In today’s episode of Digital AF, we discuss how to future-proof your business by sharing 5 activation marketing channels that all businesses should be exploring.
In today’s episode of Digital AF, we discuss how to future-proof your business by sharing 5 activation marketing channels that all businesses should be exploring.
April (00:00):
Welcome to Digital AF. In today's episode, I'm going to talk about future-proofing your business by sharing five activation marketing channels all businesses should be exploring.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Digital AF, the digital marketing podcast that features real conversations from those who live and breathe the digital agency life. April Ford Digital Agency shares their tips, tricks and exposes the truth about what works and what doesn't.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Welcome to Digital AF. Let's get into it.
April (00:39):
The first on my list today of activation marketing channels is in-store experience. What do I mean by that? Basically, what happens when they walk into your physical office and/or store.
April (00:51):
So, if you think about the customer journey, you are thinking how are they being greeted when they walk in the door? What are they actually seeing when they walk in the door? Are your salespeople or your customer service staff educated in not only the product but also the customer and what problems they're facing and how your products will actually solve those problems? Is the information easy to access, like is your pricing on display and is it up to date?
April (01:18):
SoI went into a car showroom the other day. We were looking at a new car obviously. We'd driven to Brisbane to go to a better showroom for this particular car we were looking at, and when we got there, they had all the paint samples, but half of them weren't available anymore, so he was taking them away whilst we were standing there. Then the salesperson really struggled to articulate the difference between the new model that was coming out compared to the current model.
April (01:43):
Then when we asked to see something, the salesperson took us down to the basement and sat us in a car that was currently being fixed by the mechanic. In my mind this was quite a poor in-store experience, because that person's playing music, it's not really presented in the best possible way, it's not clean, things like that. So this person knew we were coming down, we had made an appointment with them, but our in-store experience and what we were shown did not match the investment we were making, and we left disappointed, to be honest. What we thought or what we decided, and the salesperson had just referred to what was on the website the whole time, so we figured we would just go home and basically place an order through the website, which was disappointing, but I think that was the nature of their in-store experience.
April (02:27):
So the next one on my list is trade shows and expos. So trade shows are really important for B2B type of businesses, and expos are amazing for B2C. For trade shows, an example of this might be if you've got a product that you want to sell to resellers because you're a wholesaler, this is a great place for you to show that product, talk to people that are going to potentially represent your product in the marketplace, show them, do demonstrations, et cetera. Then expos are more B2C where you have consumers walking around, so they may even be purchasing that product, trialling it or testing it, and then going home later on to purchase it online.
April (03:07):
A great example of B2C would be caravan and camping expos, so they do them allover Australia, and so if you are a product category that sells to that target market and your product aligns with why people are showing up at those expos, it's a great place for you to reach a new audience that isn't already on your list and are not just hanging out on your website.
April (03:31):
An example of a B2B trade show would be if you were in furniture or homeware categories. There are some amazing expos that run in Sydney and in Melbourne, which brings lots of buyers into one location and then you've got a lot of sellers of different products within that category. They get to touch it, feel it, you might have interior designers and then you might have buyers for furniture store brands, et cetera, all in one room and it's a great place for you to showcase what you've got on offer.
April (03:58):
Third on the list is events. This is a great way to bring customers back to your brand, make them feel special and remind them why they worked with you in the first place. Examples of this could be VIP nights, which are really common in things like cosmetics or injectables, things like that. Sip and shop, which we've seen start to rise, where they're invited in to come and shop in-store and they're giving some champagne on entry or something along those lines, so they feel a little bit more special. You've got launches, so if you've got anew product launching or a new service launching, it's a great way to remind people of your brand.
April (04:32):
Education or information events. If you have medical products or you might service that category. In the past, we've had clients run information events about products that are launching and why they're important, and they might get some specialists to come in and speak at those events as well. You've got menu launches, so if you are in hospitality and you're launching a new menu forAutumn or Winter or something along those lines. Even just a celebration, so if you've got a birthday or an anniversary coming up for your business, it's another great way to invite those who have worked with you in the past. They might bring friends, but it generates a little bit of word-of-mouth and excitement, so you can say "thank you" to those who have supported you, but hopefully also create a bit of buzz around the business again.
April (05:17):
Next, we have collaboration and influencers. Collaborations can be done in a few different ways. They are a great way to share audiences and create new customers, and you can come up with a product that applies to both markets. IfI think of one off the top of my head, Birkenstock is doing this well at the moment. They're actually partnering with many different brands and brands in the same category, so they can share audiences and create new audiences together.
April (05:45):
You can use influencers to tap into the conversations they're having with their audiences. They might be a micro-influencer, so up to 10,000 people follow them on Instagram or Facebook, or TikTok, wherever they are. Then you've got macro, which is more like celebrity status or personality status.
April (06:04):
An example of collaboration is our Work It podcast, where we meet with other female business owners and share their stories across our platform. So obviously, we have a similar experience where we have created businesses, but it's listening to the guest's unique story and then sharing those podcasts across both audiences. What's important with any collaboration or influencer you work with is that it must feel genuine, really relate and be in line with what you stand for as a brand and add value to that audience.
April (06:40):
There are some great businesses out there that help with facilitating these relationships if you don't have any currently. Things like Collabosaurus, Vampand even agents of public figures are always open to discussing collaborations or influencer agreements, et cetera.
April (06:56):
And finally, we have community. What is a community? It's a place for like-minded people to share stories, ask questions and engage with each other. Facebook has a great platform called groups, which can be closed or invitation-only environments. Some of our clients have these groups, and they've got tens of thousands of people inside of them. They're great for hobby-style products like gardening or sewing, and it's a great way to speak directly to your audience like a person so they feel special, and you can connect with them a little bit more.
April (07:26):
It's also a great way to grow relationships and champion the cool stuff that they're doing. So if I think about gardening, you get many people who are sharing what they're gardening or what they're growing at the moment and a lot of the rest of the audience champion that and are very encouraging of that person, which is so lovely to see.
April (07:44):
These activation-style marketing channels can bring you further brand awareness, strength and trust with your audience and help create word-of-mouth. It's important to remember that every piece of marketing you do impact the other marketing channels. They are not separate silos. This is why trialling new things is important for reaching today's educated consumers. Thanks for listening.
