Content is King in the Year of the Panda
As we enter 2012 I've been receiving some email from companies asking what some of the marketing trends will be for the coming year. There are many trains of thought about these trends from many experts and it is easy to see how it can be overwhelming. It is impossible to adopt every strategy, and not every strategy is right for every vertical. So how does a company decide what's right for them? I always consider one factor before anything else - what's playing at the movies. I like movies, and I consider what the first thing is that I do when I want to know what's playing at my local theater - I use Google. It's the first thing that almost everyone does when considering a product or service. It does not matter if an individual is looking to see a movie, find a restaurant, or purchase a PLC. The first step is almost always the same - the process starts with the click of a mouse.
Consider the 2012 Customer's Buying Process
The potential customer for 2012 will be an internet savvy individual and according to Marketing Sherpa 93% of these customers will start their buying process online. Marketing Sherpa also indicates that over 80% of customers will initiate first contact with a vendor for the product or service that they are looking for. These are customers who are putting your website next to your competitors and are comparing apples to apples before they even consider contacting a vendor. Thanks to the internet they have an abundance of information right at their fingertips. They can not only compare product or service information, but they can also look at what others are saying about the companies that they are considering through their Social Media networks. The content on your website has to be relevant and provide value to potential customers in a manner that can not only be quickly and easily digested, but interesting enough to encourage users to distribute it through their Social Media networks. These factors will all greatly affect not only where your company website appears in an online search, but also the initial opinion that customers will form about your company.
Consider the 2012 Customer's Buying Process
The potential customer for 2012 will be an internet savvy individual and according to Marketing Sherpa 93% of these customers will start their buying process online. Marketing Sherpa also indicates that over 80% of customers will initiate first contact with a vendor for the product or service that they are looking for. These are customers who are putting your website next to your competitors and are comparing apples to apples before they even consider contacting a vendor. Thanks to the internet they have an abundance of information right at their fingertips. They can not only compare product or service information, but they can also look at what others are saying about the companies that they are considering through their Social Media networks. The content on your website has to be relevant and provide value to potential customers in a manner that can not only be quickly and easily digested, but interesting enough to encourage users to distribute it through their Social Media networks. These factors will all greatly affect not only where your company website appears in an online search, but also the initial opinion that customers will form about your company.