In an exclusive article for MediaBrief, Vijay Kumar Mikkilineni, Chief Marketing Officer, TCL India, writes about how the path to business success is through the hearts of customers and outlines why consumer marketing is critical to business success today. It highlights consumer marketing strategies that can help increase growth and emphasizes that a loyal customer base is crucial for any business.
Consumer Marketing: The most important tool of today’s businesses
By definition, consumer marketing is a healthy mix of customer-focused activities to promote products and increase the gross margin pool. These activities include but are not limited to print, radio, television, social media and in-store benefits and rewards. In addition, a practical consumer-centric marketing approach includes personalized messages, products, related but engaging content, and the like to ensure that consumers get exactly what they are looking for.
According to survey reports, 80% of consumers are more inclined to buy anything or use services if a company provides them with a personalized experience. In fact, 90% of customers find personalized experiences extremely appealing, while 72% only engage with brands that use marketing messages tailored and contextualized to their specific needs and requirements.
Companies use consumer marketing to optimize their brands to create a “relatable” image. This is a key chamber of B2C marketing, where most tools and strategies are quite different from B2B approaches. However, it all boils down to one thing – customers want to feel selected.
Customers who feel that a business is giving them special treatment automatically reciprocate that feeling. For a business, it can put consumer needs first in acquiring new customers and retaining existing ones.
Consumer marketing strategies that can help businesses increase their growth trajectory
The Five P’s: Product, Price, Place, Promotion and People – The five P’s strategies are the foremost that companies should adopt in customer service if they want to know their customers. These five Ps can help brands understand the underlying needs of their customers and strategize for the kind of products and services that will be most beneficial.
Feedback: Whether through social media, website or physically, if you get customer feedback, take it seriously. Analyze what products and services attract customers and vice versa.
Website: Use your website to reach the maximum number of consumers. Unlike other channels, brand websites can only be used to present a company’s perspective, vision and mission. Use it wisely to market your products and services to customers in the most impactful way.
