Today, customers are using more ad-blockers, tune out of TV spots and have even abandoned television altogether, so it’s natural for brands, around the world, to turn more toward live or experiential marketing.
Nowadays, vendors are looking for a trusted and direct relationship with their customers and prospects while consumers expect nothing less than an experience with their vendors. Essentially, both sides are looking for a relevant and meaningful engagement.
The reality is that traditional marketing tactics, such as print advertising, have grown to be less and less effective. We are a multitasking society and are bombarded daily with way too much information and as a result, our attention span is approximately 7 seconds in today’s world.
So then, how can we grab the attention of customers and get them excited and passionate about our offering? One marketing tactic that is clearly gaining momentum is live marketing combined with creating amazing experiences. This is especially true for the millennials or the Gen Xers, as described in a recent article by Business Insider Deutschland.
Live marketing, however, needs to be integrated and promoted with today’s social channels. The beauty of this is that the customer can share the live experience they have with a particular brand in personal and relevant ways. This helps brands to amplify their messages at low costs to customers and their trusted friends. ‘Friends and family’ become more likely to promote or buy your products and services because they trust the source in which it was shared with them.
The key is to build a loyal community who loves relevant information to solve their challenges or lets them dream about future opportunities. It’s not just about features and functions; it’s about a true holistic experience which is relevant, personal and emotional.
Imagine a memorable brand experience can be built in an instant. In the past, we had to spend months and years to build a lasting brand. Now, we can create a brand experience that makes an impact almost instantly. At the same time, as we all know in marketing, a brand can be damaged or destroyed at the same speed if an experience does not live up to a customer’s expectations. Fake or sales driven communications no longer gain any traction and are easily detected by today’s smart consumers. Nothing can be hidden, not event in the dark tunnel of the internet. 😉
Live marketing is a fantastic way to build brand awareness and brand equity which results in great emotional connections with customers. If done well, a positive experience will not only live throughout the entire sales cycle but it will shorten it and help build a long-term relationship with the customer.
With a bold promise like that, it’s easy to see why companies are spending more of their budget on live marketing and memorable customer experiences.
In fact, the spend for live marketing coupled with digital tactics is becoming the most important spend in the marketing mix over the next few years, as predicted by CMO’s around the world.
In today’s world, amazing experiences are no longer simply seminars, trade shows or hospitality events. Companies are now marrying data with virtual reality, e-commerce experiences with physical events into one powerful new tactic to win and keep customers.
Enterprises are experimenting with virtual reality (VR), e-commerce experiences, augmented reality, and artificial marketing intelligence to name a few. A great example, of this is showing products, such as furniture, in various architectural environments with the ability to buy products directly through the VR goggles.
The probability that a sale will happen when people are excited is much higher then when they have time to consider and compare. We are in a world where customers expect the ability to purchase in the instant they make a decision. However, believing is not enough. We need to prove and make our case with real data and insights. The new marketer needs a creative edge with a love for data to be successful if they want to stay relevant for the C-suite.
Data: the New Oil for Marketers
Live marketing if combined with digital marketing is also measurable. Thanks to an abundant amount of customer and market data, we can better understand the challenges and desires customers are facing which enables us to focus and talk to our targets in a more relevant way.
Using data and insights to create amazing customer experiences make the new killer weapon of choice for today’s marketers.