Business essentials marketing in the digital age

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AUSTRALIAN WELDING | DECEMBER 2015

Business Essentials: Marketing

In the Digital Age

In today’s digital age, there are so many more choices when it comes to marketing, media opportunities, and communications tools and platforms. There is more competition from varied sources, particularly as the Internet has made it possible for companies around the globe to compete virtually. What used to be a matter of identifying needs and communicating product or service features and benefits now requires immersive experiences that engage consumers. Digital marketing necessitates the seamless integration of a whole new range of skills and capabilities.

Once upon a time, marketing for small to medium sized businesses in industrial sectors consisted of manning exhibition booths, print ads in trade publications and printed brochures.

To meet the challenges of marketing in the digital age, a new approach, a new mindset and new skills are required.

These days, you still have to contend with these traditional mediums, but on top of that there is a whole new world of algorithms, apps and social media platforms to master. To meet these new challenges, a new approach, a new mindset and new skills are required.

Objectives Must Come First Identifying clear objectives allows you to set specific priorities. No marketing budget is unlimited and identifying a particular area of need not only allows your business to focus its creative energies, but ensures you spend your money in the most effective way to improve your business.

However, simply identifying your priorities is not enough. You must overlay your basic objectives and priorities with actionable, practical strategies aimed at specific target markets. It is not worth setting an objective, if there is simply no means by which to achieve it.

Social Media is A Powerful Thing

Data and Analytics Rule

Social media is a powerful marketing tool. It enables you to give a human face to your brand and connect with clients one-on-one in real time. If you employ prompt, public social media interactions that are consistent and authentic, you can foster the kind of goodwill that creates lifelong brand ambassadors. You can even get a feel for customer pain points.

With so much of marketing moving online, the availability and use of data has increased infinitely. These days, you can analyse just about all aspects of online consumer behaviour, from click-through rates to purchasing profiles. Best of all, this data can be used to improve, test and optimise marketing at just about every stage of the sales funnel.

INSIDE THE INDUSTRY: BUSINESS ESSENTIALS

Google Is King

Technology Enables Creativity

No longer is search marketing and search engine optimsation the domain of tech-geeks and IT wizards. More and more, they really are becoming part an essential element of mainstream marketing.

Technology offers not only more options for sharing and promoting marketing messages, but also more options for creating these messages.

There is a range of tools available to improve communications and create high-quality graphics and videos.

Inexpensive video cameras and online graphic design software mean businesses can create do-it-yourself media to save both time and money.

Just be sure that the quality of these materials is consistent with your desired brand image.

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These days, if your business can’t be found on Google, then it won’t be found at all.

Search marketing covers all efforts to gain traffic and visibility from search engines (like Google) through both organic (search engine optimisation) and paid (search engine marketing) efforts. Search marketing is all about ensuring that, when Internet users type your targeted search term into Google, your website ranks as high as humanly possible.

Brands Need A Social Conscience The concept of being a ‘good guy’ makes excellent business sense— companies that are perceived as socially responsible generally perform better. Surveys show that consumers like to support brands that are good citizens because it makes them feel like they are also making a difference in the world. To be effective, your

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social commitments must be part of your brand’s purpose and seamlessly align with your business goals.

Tried and True Marketing Techniques Still Work Despite the many new opportunities available to businesses in the digital age, tried and true marketing techniques still work, particularly in the industrial sectors. Sometimes, nothing beats a face-to-face chat at an exhibition stand.

Ultimately, successful marketing is about identifying a target market, understanding its needs, and communicating the business’ compelling solutions to these needs via multiple channels. If your marketing messages are on-point, and concisely convey how consumer needs can be met by your products and services, your marketing is likely to be a success.

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Prior to July 2005 > Any AS 1796 Certs 1-9

Prior to July 2003 > AS1796 Cert 10 > AS2214 Welding Supervisor

> WTIA Welding Supervisor

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Want to know more? Phone +61 (0)2 8748 0121. Email: a.dickerson@wtia.com.au Welding Technology Institute of Australia