18 Mar 2022 Carmen’s Marketing Blog
At One Connectivity we always like to keep you updated on the very latest technology. But we also feel like we have plenty of advice worth sharing when it comes to running your business too. We’d like to offer some insights about the things we’ve learnt on the way, in the hope that you’ll find this useful. As the Marketing Director for OC… I thought I’d start here….
I believe there’s a lot more to marketing than people initially might think. In an industry like communications, which has been largely dominated by the same services and sales techniques since the nineties, it’s easy to dismiss the role of marketing. But get it right, and you can not only raise your profile but generate real leads.
My time at One Connectivity has shown though that if you know how to correctly position your offering, you can absolutely stand out from the competition. In today’s blog, I’d like to share some of the best techniques and processes I’ve learned over the years.
1. Don’t be afraid of trying every medium
A huge part of marketing is just getting your business seen. Whether you’re working on B2C or B2B marketing your business needs a presence on a wide range of forums. This doesn’t necessarily mean putting the same amount of time into each. You’ll never gain much new business trying to advertise telecoms on TikTok, but certain platforms are vital to have a presence on.
LinkedIn is arguably the most important. While interesting social selling techniques can directly generate leads here, it’s also crucial to maintain your brand identity. 75% of B2B buyers check a company’s social media before purchasing from them. If your follower count is low and your content is poorly made, it can really reflect badly on your business.
Because of much longer lead times that businesses, especially in B2B markets are now facing, it’s important to keep up a professional appearance along every stage of the customer journey. I believe social media is a huge part of this. People buy from people, and if your team engage with your business across a range of social media, you’ll be much easier to approach.
2. Develop a brand voice
Especially when you’re working in a crowded industry, it’s really important that you do everything possible to stick out. This naturally means having great products and awesome customer service, but I think developing a unique brand voice is just as important.
If you can consistently differentiate yourself from your competitors across your social media and marketing channels, then you’ll live far longer in the memories of potential customers.
In my opinion this brand voice should never be too directly sales orientated. While it’s great to highlight your products, your marketing should be all about explaining how products can generate value for customers. At One Connectivity we also strive to make sure that a good portion of our marketing celebrates our team as much as the products we sell. It’s our team who makes us who we are, so it should always be an important focus!
3. Embrace your existing customers
A very common pitfall I see a lot of businesses falling into with their marketing is only catering towards new business. Your existing customer base have made your business what it is, so it’s just as important to give back to them.
That’s why it’s great to focus a good portion of your marketing material around offers, promotions or incentives for your existing customers. These rewards can go one of two ways, being aimed at generating new business from existing customers, or just to keep everyone happy!
4. Brand continuity matters
I was recently browsing a business’s website and clicked on a link to their Twitter account. This account hadn’t been updated since 2014, and it was full of out-of-date branding, old logos and even a different company name. Neglecting marketing in this way can genuinely end up leaving a sour taste in the mouths of your customers. I think it just shows a lack of care that can reflect poorly on your business.
5. SEO is marketing
Just the act of keeping everything up to date has a huge number of benefits. Maintaining a clear and unified presence across a variety of platforms demonstrates a level of competence that your competitors might not be able to match. It also helps smaller teams to keep up appearances alongside larger rivals.
It also helps from a technical standpoint too. Regularly updating your website with new content that matches your brand shows search engines that you’re worth promoting. Google regularly updates the way it ranks businesses, and if you keep your SEO up to date, there’s a great chance you’ll come out at the top of the list.
I hope this blog has helped you to spark some marketing motivation. A lot of what makes a great marketing strategy is all about getting creative, seeing what works and then testing out variations on that winning formula.
For some great ideas, why not check out some of our OC social content?