04/04/2020

A Call to Action: Counterintuitive Marketing Strategies That Actually Work

Source: Fleet Management Weekly

Because marketing is as much art as science, I want to share a post that the Forbes Agency Council recently wrote because it reflects a truism that companies should heed, namely, there are no hard and fast rules for success.

As they say, “there are times in the world of marketing where shirking the trend is not only a better approach, but a more profitable one, as well. Following what others have done before can even be seen as derivative and dull.”

• Send Plain Text Emails – Bernard May, National Positions
Much of the time when it comes to email marketing, people tend to think “the fancier, the better.” While these make look appealing and professional, they often get stuck in spam traps or make their way to the “promotions” folder. Plain text emails may not be as eye-catching but they have a better chance of catching more eyes from the inbox.

• Let Consumers And Creatives Control The Message – Hamutal Schieber, Schieber Research
(In B2B, Your Target Audience – edp) Marketing has always been about designing and controlling a consistent message, but in a world that seeks authenticity, brands must embrace disruption. Partnering with consumers and creators (and especially your target audience) and letting them control the message/content might sound risky, but it’s the only way to stay authentic and win attention, engagement and trust.

• Leverage Word-Of-Mouth Marketing – Jeff Bradford, the Bradford Group
We were hired to raise broad community support for our local symphony orchestra’s plan to build a world-class concert hall, with financial help from the city. We created an organization of 400-plus leaders representing a broad cross-section of the community, kept them informed about the concert hall project through regular events and encouraged them to spread the word. It worked like a charm. (Replace “broad cross-section of the community” with “fleet industry,” and you get the picture! edp)

• Lead With Your Purpose – Fran Biderman-Gross, Advantages
Many marketing materials highlight the features and benefits of products and services. While these matters are important, there is a less conventional strategy that every business should take. Lead with your purpose. Highlight the meaningful reason that your product or service exists before anything else.

• Live In The Smaller, More Niche Mediums – Tom La Vecchia, MBA, X Factor Media
Most of the dollars and eyeballs are naturally on Google and Facebook. However, there are many other sites that are meaningful and have a much lower barrier to entry from a financial and time resource standpoint. Reddit is a great online community as it’s worth the investment to share thoughts and read ideas. When you’re more established, you can publish appropriate content — don’t be too salesy. (In our industry, the “niche mediums” are our valued trade press, starting with Fleet Management Weekly. How often is your company name and news mentioned?)

If you have other “outside the box” ideas, I will gladly share them with the Fleet Management Weekly readers. And, if you have any questions, comments, experiences, or opinions about fleet industry-related marketing that you’d like to share, write to me at edpierce@ITAcommunications.com.