to engage with the brand actively. This could involve contests, workshops, or hands-on demonstrations.

• Incorporate Technology:

Use technology to enhance the experience, such as augmented reality, mobile apps, or interactive displays. Technology can create more dynamic and engaging environments.

• Create Shareable Moments:

Design experiences that encourage participants to share on social media. Provide photo opportunities or branded hashtags to increase visibility and reach.

• Gather Feedback:

Collect participant feedback through surveys or social media interactions. This information can help improve future experiences and gauge the campaign’s effectiveness.

• Measure Results:

Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to track the success of your experiential marketing efforts. Metrics might include attendance numbers, social media engagement, and sales conversions.

• Foster Community Engagement:

Build a sense of community around your brand by involving local influencers, partnering with relevant organizations, or supporting charitable causes.

• Follow Up:

After the experience, maintain engagement with participants through follow-up emails, exclusive offers, or invitations to future events. This helps nurture relationships and convert participants into loyal customers.

Benefits of Experiential Marketing:

• Enhanced Brand Awareness:

Experiential marketing campaigns are designed to be immersive and memorable, making them more likely to be shared on social media. This organic sharing boosts brand visibility and awareness as participants showcase their experiences, reaching new audiences beyond the campaign’s original target.

• Emotional Connection:

By creating immersive experiences, brands can forge deeper emotional connections with consumers. When individuals engage with a brand in a memorable way, they are more likely to develop positive feelings towards it. These emotional connections can lead to long-term loyalty, as consumers associate the brand with the enjoyable experience they had.

• Increased Customer Engagement:

Experiential marketing encourages active participation rather than passive consumption. By involving consumers in the experience, brands foster engagement and create a two-way interaction. This engagement can lead to more meaningful conversations, as consumers feel valued and heard, strengthening their relationship with the brand.

• Improved Brand Recall:

Experiences that engage multiple senses tend to be more memorable than traditional advertising. When consumers participate in an experiential marketing campaign, they are more likely to remember the brand associated with the experience. This improved recall can influence future purchasing decisions, making it easier for consumers to choose that brand over competitors.

• Valuable Consumer Insights:

Experiential marketing provides brands with the opportunity to gather real-time feedback and insights from participants. By observing consumer interactions and collecting feedback, brands can better understand their audience’s preferences, behaviors, and pain points. This data can inform future marketing strategies and product development.

• Differentiation from Competitors:

In a crowded marketplace, experiential marketing helps brands stand out. Unique and innovative experiences set a brand apart from competitors, allowing it to establish a distinctive identity. This differentiation can attract attention and drive interest in the brand, making it more appealing to consumers.

• Increased Sales and Conversions:

Experiential marketing can lead to increased sales by providing consumers with firsthand experience of a product or service. When participants can see, touch, and try a product, they are more likely to make a purchase. This immediate engagement can drive conversions and boost overall sales.

• Cultivation of Brand Advocates:

Positive experiences can turn consumers into brand advocates who willingly share their experiences with friends and family. This word-of-mouth marketing is powerful, as people often trust recommendations from those they know over traditional advertisements. Engaged consumers are more likely to promote the brand on social media and within their networks, amplifying the campaign’s reach.

Challenges of Experiential Marketing:

• High Costs:

One of the most significant challenges of experiential marketing is the financial investment required. Creating immersive experiences often involves substantial costs for venues, materials, staffing, and logistics. Smaller brands or those with limited budgets may find it difficult to allocate sufficient resources, making it challenging to compete with larger companies that can invest more in their campaigns.

• Measuring ROI:

Evaluating the effectiveness of experiential marketing campaigns can be complex. Unlike traditional marketing methods with clear metrics, experiential marketing success is often subjective and harder to quantify. Marketers need to establish metrics for measuring return on investment (ROI), which can include tracking engagement, brand awareness, and ultimately sales. This complexity may hinder decision-making and future investment in experiential strategies.

• Logistical Challenges:

Organizing experiential marketing events involves coordinating various logistics, including venue selection, equipment setup, and staffing. Managing these elements can be time-consuming and challenging, especially for larger events. Any misstep in logistics can lead to a subpar experience for attendees, damaging the brand’s reputation and effectiveness of the campaign.

• Target Audience Identification:

Identifying and reaching the right target audience for experiential marketing campaigns is crucial. Brands must conduct thorough research to understand their audience’s preferences, behaviors, and interests. If the target audience is not correctly identified, the experience may fail to resonate, leading to poor engagement and lower overall effectiveness.

• Creating Unique Experiences:

As experiential marketing becomes more popular, consumers are increasingly expecting unique and innovative experiences. Standing out in a crowded market requires creativity and originality. Brands must continually develop fresh ideas to capture consumers’ attention, making it challenging to maintain a competitive edge.

• Short-lived Impact:

Experiential marketing campaigns often create immediate excitement, but their effects can be short-lived. The challenge lies in sustaining consumer engagement and interest after the experience has concluded. Brands must develop strategies to keep the momentum going, whether through follow-up communications, social media engagement, or loyalty programs.

• Cultural Sensitivity:

Experiential marketing campaigns that fail to consider cultural differences can lead to backlash and negative publicity. Brands must be culturally aware and sensitive to the diverse backgrounds of their target audience. A misstep in this area can alienate consumers and harm the brand’s reputation.

• Technology Integration:

Many experiential marketing campaigns now incorporate technology, such as virtual reality or augmented reality. While these innovations can enhance experiences, they also come with challenges. Brands must ensure that the technology functions smoothly and is user-friendly. Technical issues can detract from the experience and leave participants frustrated.

Influencer Marketing is a strategy where brands collaborate with individuals who have a significant and engaged following on social media or other platforms to promote products or services. These influencers can range from celebrities and industry experts to micro-influencers with niche audiences. The goal is to leverage their credibility and reach to impact consumer behavior, increase brand awareness, and drive sales. Influencers often create authentic content, such as reviews, tutorials, or endorsements, that resonates with their audience, making the marketing message more relatable and trustworthy compared to traditional advertising methods.

Types of Influencers:

• Mega-Influencers

These are celebrities or public figures with millions of followers across social media platforms. They have broad reach but are generally expensive and less accessible for smaller brands. Examples include actors, musicians, and athletes.

• Macro-Influencers

Macro-influencers have large followings, typically between 100,000 to 1 million followers. They are often experts in specific fields and have high engagement rates. Collaborating with macro-influencers is ideal for brand awareness campaigns.

• Micro-Influencers

Micro-influencers have a follower count between 10,000 and 100,000. Despite having a smaller audience, they tend to have higher engagement rates and stronger relationships with their followers. They are particularly valuable for niche marketing.

• Nano-Influencers

Nano-influencers have fewer than 10,000 followers but possess significant influence within very specific communities. Their followers view them as highly relatable, making them effective for hyper-targeted marketing.

Strategies for Effective Influencer Marketing

• Identifying the Right Influencers

The success of an influencer marketing campaign depends on choosing influencers whose audience aligns with the brand’s target market. Factors to consider include follower demographics, engagement rates, and the influencer’s values.

• Defining Clear Objectives

Brands must establish clear goals before launching an influencer marketing campaign. Common objectives include increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, boosting sales, or improving brand perception.

• Crafting Authentic Partnerships

Authenticity is key to influencer marketing. Instead of dictating every aspect of the campaign, brands should allow influencers the creative freedom to present the product in a way that feels genuine to their audience.

• Setting a Budget

Influencer marketing campaigns can range from small collaborations with nano-influencers to large campaigns involving mega-influencers. Setting a realistic budget is crucial for determining the scale and scope of the campaign.

• Leveraging Different Content Formats

Influencers create various types of content, such as sponsored posts, product reviews, unboxings, tutorials, and live sessions. Brands should experiment with different formats to maximize audience engagement.

• Using Affiliate Links and Discount Codes

Providing influencers with unique affiliate links or discount codes allows brands to track conversions and measure the campaign’s return on investment (ROI). It also incentivizes followers to make purchases.

• Monitoring and Measuring Performance

It is essential to track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as engagement rate, reach, impressions, clicks, and conversions. Analyzing these metrics helps brands evaluate the campaign’s effectiveness and make necessary adjustments.

Benefits of Influencer Marketing:

• Increased Brand Awareness:

Collaborating with influencers allows brands to reach a wider audience. Influencers have established trust and credibility with their followers, helping brands gain exposure and recognition in their target market.

• Authentic Content Creation:

Influencers are skilled content creators. They can craft authentic and engaging content that resonates with their audience, showcasing products or services in a relatable and compelling way.

• Targeted Reach:

Influencers often have niche audiences. Brands can partner with influencers whose followers align closely with their target demographic, ensuring that marketing messages reach the right people.

• Higher Engagement Rates:

Influencers typically achieve higher engagement rates than traditional advertising channels. Their followers are often more likely to interact with posts, leading to increased likes, shares, and comments for brand promotions.

• Cost-Effective Marketing:

Compared to traditional advertising methods, influencer marketing can be more cost-effective. Brands can collaborate with micro or nano influencers who may charge less but have highly engaged audiences.

• SEO Benefits:

Influencer marketing can enhance a brand’s online presence. Backlinks from influencer posts and mentions can improve search engine rankings and increase organic traffic to a brand’s website.

• Access to New Markets:

Partnering with influencers allows brands to tap into new markets. Influencers can introduce products or services to their followers, who may not have been aware of the brand before.

• Consumer Trust and Credibility:

Influencers have built strong relationships with their followers, who often view them as trusted sources of information. When influencers endorse a product, it lends credibility to the brand and can significantly influence purchasing decisions.

Challenges of Influencer Marketing:

• Finding the Right Influencer:

Selecting an influencer whose audience aligns with a brand’s target demographic can be challenging. Brands must thoroughly research potential influencers to ensure their values, style, and audience engagement match the desired marketing objectives. A mismatch can lead to ineffective campaigns and wasted resources.

• Authenticity Concerns:

As influencer marketing becomes more prevalent, consumers are increasingly skeptical of influencer endorsements. Many followers may perceive sponsored content as inauthentic, leading to reduced trust in both the influencer and the brand. Brands need to ensure that collaborations feel genuine and that influencers truly believe in the products they promote.

• Measuring ROI:

Evaluating the return on investment (ROI) of influencer marketing campaigns can be difficult. Unlike traditional marketing, where metrics are clearer, influencer marketing may require more complex analyses to determine the effectiveness of campaigns. Brands must develop clear metrics and goals to assess campaign success accurately.

• Regulatory Compliance:

With the rise of influencer marketing, regulatory bodies have imposed guidelines to ensure transparency. Influencers are required to disclose sponsored content, which can sometimes lead to consumer backlash if not done correctly. Brands must educate influencers about compliance to avoid legal issues and maintain credibility.

• Dependence on Influencer Availability:

Influencer schedules can be unpredictable, and their availability may change due to various factors, such as personal commitments or brand conflicts. This unpredictability can disrupt planned campaigns and necessitate last-minute adjustments, which can be time-consuming and costly for brands.

• Negative Publicity:

Influencers are public figures, and their actions can impact a brand’s reputation. If an influencer becomes involved in controversy or behaves unprofessionally, it can lead to negative publicity for the brands they represent. Brands must conduct thorough background checks and monitor influencers’ activities to mitigate risks.

• High Costs:

Collaborating with top-tier influencers can be expensive. Brands may face challenges in justifying these costs, especially if they are uncertain about the campaign’s effectiveness. Balancing budget constraints with the desire for high-impact partnerships requires strategic planning.

• Market Saturation:

As influencer marketing grows, consumers are bombarded with sponsored content. This saturation can lead to ad fatigue, diminishing the impact of influencer marketing campaigns. Brands need to develop creative and unique approaches to stand out and engage their target audience effectively.