Hammering away at customers with an onslaught of sales messages won’t get you very far these days. In fact, by 2015 standards, that approach belongs way back in the Stone Age. People are extremely wary of pushy marketing, especially when brands shovel it on wide and deep. Anything that comes on too strong is customer poison. What people don’t tune out they’ll likely run from … good and far.
No more shoving products at consumers? OK, what can brands do to win them over? The opposite. Rather than push loads of heavy marketing cargo into the path of customers, brands must pull them irresistibly forward, like a tractor beam.
Marketers Must Face the New Reality
Nowadays, consumers enjoy much more control over the marketing processes than in former times. Comfortably plugged into the ever-expanding digital universe, people have become decision makers — the lines of communication open when they say, not a nanosecond before. Pushy maneuvers such as phone calls and unsolicited sales literature are a major infringement on this newfound privilege. And they most certainly will backfire.
Connecting with the modern, in-control consumer requires more subtle strategies built around content marketing, search, and social media. These channels pull consumers in by encouraging decision making and inviting participation in the marketing journey.
The findings of the Search Engine Journal convincingly support the value of the ‘pull’ approach. According to its research, leads generated through SEO close at the rate of 14.6%. Compare this with the rate associated with pushier outbound marketing – a 1.7% close rate is the best they can muster. In our digital age, the former approach clearly is the way to go.
If you have any questions or comments about digital marketing, or about any other brand-related topic, feel free to send them our way.
You can connect with the Young Company team at 949-376-8404 or sarah@youngcompany.com. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest brand marketing news and tips.