In this article we discuss Communication and Marketing Strategies.
Communication Strategy what is
A communication strategy is an action plan that defines how a company, organization, or individual will communicate with its target audience. It is a set of decisions, made based on information related to audience, company, market, and media, that guide how a brand decides to communicate its presence in the world.
In a nutshell, it is a map that points the way to ensure that the right message gets to the right people, in the right way and at the right time.
The components that constitute “Communication” are more articulated and complex every day.
Today it is no longer enough to implement effective communication and/or advertising strategies.
We live in the period of over-communication.
You have to create the right marketing mix to reach potential customers (Buyer Personas).
In the past, communication channels and tools were few and well delineated: television, radio, print media and billboards to name the main ones.
Today these channels have been integrated with the web and social world, where we find structured, complex strategies, channels and platforms that hit totally different targets and markets.
For this reason, a marketing strategy and corporate communication must take into consideration all aspects of communicating.
It must design the correct Web Marketing Strategy that allows you to corectly position, through SEO strategy and content marketing strategy, your company on the web.
Make the right Social Media Marketing Strategy so that your company is visible and well perceived by users, your company on social channels.
Not only that, the most important aspect to keep in mind is that the “channels of the past” were based on push communication. That is, I send you a message.
There was no interaction between the company and the potential audience.
Communication Strategies and Marketing 2.0
Today, thanks to the web, communities and social channels, everything happens online. Social media marketing has become a key element of any communication strategy.
Users have evolved.
They research online before buying a product or service.
They read reviews. They check after-sales technical support. They analyze and compare technical data.
TheZero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) or decision-making moment, is totally in the hands of the “person” who is no longer willing to be influenced.
You want to make your own decisions.
So it is crucial to create the right relationship. Build valuable content for your website and social channels.
Being constantly present, to solve problems. Making suggestions. Create a valuable relationship. Only then will a lead, a potential customer turn into a customer.
This relationship cannot stop at the act of purchase.
If we have created a high expectation in our customer (target audience) and then that expectation is not met by the product or service we have sold them, that customer will become our worst enemy.
Unlike in the past where he could do very little, today he has social channels at his disposal, where he can post negative reviews that will inevitably undermine the company’s business in the medium and long term.
That is why in preparing the right marketing and communication strategy, one of the key points is to put the customer at the center, at all stages of the sale, especially in the post-sale phase.
Communication and Marketing Strategies are key to increasing the number of customers
To win in the market, it is essential to position ourselves correctly in the head of the potential target audience.
For this reason, positioning strategy is crucial. Through competitor and market analysis, we can decide how to focus on the market. That is, choose a niche to quickly become its leader.
This allows us to detach the competition, reduce costs and give your Company, an important competitive advantage in the market.
Some times we say, “If you are not ready for change, he will change you, but not the way you want!”
This step is extremely important because we cannot ignore the change.
As Paul Ruggeri says , “change for inspiration before you have to do it out of desperation.”
To keep our Companies’ Business healthy and growing, we must understand the future needs of the Consumer today.
Prepare Marketing and Strategic plans that allow us to achieve on the right time, with the right budgets these goals.
Through the focus strategy reduce business costs, production processes, product and service range.
To reach your consumer you have to think like him
Do you want to win in the market and break away from the competition?
It is crucial to create the right relationship with our potential target audience, in the target market.
The first step is to understand what the consumer wants.
Think as if you were the consumer.
Paul Gillin
Think as if you were the consumer.
It is the thought I share, every day, with colleagues in the office when we are planning a new marketing strategy. To extend the concept, I say, Think as if you were the Target.
We are not necessarily addressing our consumer directly.
Only some communication activities address our customers directly.
For example, newsletters. We write to our Database, so we know exactly who our customer is and what kind of products and services they have purchased.
In all other cases, communication campaigns and marketing strategies, address the potential target audience.
If you don’t get on the side of your target audience, it will always be difficult to “reach” them.
Phrases such as: we are number one, ours is the best product, the Customer is at the center of all our activities, we are the market leader, are as obvious as they are now ineffective.
Sure, maybe you can’t not use them, but our interlocutor today expects more.
By publishing content that shows people that you understand their problems and how you can solve them, you build credibility. Ardath Albee
And so it is crucial to think, analyze, understand what our potential customer’s needs may be.
In this article “The message is the same I just changed the communication strategy” I have already addressed this issue, with the “The case of the man’s watch.”
Now I want to address it more from the “technical” point of view, say of the resources we can use, to understand how to prepare our strategy.
There are several tools that allow us to understand the preferences and “sentiment,” as they say, of users.
You can use the Google Adwords Keyword Planning Tool.
It allows you to see which keywords are most commonly used by users for a specific topic.
Thanks to Google Trends you can find out, for example, what topics are trending.
What are people looking for online?
If you have Google Search Console service installed on your site, you analyze what keywords users use to get to your site.
This data is extremely important, dare I say strategic.
It allows you to understand whether the activities you are implementing, comply with your Communication Plan and Marketing goals.
For example, you can check the content writing (content publishing) strategy you are implementing to position your website.
With your SEO strategy, you have defined that content should be placed on the web, based on a group of keywords.
Thanks to Google Search Console you can check whether users, are using those keywords to get to your website.
You may find that using other keywords, or there are more effective keywords, or even that the user is looking for a particular product or service that you do not have.
This could be an opportunity for further business development.
Today’s simple advice is: check with these tools what people are looking for and want.
If they are searching online, it means they need an answer: product, service, consultation, hotel, book, restaurant etc….
Your website, may be the correct answer to what they are looking for.
By understanding what our potential target audience is looking for, we can implement the right strategies to reach them and win them over.
Have a great day.
Donato Cremonesi