OFFLINE STRATEGIES WHICH STILL WORK IN TODAY'S BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

Offline and real world marketing is still in vogue and there are many different old school methods which work today too. Marketers should take advantage of all the different offline and real world marketing strategies so as to make a mark for themselves and create a niche for their brand.

These are some offline marketing strategies which still work today:

• ·         BUSINESS CARDS

Good and interesting business cards will always help clients take notice. You can add a picture or two on your card as well and you can write about the USP’s of your company and a small gist about what you do. People still preserve business cards and refer to them whenever they have a requirement. Thus your business card should be sleek and smart and should catch the attention of the client or the customer according to Sachin Uppal GrowthAdvisor.

• ·         CONTESTS AND GIFTS AND QUIZZES

It is also a good idea to organize contests and quizzes and give souvenirs to all who are present. You can give a company logo embossed cup or a logo t-shirt and this will make the customer take notice and he will be reminded of your company and your brand whenever he wears the t-shirt or whenever she drinks coffee from the cup as states Sachin Uppal.

• ·         MAKING COLD CALLS

Although most businesses think that making cold calls is passé, it actually isn’t. Even today many customers are acquired through cold calling and although it has low conversion rates and success rate it is still worth a go as it does contribute to the business success says Growth Advisor Sachin Uppal.

• ·         SPONSORING A COMMUNITY EVENT

It is also a good idea to sponsor a community event. This way you garner goodwill and also promote your brand on a public platform for a very low investment. Thus this is the most effective way of keeping your brand in the minds of the customers as whenever they will think of the event they will also be reminded of your brand.

• ·         GUERILLA MARKETING

This kind of marketing is still in vogue and can be a very creative endeavor too. You can have flash board holding young girls with the logo of your brand on the highway, you can dress salespersons as cartoon characters and promote your brand and there are many more ways of doing it. The basic purpose is to create a surprise and thrilling experience and be in the mind of the customer states Sachin Uppal.

Thus by using these offbeat offline marketing strategies you can grow your brand and business and take advantage of business opportunities by getting customers interested in your product and becoming brand loyal to your company according to Sachin Uppal Growth Advisor.

Read More - THE IMPORTANCE OF TRADITIONAL MARKETING IN A MODERN WORLD

THE IMPORTANCE OF TRADITIONAL MARKETING IN A MODERN WORLD

Traditional marketing is still very much in and is here to stay as Indian customers want face to face interaction and want to see and touch the product before going for it. They want a face for the product and want a demo before buying the product. Thus traditional marketing is still very much effective and makes sense from an Indian consumer point of view.

These are some reasons why traditional marketing is still important in the modern world:

• ·         REAL WORLD IS REAL WORLD

Even though digital marketing is catching up, real world is still real world and thus most Indian customers still prefer to buy after seeing and feeling the product. Most youngsters are no doubt buying a lot of products online but most other age groups are still buying products from tradition sources like shops and showrooms and thus traditional marketing is still in vogue according to Sachin Uppal Growth advisor.

• ·         TRADITIONAL MINDSETS OF CUSTOMERS

Most Indian customers have a traditional mindset and are uncomfortable buying a product without seeing and feeling it. They feel it is a big risk going for a product without feeling, touching and seeing it and thus it becomes critical to undertake traditional marketing as the middle class Indian mind is still traditional.

• ·         FACE TO FACE HUMAN INTERACTION AND TRUST

Indians prefer face to face interaction and want a demo of the product before going for it and thus traditional marketing like billboards and newspaper ads still attract the customers who subscribe to these traditional sources like TV, radio and newspapers. Moreover customers want to have a face to face interaction with the sales person and buy on trust and guarantee states Sachin Uppal Growtth Advisor.

• ·         LACK OF TRUST IN ONLINE MARKETING AND PRODUCTS

Many times products bought online are defective and damaged and it becomes a tough ordeal getting it replaced and thus Indian customers want to go to a shop see the product, test it and then go for it. There is still a lack of trust in online marketing and traditional sources are still preferred.

• ·         HUMAN FACTOR

Indian consumers want the human factor in the product they are purchasing. They want a face for the product and want face to face interaction which is not possible in online marketing.

Thus traditional marketing is here to stay and it has its own traditional market which will never die off.

Read More - MISTAKES TO AVOID IN YOUR MARKETING CAMPAIGN

MISTAKES TO AVOID IN YOUR MARKETING CAMPAIGN

There are a lot of things that have to be kept in mind while finalizing your marketing strategy and plan. You need to keep the customer delighted and also make profits. Many times we end up taking rash decisions which dents our brand image and customer base and thus it is very important to anticipate the mistakes and avoid them as much as possible

These are some mistakes you should avoid while planning your marketing strategy:

·         LACK OF RESEARCH AND TESTING

It is very important to research and test your product before you finally launch it. You should conduct surveys and distribute free samples and take the feedback seriously so that you can mold your final product according to the customer tastes and requirement

·         GAUGING TARGET MARKET

It is critical to understand and narrow down your target market. Then you can study the psychology of that particular market segment and can decide on a marketing strategy which will attract your target audience, according to Sachin Uppal Growth Advisor.

·         CUSTOMER RETENTION

Once you have a customer base, you should not take them for granted. You should focus on retaining your already existing customers by providing them with satisfaction and delight and then should you target acquiring more customers. The key to marketing success is never to take your customers for granted

·         IMITATING COMPETETIORS

Another mistake to avoid is to imitate competitors. You have to have your own USP. You need to be different and unique. You need to build your brand in such a manner that it stands for uniqueness and quality. Don imitate instead improvise and create and you will be successful according to Sachin Uppal Growth advisor.

·         LACK OF PERSONALIZATION

It is very important to aim towards customer delight and add personalization to your client interactions like wishing them on birthdays and anniversaries. This shows the customer that you really care and he will thus become loyal to your brands and product states Sachin Uppal.

Finally it is very important to understand that the customer is the reason for your business to exist and he should be treated like royalty. By avoiding the above mentioned mistakes you can make your marketing campaign successful and promote and make profit successfully.

Read More - What is inbound marketing and why it is important

What is inbound marketing and why it is important

Inbound marketing is a unique approach to marketing. Instead on blasting and bombasting content and ads on consumers forcefully, inbound market functions in a subtle way by providing information, guidance, direction and delight.

Inbound marketing respects the space and privacy of the consumer. It only suggests and encourages through content, be it through flyers, newspaper and magazine articles or through events.

The customer gets the information subtly and is able to assimilate it well which finally lead to the customer being led to the companies marketplace and buying the product, finally leading to customer delight according to SachinUppal Growth Advisor

Inbound marketing brings the customer to the company rather than the company going to the customer and thus there are much more chances of sales and conversions.

These are the reasons why inbound marketing is important:

• ·         AFFORDABILITY

Inbound marketing is affordable and cost effective. You don’t have to spend thousands of rupees for your marketing campaign and you can start small. Sachin Uppal says that by writing articles in newspapers and magazines and distributing flyers you can easily attract customers and multiply your business

• ·         IT'S NATURAL

Inbound marketing is not pushy. It does not force content on the customers. It only suggests and that is the best way to convince the customer. The customer feels good that his privacy is not violated and by subtle references there are more chances of him converting

• ·         GETS MORE LEADS AT LESS COST

Inbound marketing gets many leads as whosoever reads the content will automatically be attracted to your product or service as subtle and subliminal messages work wonders in marketing and you can do all this at a fraction of the cost of outbound marketing.

• ·         LONG LASTING

The impact of inbound marketing stays with the customer because it makes its way to the subconscious mind of the customer. So whenever a need for a product arises he will automatically be directed to your product or service

Read More - Native Advertise- The effective way of marketing

Native Advertise- The effective way of marketing.

Marketing is all about emotions and it is a proven fact that human beings are emotional. As a marketer you should know how to use emotions to your advantage as per Sachin Uppal ,Growth Advisor.

These are some tips on how to use emotions for marketing success:

• ·         HUMOR

Everyone loves humor. But your humor should be self-depreciating and not at the cost of any customer or competitor. Humor can help you catch the customers’ attention and also get him engaged.

Humor is intelligent and everybody wants to be entertained and thus by using humor in your ad campaign can help you get the customers attention, time and investment feels Sachin Uppal Growth Advisor.

• ·         HEADLINES

The headline which you give your advert is very critical. The headlines should be catchy and self-descriptive. You need to know how to play with words so that the customer gets attracted to your product and service. Taglines are very important as they stick in your mind and thus the right words can make the right connection and get the customer to go for your product

• ·         THE WOW FACTOR

Sachin Uppal feels that you need to delight the customer and have a WOW factor in your product. You need to astonish and amaze the customer. Your customer should find your product different and unique and he should see a special benefit in going for your product.

So put that extra in to your product and create a product which is different, unique and brilliant so that the moment the customer sees your product he should say Wow! In astonishment.

• ·         IMAGES AND ANIMATION

As they say ‘a picture speaks a thousand words’ the same is true for your marketing and advertising too. By using the correct colors and pictures you can get the attention of the customer and get him engaged into and interested in your product.

Create an innovative and unique logo which stays in the minds of the customers and that will increase your brand recall and more and more customers will become interested in your product.

• ·         COLORS

It is a proven fact that colors attract customers. Especially bright colors like yellow and red get the attention of the customers fast and quick. So use bright and attractive colors which attract the customer and help him buy and invest in your product.

By using these simple but effective tips you can convert your marketing and advertising campaign into a resounding success.

Read More - THINGS ENTREPRENEURS SHOULD REMEMBER WHILE BUILDING THEIR BRANDS

THINGS ENTREPRENEURS SHOULD REMEMBER WHILE BUILDING THEIR BRANDS

With a start-up starting up almost every other day businesses with weak brands are failing and dissolving and thus entrepreneurs should realise that it is critical to work on their products and brands to stay relevant and succeed.

These are certain priorities entrepreneurs should keep in mind while building their brands:

• ·         VISIBILITY AND COMMITMENT

You need to spend some time, money and effort to make your brand visible. As it is new it does have the recall value in the minds of the customers and thus you need to invest in creating that recall value for the customers.

Your brand should be extensively visible online and offline and also it should stand for something solid like a commitment. Your brand should stand for a particular quality, for example Skoda tagline says ‘simply cleaver’ and that defines Skoda. Similarly your brand should stand for something concrete according to SachinUppal growth advisor.

• ·         A GREAT PRODUCT/SERVICE

Without a great product or service your brand will fizzle out within days. In fact it is very important to work on what you are offering and make it qualitative before going for marketing and advertising.

You can fool the customer once but that will lead to a negative word of mouth and your brand failing miserably and thus it is critical to produce and sell qualitative products and to market your brand based on the quality of those products says Sachin Uppal

• ·         DIGITAL IS A GREAT WAY TO CONNECT

This is the digital age and there are no two ways about it. If you are not visible online you are not visible. Thus making your online presence felt is critical to your business success. Use the services of a digital marketing company and get a good website and invest in an SEO and SMO and other advertising platforms. This will give your brand visibility and a space in the mind of the consumers and will go a long way in creating your goodwill and brand recall value.

• ·         CREATIVITY AND UNIQUENESS

Your brand and product should be different and unique and the same should be the case with your branding and marketing campaign. You need to stand out from the crowd and need to creatively design your brand and product.

With these factors in mind create a different, qualitative and unique product and create a relevant and visible brand and spend time and money on marketing online and offline and you are sure to succeed according to Sachin Uppal growth advisor.

Read More - SOME GROWTH HACKING STRATEGIES

SOME GROWTH HACKING STRATEGIES

Growth Hacking is the name of the process of maximizing business through marketing and experimenting with different media to turn the business profitable.

Growth hacking is crucial as in today’s dynamic business environment you need to be on your toes to survive and thrive.

These are some growth hacking strategies you can use to maximize your business and profits:

• ·         Evaluate your Analytics

Analytics are very important as they give you the clear picture as to what kind of traffic your website is attracting and what are the conversion rates.

Through a thorough study of analytics you can work on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats or SWAT.

You can understand which strategy and content is successful and leading to conversion and which one is not and thus focus on the strengths and minimize the weaknesses.

• ·         Focus on Conversions

If your website or ad is attracting customers but not converting them then there is no point of the entire exercise. To make your visitors into customers you need to have great offers and in the beginning you need to invest on freebies and special offers as you are in the process of building goodwill.

Focus on conversions and not just page views and you will reap rich dividends

• ·         Monetize Customers through lifetime Value

Provide offers which last a lifetime. Don’t compromise on the quality of your product once the customer has bought into it. Maintain the quality and that will help you maintain the customers.

According to the 80-20 rule, 80 percent of your business comes from 20 percent of your customers and thus you should look at the quality and not just quantity of customers.

Maintain your product quality and focus on long-term margins. You need to monetize customers through lifetime value.

• ·         Nurture Subscribers with Email marketing

Keep connected to your customers with updates and offers through Email marketing. This is the best and the cheapest way of marketing and is cost-effective and effective.

• ·         Enhance User Experience

Enhance your user experience with interactive content and online live chat. Use bright colors and easy to read font. Post relevant pictures. Try posting small videos. Make your website fun and interactive and you will attract more customers and more growth.

• ·         Increase Website Speed

Let the customer have a pleasant swift and fast experience while browsing through your website. Useless flash and videos and more pictures and attractive content.

• ·         Irresistible offers

Provide irresistible offers to first-time customers and turn them into loyal lifetime customers. You need to invest in your business and offers initially if you wish to reap long-term dividends. One time bonanza offers attract more customers and develop loyalty and lifetime appeal.

Overall Growth hacking is crucial for business success. It is definitely the future of business and marketing. By being smart and swift and responding to the dynamics of the market, you can reap rich dividends and create a loyal customer base which gives you a lifetime of profit.

Read More - Ways to Acquire New Customers

Ways to Acquire New Customers

If you are a new business and are in the process of acquiring customers you should know and realize that it is no easy job. Especially if you are a startup or have a shortage of funds, you surely realize that customer acquisition is an expensive business.

Customers are interested in what excites them, in what gives them a high an that something extra. You need to excite the emotions of the customers to pull them towards your brand and that you can do by following some simple strategies.

Let’s have a look at some tricks of the trade to attract and acquire new customers online:

•  Social Media Marketing

More and more people are subscribing to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Almost everyone is coming online and making friends and interacting online. This is a huge opportunity and should not be missed. By posting relevant ads in the social media domain, you can attract and acquire more and more customers. Moreover, your ads grow as there is words of mouth and one to one interaction.

Social media marketing is an effective and reasonable way of marketing and acquiring new customers at a fraction of the cost of offline marketing

•   E-mail Marketing

Once you attract customers to your website and they subscribe to your feed or post, this is a great opportunity with great potential. After collecting all the emails and creating a mailing list, you can send regular updates, offers and news about your company, brands and products to interested customers.

This is a very effective and almost free medium of marketing which can be used to acquire new customers

•  Content Marketing

As they rightly say “Content is King”, this is absolutely true for acquiring new customers. If you are able to upload good quality content, you will be able to attract more customers and repeat visitors who will, later on, become your customers.

Be original, unique and different with your content. The More engaging the content the more it will appeal to the target audience and the more revenue your business will generate.

Thus by using all these marketing strategies you can successfully attract and acquire customers. Use E-mail marketing for mass mailing and reaching out to a broader audience, use Social Media marketing to corner your target audience and use content marketing to build credibility and repeat customers.

Read More - Why Companies are Choosing CRM over Traditional Marketing-Sachin Uppal

Why Companies are Choosing CRM over Traditional Marketing-Sachin Uppal

Gone are the days of Traditional Marketing where marketing was based on the processes of BD executives and sales managers. The rules of the game have changes and companies are now going digital.

Digital marketing is not only cost-effective but also has a broad reach. A good CRM helps you collect, manage and analyze customer data so that you can understand your strengths and weaknesses and finally provide customer delight

A CRM helps you in many different ways. It makes everything organized and there is less chance for error. Moreover CRM is cost effective and a user-friendly.CRM can improve responsiveness and make the customer experience pleasant and enjoyable.

Here are some reasons why Companies are going for CRM as against Traditional Marketing Tools:

1.   It has Automated Operations

A CRM has its own intelligence. It avoids duplication and makes consumer data organized. It also is responsive and improves the customer experience. With the cloud-based technology gaining strength, your CRM can be accessed from anywhere in the world. This makes economic sense and leads to higher more focused productivity and efficiency.

2. CRM makes Marketing Success Measurable

CRM organizes and analyses data and, unlike traditional marketing tools, is measurable. It logs in Customer Feedback, data on repeat customers, brand sentiment and enquires made.

You can see in real time terms through graphs and pie charts in how your campaign is going. A tool which was not possible in the days of traditional marketing.

2    3. CRM helps provide Intuitive Data Analysis

CRM lets you peak into the minds of the customer. You gain access to intelligence on consumer behavior and preferences. Also through predictive analysis you can analyze whether you want to launch a campaign or not based on predictive data. This saves cost and maximizes resourcefulness

3.       

      4. CRM provides Integrated Solutions

A good CRM accumulates data from customer outreach platforms spread across mobile, social media, real-time chat support, email, telephonic and face to face. This integration of data can be subjected to analysis and budgets and strategies can be devised which will maximize output in all different dimensions.

About Sachin Uppal

Sachin Uppal is an exemplary personality in the field of Marketing and Consumer communication. He comes with 14 years of experience and has contributed to organizations such as Wipro Technologies, National Instruments, Wipro HealthCare and Naseba. 

He has mastered the art of marketing and has contributed to these organizations in the fields of Marketing Acquisition, Retention, Product, Analytics and Brand Management.

Currently Sachin Uppal is the Chief Marketing Officer at Games24x7 Pvt. Ltd... Games24x7 is the largest provider of mobile games in India and Sachin’s contribution has gone a long way in making it the same. This company is the only Tiger Global funded profit making company in the B2C area.

Read More: Ways through which a'Data-Driven' Approach Anticipates Buyer Behavior 

Ways through which a 'Data-Driven' Approach Anticipates Buyer Behavior - Sachin Uppal

Data is very critical to prioritization, focus and finding out your target customers. A data driven marketing approach helps you analyze, understand and gauge the mind of the consumer and thus gives insights about the customer’s mindsets and shopping habits.

Here are some ways in which you can use the data driven approach to understand the mind of the customer:

·         CUSTOMER PROFILE INSIGHTS

The best way to optimize resources is to first find out, who your Target customers actually are. This information lets you know where you’re being the most successful and who’s responding best both to your company’s services and your inside sales efforts.

By focusing on the interested customers you are able to narrow down your ad spending and gain maximum revenue with minimum cost.

·         ALIGNMENT WITH THE ORGANISATION

Data about habits, mindset and preference of your prospective buyers is a great resource to have as it helps you align your organization’s plans and goals, and also the product with the customer preferences and expectations.

If you share this information and update with the product-development team it provides additional input for potential future-features that the team may not have considered.

Similarly, you can share with the sales team so as to empower those team members with the terms and hot points that will most likely resonate in selling situations.

·         CUSTOMER PREFRENCES, NEEDS AND WANTS

Gathering data about what kind of ad media the customer is preferring is a great tool and it goes a great way in disclosing the preference of the customer and the medium he most subscribes to.

A print ad would work for someone, while a small video for someone else. By gathering and analyzing data through CRM and other tools we are able to gauge the customer’s needs and wants and also his preferences. This leads to organizational customer alignment and to more profit and sales with minimum wastage and cost.

·         DOCUMENTATION OF BUYER LIFE CYCLE

Now you capture data from website analytics, web forms, email marketing with open rates or social media stats. This data helps you understand the buyer’s life cycle better. You see statistics which help you in focusing and prioritizing and using your resources in a more productive fruitful way.

About Sachin Uppal

Sachin Uppal is an exemplary personality in the field of Marketing and Consumer communication. He comes with a 14 years of experience and has contributed to organizations such as Wipro Technologies   , National Instruments, Wipro HealthCare and Naseba. He has mastered the art of marketing and has contributed to these organizations in the fields of Marketing Acquisition, Retention, Product, Analytics and Brand Management.

Currently Sachin Uppal is the Chief Marketing Officer at Games24x7 Pvt. Ltd... Games24x7 is the largest provider of mobile games in India and Sachin’s contribution has gone a long way in making it the same. This company is the only Tiger Global funded profit making company in the B2C area.