These are two marketing philosophies that are necessary for a company, complementary to each other, but with different approaches. Brand strategy is medium-term and its results are difficult to attribute, while results strategy is short-term and allows us to attribute the return on investment with greater precision. And I say with greater precision and not total, because it is not true that we can measure everything (this is one of the myths of digital marketing that we must understand).
This ease of relating investments with philippines girls telegram returns has made performance marketing gain strength until it has become the only way of doing marketing for a majority of companies.
The problem is that this has caused the strategy of many companies to move from the top of the funnel or purchasing process (brand and product awareness) to the bottom of the funnel (purchase).
This imbalance has affected the relationship between brands and their customers. It has changed from being emotional to purely functional: “If the product has the functions I am looking for and is at a good price, I will buy it. The brand does not matter to me .” And this has medium and long-term consequences on the results that I have already discussed on several occasions in this blog ( discrediting of the brand, lower profitability of sales, more returns and complaints , etc.).
Companies need to define marketing strategies that influence all phases of the purchasing process
The most effective marketing must combine both approaches: on the one hand, generating a brand and a relationship that provides value in both directions, and on the other, reaping the rewards through performance campaigns (which will also capture the attention of people who don't know us, but who are close to buying a similar product).
In the graph you can see the complete sales process, with the different channels and their means for each stage.
Purchase funnel or conversion funnel
Evolution of the purchase funnel or conversion funnel
This has always been the right approach, but it is in these times of COVID that it becomes especially important to build a closer and more human relationship with our audience. Brands not only have to reinforce the levels of trust in their products, they must also help to regain the trust of their own customers due to the effects of COVID.
But to achieve this, we must first change the mindset of companies. They must realize that this is the right approach and that not only what I can attribute directly to sales adds value to the entire process.
This involves several prior changes:
Improve the measurement of offline campaigns by defining metrics that allow us to better attribute their effects on the purchasing process. When we run an offline campaign, in addition to the expected increase in traffic, we can measure:
Increase in brand searches.
Direct traffic, with special attention to dark social and ways to influence that “invisible” traffic
Mentions on social networks.
Organic traffic.
Organic recommendations and from our digital assets of our products.
And all of them linking the analysis of the brand strategy with the improvement in conversion rates.
A truly unified marketing strategy : it's not just about two teams working on both phases of the funnel, they must also be coordinated in terms of messages, value proposition, calls to action and, almost as important as the above, that both strategies are related and generate synergies. To do this, the media mix must be designed so that one (the brand) acts as a loudspeaker and generator of engagement , and the digital media as a "collector" and enhancer of the campaign's effects.
If we add the case of retail to this mix, we have to add physical stores to the equation as the destination of that traffic and a point of measurement.
But what is the reality for most companies?
Our brands must become magnets for their customers
Either they don't have the budget to put in enough advertising pressure to make these campaigns really visible and effective. Or they are in a niche market where it is difficult to find their audience effectively.
To address this reality, I have been thinking about a new approach for some time. What if, instead of going to our clients, they come to us? That would be fantastic, wouldn't it?
For common sense, and to change this dynamic, we have to find a new approach to strategy. We must base our approach to the market on the brand purpose that connects us with our audience , instead of trying to do it by trying to fit in based on offers and discounts. It is not about changing one approach for another, but rather using both in a complementary way.