Marketing - Trigger 1

Learning objective 1. How to form the company image?

In every business is important to create an image to differentiate your company from competition.
In the same time the customer needs have to regarded in the top, if not first for non-profit organisations, of the reasons for business to exist.

Managing service differentiation must be a permanent concern for marketing departments. Companies have to develop an offer that would stand-out from competitors offers (by quality, attractivity, price, etc). The service delivery can be differentiated positively from competition by having more able and reliable customer-contact people, superior environment to deliver the service product, superior delivery process. The companies should also work on differentiating their image through symbols and branding.

Nicole L. Torres highlights in one article several ways to build up a company's image:

1. Build a Terrific Website. Most prospective customers research on the internet before purchasing, notes Gordon, so make sure your website looks professional and is informative and easy to use. Employ search engine marketing to direct traffic to your website, and be sure to gear all content on the site to customers. "[Some companies] will put up a website that says, 'our mission, our clients, our services, etc.,'" notes Gordon. "Instead, focus on what the customer or client will get." If you do bathroom remodels, for instance, don't just say you're a remodeling company-say, "With your beautiful new bathroom remodeled by XYZ Corp., you'll enjoy a spa-like experience."
2. Create a Persuasive Ad Campaign. "Just like your website, your ad campaign has to focus on what the customer will get. There should be a point of differentiation," says Gordon. You want your advertising to send people to your website, where you can flesh out your message. And even without a huge budget, you can still hire professionals to help you. If you want to do billboard or theater-screen advertising, for instance, Gordon says the firm offering the ad space can either help you directly or recommend talent you can hire to create a great ad for that medium.
3. Use the Press to Tell Your Story. First, define what you want your target groups to know about your company. Then forge a media relations campaign-find out what media outlets your target market reads, watches and listens to, then become familiar with those outlets. "Tailor your pitch based on what that particular media outlet needs from you," says Gordon. "You'll improve your business image when you land coverage because you'll have highly credible news and information disseminated based on your central message."
4. Target Influentials and Influencers. Some people have great influence over your target audience-be they reviewers, bloggers or people at the top of their industry whom others look to for expertise. "You need to create relationships with influencers," says Gordon. "You may even want to supply them with tools and materials they can use directly with your prospects so they can influence them positively toward using your business."
5. Get One-on-One with Customers. Direct contact with your target audience is key to boosting your brand image. You might try experiential marketing, where you provide free trials of your product or service. Or you could invite your target audiences to a special event, says Gordon, where they'll "actually have this one-on-one experience with your product at a fun event where you're controlling the environment." Finally, get involved in your local community with causes and charities that appeal to your constituents.

 

Sources:

1. Nicole L. Torres, 5 Ways to Build Up Your Business Image - https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/160292
2. G. Armstrong, P. Kotler, M.O. Opresnik - Marketing: An Introduction, 13th edition

Learning objective 2. How to find and use the right channels?

Marketing channel = a set of interdependent organisations that help make a product or service available for use or consumption by the consumer or business user.

Distribution channels: many companies have used imaginative distribution systems to gain a competitive advantage.

Marketing channels are part of the overall customer value delivery network, and for every company is important to design the effective marketing channels by analysing customer needs, setting channel objectives, identifying major channel alternatives, and evaluating those alternatives.

When a company has defined its channel objectives, it should next identify its major channel alternatives in terms of the types of intermediaries, the number of intermediaries and the responsibilities of each channel member.

Marketing channels are simply the different ways a company can communicate with customers, clients, donors, volunteers, etc.

Valerie Neumark is listing some important and efficient marketing channels:

• Website: make sure the content is clear and actual
• Blog:  include keywords
• Print/Direct Mail  
• Email Newsletters/Flyers: keep people engaged and not annoyed with the amount of emails, keep messages short 
• Facebook/Google+: keeps the company engaged in the commuinty 
• Twitter: Great for sharing information with the community, requires daily active participation
• Instagram/Pinterest: communicate company's brand

To use the correct marketing channels, you have to know how to communicate with your audience and what marketing channels work best for them. Advice from Valerie Neumark is to be strategic about how you start marketing through the channels that you use. Pick a channel to focus on, build out your program, then move to the next. You'll also see that once you have one channel built, you can use that to build more. For instance, if you have a large email list, you can use that to promote your Facebook page.

Do Work in Bursts: Automate Your Marketing Channels as Much as Possible
As a marketer, it is really important to manage your time. Rather than spending time each day managing your marketing channels, use tools that allow you to do work in focused bursts, and schedule content. Note that it is really important with social channels that you continue to "listen" and respond in real time. But, planned content can be written and scheduled easily.

Here are some ideas for how to do work in bursts and some useful tools to help you get this done.

1. Write all your blog posts for a month in at one time. Use native functionality Wordpress or Drupal scheduling to publish them over time.
2. Once you have the content for your website you can write and schedule 2 weeks of social posts in one sitting. Tool: buffer, hootsuite
3. Once you have your website content written, you can also write and schedule all of your email newsletters. Tool: MailChimp, VerticalResponse

Sources:
1. G. Armstrong, P. Kotler, M.O. Opresnik - Marketing: An Introduction, 13th edition
2. Valerie Neumark, How to Choose the Right Marketing Channels - http://www.rootid.in/think/how-choose-right-marketing-channels