Over the past years, the economy has taken a major digital shift that has impacted the way businesses connect and interact online with their customers. All company communication, sales demos, & business meetings have turned mostly virtual with remote and hybrid work environments. This digital shift has also shaped the consumer expectations of all businesses. Now businesses must implement the fine-tuning of the seller’s market mix (4Ps) strategy using digital sales tactics and programs if they want to succeed.
All strategy that is developed to fine tune the product or service offering to a detailed target market customer means nothing without digital tactics and programs to make it real. Tactics include the digital message content, type of media used and placing it where the target prospect expects it to appear during their outcome search. Programs include the events, mailings, advertising and press releases for digital content that matches the timing and place that the target prospects finds themselves in their buying journey.
You might recall the acronym AIDA. It stands for Attention → Interest → Desire → Action. In order to move target market prospects through a digital sales funnel, you have to first grab their attention, then get them interested, then create desire, and finally, take action. The reality is that if your content isn’t placed where the target market can find it and it doesn’t grab a prospect’s attention — which is increasingly difficult to do in today’s noisy marketing landscape — you’ll never have the opportunity to move them to action. So focus on these buyer stage sales tactics to improve prospect conversions.
So where should you start…CONTENT that matches the information need; CONTENT that exists where and in a way that the target prospect can find it; CONTENT that inspires trust to take action! It must match the buyer’s journey stage. First, check how well your current content is doing. One quick way to measure content success is if it becomes earned versus owned content. For instance, if you create content so good that it earns a spot on a third party site instead of being paid for…you are a winner!
Second, be sure to evaluate your content presentation tactic. Does it involve video marketing. A website is 53 times more likely to hit the top page of Google search results if it includes a video. Hubspot reports that including a video on your landing pages can increase conversion by up to 80 percent. Between SEO and conversion boosts, video can improve the quality of your organic traffic. Some research suggests video can actually increase organic traffic by up to 157 percent. Video is infinitely more shareable than traditional ads or articles. Social video is shared 1,200% more than text & images combined, & 64% of consumers report buying something after watching a branded video from a company.
Third, be sure you employ the right tactics for each target buyer journey sales stage. When looking at the buyer’s journey sales funnel, content that addresses the prospect’s stage awareness needs is important. Here are some digital sales funnel tactics that may address each sales funnel stage.
AWARENESS STAGE: Get Attention By Aligning With Persona’s Level Of Awareness
- Clicking a link in a third party’s newsletter…earned media.
- Noticing a post on a professional site like LinkedIn
- Watching a micro-learning video and seeing an ad like on YouTube
- Noticing a social media post on places like FaceBook or Truth Social
- Clicking on search ad on Google or DuckDuckGo
- Clicking a banner ad on an information search engine
- Opening a “cold email”
AWARENESS STAGE: Shift Awareness Paradigm By Presenting A New Perspective
- Reading an Info-graphic
- Reading a post on sites like LinkedIn
- Watching a video on sites like Youtube
- Watching a video on a social media site
- Reading a post on a social media site
- Reading an article on a news site
- Reading a “cold email”
CONSIDERATION STAGE: Offer Results In Advance
- Signing up for a free Webinar
- Signing up for a free educational video
- Signing up for a White Paper
- Signing up for a free online Forum
- Signing up for a free Trial
- Signing up for a free consultation
- Signing up to be the First-To-Know
CONSIDERATION STAGE: Deliver Results In Advance
- Getting an operational framework from a Webinar
- Go-getting actionable advice
- Getting a useful tip from a white paper
- Getting an answer to a question
- Getting a result from a trial offer
- Getting a free consultation
CONSIDERATION STAGE: Build Trust & Likability
- Taking part in a Webinar series
- Following channel updates on sites like YouTube
- Participating in the forum discussions
- Following a social media page
- Reading newsletters emails
DECISION STAGE: Present The Offer
- Visiting a product’s offer page
- Requesting a demonstration
- Clicking on a product ad on social media
- Clicking on a product banner ad on a search engine like Google or DuckDuckGo
- Calling to ask about the offer
DECISION STAGE: Overcome Objections
- Considers taking the SPECIAL OFFER
- Reading the FAQ list in the email
- Reading customer testimonials on a social media site
- Taking the Trial Offer
DECISION STAGE: Close The Deal
- Responding to the offer and becoming a paying client
RETAIN STAGE: Maximize Long Term Value (which goes back to “Build Trust & Likability”)
- Benefiting from the relevant content that reinforces why they chose the product/service
Building online relationships & expanding your network will generate many more referrals, leads, business, & income…it’s not about who you know…it’s who knows you. For that, your first impression with your personal brand has to be located where the target market expects to find it and it must be attention grabbing and inspire trust. But, the target prospect MUST SEE IT FIRST so plan with care the digital tactics you will use to implement your marketing strategy.
For more thoughts on digital marketing, view the micro-learning free video “How to Focus Sales & Marketing”. Be sure to download the e-book “Small Business Thoughts Real-time Strategic Planning”.
Copyright ©John Trenary 2022 All rights reserved.
One response to “Market Strategy Implementation Requires Supporting Tactics”
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