Three Best Practices for using Technology as a Marketing Tool
It’s not an exaggeration to say the world revolves around technology today. If some higher power were to eliminate technology for good from our lives, the world would come to a standstill. There would be chaos all around, and we would forget how to function. However, even though technology has its advantages and is almost impossible to live without, it does have a host of cons as well.
Consider the field of marketing. Technology has now moved to the forefront of all operations; marketers and advertisers have woken up the power and potential of technology, and are tapping it to push their advantage with customers, both old and new. However, in their eagerness and enthusiasm to maximize the utilization of technology, marketers fail to use it judiciously and to their advantage. In short, they fail to adopt the best marketing practices when using technology as a marketing tool. Marketers must still remember some fundamentals:
· Avoid intrusive marketing practices: Telemarketing, text message marketing, and spam email may be easy ways to market your product or service, but you can bet your last dollar these practices are bound to get on the nerves of your customers. No one wants their schedules disturbed by pesky marketing calls, especially for products and services they no longer want. Avoid intruding, especially if you know you’re doing it. One call should be enough to take a hint, and if you persist in calling over and over again or hanging on the line even after the customer has made their displeasure evident, it amounts to badgering.
· Fulfill the promises they make: Many marketers are guilty of this mistake; it’s like they have short term amnesia and completely forget the promises they make when trying to market their products and services once the customer has been won over and signed up for a sizeable package. Soon customers discover that no one answers their calls and emails, and even if they do, they’re given the runaround and redirected to the “fine print.” Fine print may seem to be a good marketing technique to scam unsuspecting customers, but remember, in this age of technology one disgruntled customer is enough to spread the word of your unscrupulous practices and lose more customers rather than gain any significant profit.
· Know how to use social media wisely: Social media is all the rage in the marketing world today, and if you have an online presence in the most popular ones, you’re well on your way to tapping your target market. However, if you fail to follow the unwritten rules of social media, you could be blacklisted and kicked out, virtually if not physically. In short, social media marketing must be used with discretion, taking care not to offend customers with unsolicited messages and unsavory tricks that lure them to your pages with false promises.
It all boils down to being ethical in your business practices, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because customers today won’t come back if they perceive or know you use underhand tactics to get what you want. I recently received an e-mail from a reader pointing out that spammers are successful if even one percent of the people they spam respond, considering the ease and cost of sending out huge volumes of email. My response to this is that Internet users are getting more savvy every day. They have spam filters in place, they don’t click on unverified links, and they’re aware that deals that sound too good to be true are likely just that. They read the fine print, they don’t read spam and they blacklist you if you keep badgering them. So while a spam strategy may work for some time, it certainly is not sustainable in the long run. Unless you’re a fly-by-night operator on the lookout for a quick buck, it’s time to take the high road in your marketing practices.
This guest post is contributed by Cathy Thomas. She writes on the topic of online computer technician training, and welcomes your comments at cathy83.thomas@gmail.com.
Thanks Cathy!
