5 Creative Trends to Gain Customers
In the ever-changing digital marketing landscape, staying ahead is crucial for businesses aiming to expand their customer base. These five creative trends can help your company shape the way you attract new customers.
By leveraging strategies like influencer marketing, personalized email marketing, and enhancing customer experiences, businesses can not only attract potential customers but also foster brand loyalty. Starting with a strong brand and marketing strategy, consider trying one or all of these proven solutions to growing your customer base by leveraging digital marketing techniques.
1. Influencer Marketing – A Game Changer in Attracting New Customers
When you hear the term ‘Influencer Marketing,’ you may think of celebrities or online personalities that have built up huge followings in the hundreds of millions — Kylie Jenner, Lionel Messi, and Selena Gomez all have over 300+ million followers. But there are countless other influencers out there that have more modest followings and are extremely effective as influencer marketers.
Influencer marketing has evolved into its own subset of marketing and revolutionized how brands connect with their target audience. Your company can harness the power of influencer marketing to attract and engage customers too. This trend involves collaborating with influential personalities on social media to highlight or showcase a company’s products or services with the highest number of posts appearing on Instagram (used by 92% of influencers) and TikTok (43%).
Real success in influencer marketing lies in choosing the right influencers whose followers align with your target audience. This marketing tactic not only boosts brand awareness but also drives sales by leveraging the trust influencers have built with their audience.
2. Personalized Email Marketing
It sounds simple, but your company can elevate customer engagement and attract new customers through personalized email strategies that nurture longer-term relationships with your target audience. Email marketing has always been and remains a powerful tool in the digital age, mainly when personalized.
Tailoring emails to meet your customers’ specific interests and needs can dramatically improve engagement rates. By using personal data responsibly to create targeted content, businesses can make their customers feel valued and understood, thereby enhancing the overall customer experience and encouraging repeat business.
3. Master SEO and Content Marketing to Attract High-Quality Traffic
Your online presence is pivotal in attracting potential customers – this is where SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and content marketing come into play and can drive traffic that converts. By optimizing your website and blog posts with SEO and content marketing optimized for search engines, you increase your visibility to those searching for products or services you offer.
SEO can be categorized into several types, each focusing on different aspects of website optimization to improve search engine rankings. Let’s take a look at the main types of SEO:
On-Page SEO
Optimizing individual web pages through on-page SEO allows them to rank higher and show as relevant traffic to their target audience. It includes optimizing content, HTML source code, images, and tags. Key elements include keyword optimization, content quality, meta tags, and URL structure.
Off-Page SEO
This type of SEO focuses on external factors that influence a website’s ranking. The main component is building backlinks from other websites, which serve as endorsements or votes of confidence. Social media marketing, guest blogging, and influencer outreach are common strategies as well.
Technical SEO
This focuses on improving the technical aspects of a website to enhance its ranking. It includes site speed optimization, mobile-friendliness, indexing, crawlability, site architecture, and security (HTTPS). This type of SEO ensures that a website meets the technical requirements of modern search engines.
Local SEO
Local SEO is aimed at optimizing a business for local search results. This is crucial for businesses that operate on a regional level. Local SEO practices include optimizing a business’s Google Business Profile listing (formerly Google My Business), acquiring local reviews, and ensuring NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) consistency across the web.
Content SEO
This subset of on-page SEO focuses specifically on content quality, relevancy, and keyword optimization. It involves creating content that includes relevant keywords and provides value to the reader. This includes blog posts, articles, whitepapers, and more.
Quality content that resonates with your target audience not only attracts traffic but also establishes your brand as an authority in your field, thereby building trust and encouraging sales.
4. Optimizing the Online Shopping Experience to Boost Sales
The online shopping experience is a critical element in the sales process. From an easy-to-navigate website to a seamless shopping cart process, every aspect of the online customer journey must be streamlined and user-friendly.
Enhancing the user experience on your website, especially on the landing page, can significantly increase the chances of turning a casual browser into a buyer. Real-time customer service and support can also play a significant role in facilitating purchases and building customer loyalty.
5. Cultivating Brand Loyalty with Outstanding Customer Service
While attracting new customers is essential, retaining them is equally important. Exceptional customer service can turn first-time buyers into loyal customers. By ensuring a positive customer experience at every touchpoint, businesses can foster a sense of loyalty and trust.
This not only leads to repeat business but also promotes word-of-mouth referrals, which are invaluable in attracting new customers. Here are some great ways to cultivate loyalty to your brand and product.
Personalized Experience
By providing personalized service, customers feel valued and understood. This includes tailored recommendations, addressing customers by name through emails, and understanding their history with the brand. Personalization fosters a connection between the customer and the brand, making customers more likely to return.
Quick and Efficient Problem-Solving
Swift and effective solutions to customer problems or complaints can turn a negative experience into a positive one. This responsiveness shows the company’s commitment to customer satisfaction and builds trust. Don’t make it difficult for customers to find what they are looking for on your website, e.g., help, locations, hours (if local).
Consider a simple Chatbot that offers immediate help and an avenue for your customers to find what they are looking for, thereby establishing great rapport.
Consistency Across Channels
There is a lot of talk about ‘omnichannel marketing’ — but ensure you offer consistent service across various online platforms (website, social media, email, etc.). It reinforces a reliable brand image. Customers value a seamless experience, regardless of how they interact with the brand.
Engagement and Community Building
Engaging with customers through social media, forums, and other online platforms helps in creating a community around the brand. The time spent doing this pays off ten-fold by fostering a sense of belonging among customers, encouraging loyalty.
Proactive Support and Feedback
Providing proactive support and soliciting feedback shows that a brand values customer input and is always striving to improve. This forward-thinking approach can deepen customer trust and loyalty in a highly competitive business landscape.
Transparency and Honesty
Being transparent about policies, pricing, and processes builds trust. Honest communication, especially during a crisis or error, is crucial in maintaining customer loyalty. Just think of Nordstrom and their ‘no questions return policy.’
Rewarding Loyalty
Implementing loyalty programs or exclusive offers for returning customers acknowledges and rewards their patronage. People love to feel special and genuinely appreciated, and a well-executed loyalty program is a great way to enhance that perception.
To Sum Up
Implementing these five trends can significantly enhance your strategy to gain and retain customers. In today’s competitive market, it’s vital for small businesses to not only attract new customers but also to create lasting relationships with them.
By focusing on strategies such as influencer marketing, personalized email marketing, effective SEO, an optimized online shopping experience, and exceptional customer service, businesses can stay ahead in the game and achieve sustainable growth.
Contact Lounge Lizard to learn more about these strategies. Our dedicated Brandtenders and Marketing Mixologists are experts in digital marketing techniques that grow our clients’ businesses through creative marketing strategies.
