10 Statements that show your Company has an Out-of-date View of Marketing

We’ve all been there and I come across this quite regularly -- restraining a laugh or almost throwing up hands in despair, when a company’s leading men put forth an opinion any modern marketer would find outrageous.

But then, we can’t always blame the CEO or the owner. After all, many chief executives simply don’t come from a marketing or technical backgrounds, and even if they do, their knowledge is most likely to be not current.

(That takes it back to my earlier post – How old is your Marketing Head?

However, the fact today is that marketing has evolved to become increasingly technical as well as emotional, whether the CEO/ Business Owner believes it or not.

Here are 10 statements that we hear commonly that indicate that these CEO’s views of marketing are stuck in the past.

1.    “Social media is a waste of time.”

2.    “Our customers are not on social media.”

3.    “Our blog should talk more about how well we do things.”

4.     “What do you mean I can’t fight back on Twitter / Facebook?”

5.    “Every piece of content should always lead to a sale.”

6.    “Let’s get demand gen up by attending more trade shows.”

7.    “Listening to market feedback is a waste of time.”

8.    “We should rebrand to better communicate our value.”

9.    “Friction between Sales and Marketing is normal.”

10. “I know what the customers want.”

These examples are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to CEOs / Business Owners not understanding the marketing intricacies that drive their companies’ growth and that prevent many businesses from moving forward and realizing their full potential.

Social Media Marketing For Real Estate

Like any other business, industry or domain, Real Estate can leverage Social Media as a very effective Marketing, Branding & Communication Tool. Social Media can also be a potential tool for inquiry generation.

Real Estate Social Media Objectives: The Main Concern  Areas

·         Win customers trust

·         Online Reputation

·         Create Differentiation

·         Build Brand

Social Media can help addressing these objectives very effectively.

Real Estate is all About "REF" attributes of the brand

·         Rational -  It has to make sense - the price, location, requirement, etc

·         Emotional - It has to connect - dream home, first home, my own space, etc

·         Functional - It has to be useful - Kitchen, Bedrooms, Living space, etc.

If you are building your product keeping this REF in mind, it would help tremendously to connect to the right audience / potential customers through social media.

Social Media Mix for Real Estate Organizations

·         Facebook

·         Google+

·         YouTube

·         Twitter

·         Blog

·         Pin-interest

Don't treat social media as a fancy fad to be in vogue. Use them judiciously and correctly for maximum benefits and ROI.

How old is your Marketing Head?

It is said that Facebook has started to lose its sheen in the West, it is, however, performing exceedingly well in countries like India, Brazil and other Asian, African and some European countries.

Increasing internet penetration in India and lucrative Facebook features have led to rise in adoption of Facebook for social networking amongst web users. In India the social media giant has amassed 92 million users, which is now the 2nd highest after the U.S, according to Facebook’s own data.

The most interesting fact however, in all these numbers is that :

Teens Aged 18-24 Account For 50% Of Total Facebook Users In India!

Of the total 92 million (7.73% of the total user-base) Facebook users in India, nearly 50% belong to the age group 18-24 years.

Facebook, at an infancy stage in India, finds it's biggest follower in teens who find it exciting and are very active in Facebook. Nearly 11% or 10.6 million Facebook users in India are aged below 17, about 26 million (28% of total Facebook India population) fall in the age group of 25-34. Close to 6.6 million are between 35-44 years, 2.2 million between 45-54 years and the rest above 55 years.

India is also the youngest country in the world in terms of its population's average age which is between 25 and 29 years. With almost 65% of the population under less than 30 years we have, therefore, 65% of all consumers who are less than 30 years!

But how old is the man who is the Marketing Head or the Brand Head in your organization? Does he understand what a 21 year old gizmo freak, digital age, instant gratifying, fickle Indian wants to get from you that would either simplify his life or stimulate his intellectual wisdom? Nope! I am not recommending a 21 Year old Marketing Head. 

Want to know more? Write to me at susmita@thesmartideas.in 

From Unsocial Media Promotions to Social Media Marketing - It's High Time!

Would you believe that most, repeat most brands and organizations indulge themselves in something called Unsocial Media Promotion in the name of Social Media Marketing?

Yet, it’s not hard to believe because :

1. We are so used to selling / promoting products for so long that we can’t think beyond it

2. Not many people know what Social Media Marketing is actually!

It has been our experience and observation that while social media opens up a brand new, dynamic and revolutionary strategic marketing process, most social media practitioners are using it as an extension of old, conventional, tactical marketing tool – simply as a Promotional tool with excessive one-way dialogue. And so, there is nothing social about it nor it is Marketing!

Therefore, though we see a very high page likes (sometimes) – through paid ads – we hardly see any engagements happening.

And as you know, in social media, engagement is the only measurement criterion.

They don’t realize that social media engagement measures the activities of their fans and friends – likes, shares, comments, tags, etc - and has almost nothing to do with their posts and pictures? The more they talk, the less is the engagement!

So, how do we move from Unsocial Media Promotions to Social Media Marketing?

Concentrate on the “Social” and the “Marketing” part - that is put emphasis 

• on multi-way communication - between you, the brand and  your fans, friends, customers, end-users, influencer and brand advocates.
• don't forget your elementary marketing lessons of 4Ps and 3Cs of Product, Price, Place & Promotion and Customer, Competition & Competencies.

In your social media marketing planning, implementation and analysis put a lot of emphasis on in-depth market research (on customers, targets, competition, market trends, etc) and have a structured content management process in place. This should be reviewed every week to see that you are reaching the desired engagement level.

All the best.

(C) Susmita Das Gupta