So we know marketing is all about 4ps. Whether we are promoting a product, service or even a celebrity, we need to study the competitive landscape and market situation closely. Depending on the trade you are at, different marketing strategies and tactics are adopted for different circumstances.
We need to question the marketing intent behind every marketing initiative. What is the challenge and objective behind every activity? Are we trying to generate awareness? Or are we looking at a short term increase in sales and profitability. Do we need additional product visibility and mention in the public and media realm?
The conventional marketing tactics include advertising- BTL & ATL; PR, Sales Promotions, Events, exhibition, Media relations and the list goes on. However, please remember that there are always other tactics which we fail & forget to use. Below are five common tactics:
1) Get your products or services into production set or documentary series.
It is always good to make friends with script writers or producers. If you know they are developing a script and need content advice or products for the production set, be open about their request and try to fulfill their needs. Attempt to steer their interest to your favor, say if they are not sure whether they want to have their shoot in a hotel or coffeeshop, do grab the opportunity and say your hotel lounge is available ( if you are the PR executive of a Hotel).
2) Be an opinion leader in the field of Marketing
If you are a brand manager, try to get some 'airtime' for yourself. This could be done so when you reply to media queries. Make sure they quote your name and designation correctly. When your designation & company appear in the media, it gives people that additional visibility about the brand. In addition, it positions you as a credible subject matter expert which the media can trust.
Try to send marketing & PR articles to Straits times classified or other internet sources - in hope that they be published. This will give you & the brand that additional publicity and awareness.
3) Credit Card Loyalty program marketing
Alot of marketers forget that this is a good platform to target directly at the card's membership base. As banks are very focused on segmenting their audiences, it will also ensure that you are reaching the right demographics by getting into the right cards. The investment is quite minimal. You don't really need a huge marketing budget to get your promotions listed. Just ensure that you have a sound strategy in engaging the various credit cards in SG. Credit card companies like DBS, Citibank, UOB, OCBC, HSBC prefer to sign exclusive deals that set them apart from their competitors. So you need to ensure that you have a good pletora of services or promotions which you can evenly spread across the various cards.
4) Don't neglect the social media & forums
Identify key social media and forums which you could target. If you are a marketer for IT products, forum like Hardwarezone.com is an important platform for you to measure your no. of brand mention. Get into the forums and study the conversation and the things said about your brand. Do a content analysis and quantify the no. of positive and negative remarks. Plant a pseudo user and seek to steer the string of entries to your favor. Weave your messages subtly and suggest points or issues that are at your favor. Then see what happens. If the next few threads turn positive, you have successfully steer and change public opinion!
5) Organise joint events with other brands
Identify key partners that are relevant and complementary to your brand. If there are good synergy in the partnership, join forces to drive some good initiative collectively. It could be for a charity drive, forum, or even bundling of products to increase sales.
Well, as a marketer, we constantly need to think of new and fresh ideas to market the brand we are representing. There are alot of facets and approaches in our marketing work. So keep renewing your mindset and take a proactive approach towards your work. Try different avenues and you'll find that all your efforts will bring returns and fulfillment, at the end of the day.
Dennis T
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