Marketing that Breaks the Rules
By Nancy Garberson, President and CEO of Marketing and Communications Strategies, Inc.
Non-traditional marketing is now the third largest category of marketing spending, so if you have not considered using new techniques or just smart methods, you may be missing the boat. Entrepreneurs and other smart marketers find that it means less money spent on ads, inserts, direct mail, and other shotgun marketing directed at us every day.
Good marketing usually incorporates a "wow" factor, so nontraditional marketing can be interesting and exciting, and at the same time come across as more personal, and often more subtle.
Many companies continue to waste a lot of money marketing the way they have always marketed. Forward-thinking companies understand that it is wiser to tailor marketing to a specific audience, and that altering the mode of communication used is as important as the message itself. Targeting your marketing by finding a shorter way to the customer is always beneficial!
A big part of distinguishing yourself from the competition is marketing your products or services by taking a different approach to a traditional way of marketing. Some non-traditional approaches to marketing a business are: blogging, lifestyle marketing, 3-d/sample marketing, pod-casts, street-teams, influencers and partner marketing.
Procter & Gamble had a tremendous kick-start with an appearance on "The Apprentice" for a new tooth-whitening flavor. In one week, the Crest Web site had 4.7 million hits, the highest level of online interest in a single product launch in Procter & Gamble's history.
Doritos used X-13D on-pack sweeps, asking customers to name a new mystery flavor. This pulled 100,000 entries and set off a rash of blog and chat-room action. Now 100 winners are working with Frito-Lay's research and development unit on new Doritos varieties. The mystery flavor was cheeseburger.
Unishippers has a unique and subtle, but very effective non-traditional marketing method. They send teams to their customers' offices or companies, meet, chat and take photos as testimonials for their Web site. Not only do they meet face-to-face with business leaders who are important to their success, they forge a relationship and make the customers feel valued. As a bonus, they are able to post these customers' rave reviews on their Web site!
Making products available for testing, tasting, smelling, or experiencing any of the senses can mean big profits for all sizes of companies. You don't have to be Trump, Proctor & Gamble or Doritos to market your business with creativity and flare.
Think:
1. Where do my customers hang out?
2. What do they like to do?
3. What would they like to get (usually FREE)?
4. How can I be different from my competition?
5. How will my business get noticed and remembered?
6. Can my business use an offbeat approach?
7. What are the current trends and how can I relate them to our products?
8. Do I market to my own needs, or do I really try to understand my customers' needs?
9. Do I really understand what makes my customers respond, or do I just rely on intuition and what has worked in the past?
Harness the power of non-traditional forms of promoting your products and services. Think of ways to create demand while fulfilling your customers' desires. As marketers continue to recognize and capitalize on the power of alternative marketing to extend the reach of a campaign, public relations promotions and unconventional tactics are becoming more the norm. Don't be afraid to do something different to break through the clutter of traditional advertising.
