Hi, I’m Silvia. I just started this marketing thing as an intern at Solomon.
The vast world of Engagement Marketing seems confusing at first, so let me tell you what I do know.
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So… marketing engagement… huh?
Engagement marketing is a strategy. A plan – one that is all about the right people at the right time in all the right places for one goal: revenue. Then there are engagement marketing platforms that make the execution of the plan so much easier.
Successful engagement marketers work within a set of simple principles.
The ABC’s of “Engaging People”…
- [A]s individuals. Communicate every step of the way and understand them as a person.
- [B]ased on what they do. People change every day, and we need to respond insightfully based on measured observation.
- [C]ontinuously over time. Don’t stop caring ever. Engagement marketing isn’t a “one and done” game.
- [D]irected towards an outcome. Lead customers to the next stage and never stop moving with direction.
- [E]verywhere they are. It used to be face-to-face, but now it’s Facebook, email, blogs, websites, Twitter. Go follow them. Engage with them!
Engaging People | As individuals
Communicate. If it matters to them, it matters to you. We want to know the buyer’s journey, behavior, history and preferences so you know exactly how your company can help them.
Devices to Talk & Understand
- Social Media
- Website click tracking
- e-Cookies
- Online Surveys
- Past purchase history
- 1:1 sales rep conversation logs
Engaging People | Based on what they do
How do people know that we care?
- We listen – don’t say a peep when they’re talking
- We always want to learn more
- We try to be super helpful and provide immediate value
Marketers use “behavior.” It’s what people have actually done and not what they say they’ll do (which is demographical stuff).
Listening Tools
- Forms (with info like e-mail, name, company)
- Databases
- Social monitoring
- Landing pages
- Emails
- Segmentations
- Workflows
Engaging People | Continuously over time
Ever heard of the “Buyer’s Journey”? Marketers use this concept to see which stage the customer is at in the buying process.
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Chat with them at their pace. All the time.
Ways to Engage
- Digital Advertising
- Social Media conversation (Hello, Twitter!)
- Webinars
- Email Marketing
- Sales Insights and Interactions
- Blogs and published content
Engaging People | Directed towards an outcome
There’s this thing called Inbound Methodology. It’s sort of complicated, but basically looks like this:
Attract | ► | Convert | ► | Close | ► | Delight |
visitors | visitors into leads | sales with the customer | all of them all the time |
Over at Solomon, we took that basic cycle and coined our own version:
- Visibility: If no one knows you exist, we’ve got a problem..
- Attraction: That 6 seconds of attention is your chance to pull them in.
- Interest: You’re on the right track if they come to you for more of your resources.
- Relationship: Now’s the chance to build a real connection.
- Commitment: Score! It’s a homerun once we close the deal.
- Growth: Never stop nurturing the relationship because they grow with us as advocates of our brand.
Wherever a potential customer is at, you want to engage with that person knowing exactly where you want them to be next.
- Is he a visitor? Let all your cool gadgets attract him as a lead!
- Are they on the fence about buying? Build trust by being helpful.
- Did you close? Make her a happy advocator!
Everything sounds the same.
Definitely. Engagement marketing is a big idea that whittles down to one thing: the customers. Everything you do is for them. If you love them, they’ll (probably) love you, too. When you think marketing, think engaging.