Four quick ways to modernise your marketing

Success in business often depends on a speedy response to queries from prospective customers, as well as the method in which your company is projected to the outside world.

So many companies make the mistake of cutting their marketing budgets when they should be using imagination and flair to promote their companies.

Telephony

No one likes to be left hanging on the telephone for too long and an efficient method of responding to customers’ requests is to use a telephone system that employs interactive voice response (IVR).

The technology has been around for a while and increasingly consumers are becoming used to the phone being answered quickly and then having their calls routed to the right department through this type of automation.

Human interaction is, of course, still important but the IVR filter system does mean that the hours of waiting to be put through to the right person may become a thing of the past.

Social Media

Rather than building a company website many start-ups rely on their internet presence through some of the myriad social media sites that are available. Some companies also use social media as an extension of their corporate websites. Facebook is very popular but it doesn’t suit everyone.

For short snappy company announcements, Twitter is invaluable. Both of these sites get picked up by the Google search engine, and also will contribute to your company’s page rankings.

Social media is a vital tool in terms of interacting with your clients, if your followers disagree with you or don’t like a new product, they’ll soon let you know; conversely if you receive a large number of Facebook ‘likes’ you know that you’re doing something right.

LinkedIn & Google

Another very useful tool that is increasingly being used by companies as well as individuals is the professional networking site, LinkedIn. This site is used as an invaluable method of connecting with potential customers, trade associations and discussion forums.

The newly introduced Google ‘Think Insights’ looks as if it is going to become hugely popular; it offers research and analysis as well as statistics so that a business can monitor the effectiveness of its brand message.

Imagery

The old expression that ‘an image is worth a thousand words’ is as important today as it was when first coined. The very latest digital techniques mean that any photograph can be enhanced, manipulated and altered in order to make your company and products stand out from the crowd. ‘Guerrilla Marketing’ is the phrase that is used to identify quirky and edgy imagery that usually carries a memorable strap line.

These pictures will remain in any passer by’s brain for sometime, often thanks to the sheer novelty factor as well as the humour. This type of marketing campaign is most frequently displayed in bus shelters, on the sides of cars or even on the back of a bus. In an ever-competitive market place this strategy will definitely make your company more memorable.