It’s hard to believe, but another year has come to an end and many of us are settling on our New Year’s resolutions – the commitments we set out to achieve to make the next year even better than the last.While most of us will focus on fitness, health and finance, 2016 could be a good opportunity to make some promises to your business too.
Here’s three New Year’s resolutions you should try for your company that will transform your marketing efforts in 2016.
In 2016 I Will Create An Inbound Culture
This year, we talked a lot about the benefits of creating an Inbound Culture. 2016 is the year to make it happen.The Inbound Culture means building a culture that is customer focused and relevant for a person’s entire journey with your organisation. It is as important as having and Inbound Marketing strategy itself.
Inbound is a philosophy and a methodology that influences more than just marketing tactics like content, search and social media, but also the way the entire company should view and treat people.
An Inbound Culture means committing to delivering a user experience. That could be online content or face- to-face interactions that appeal to people on their terms.
The return on investment isn’t always immediate, but this is the environment where customers are found now, and if you invest properly in an Inbound Culture they become more than customers; they become advocates for your brand, products and services.
In 2016 I Will Focus On Creating Great Content
Inbound Marketing is built on the premise of creating content people love. Old, disruptive methods of marketing such as direct mail and advertising have lost their effectiveness. 2016 should be all about content marketing, with a view to creating long term brand advocates who share and promote the products and services they love.This means investing in that long-neglected blog, then amplifying it across social media. It means exploring new media and ways to connect with people and offer them content at the time when they happen to be looking. It means delivering free, helpful content that attracts buyers to your company and converts them into genuine sales leads. In 2016 and beyond, your content will be a key component in customer attraction and retention.
In 2016 I Will Make The Effort To Understand My Buyers
This year it will be more important than ever to know your customer. This is the age when being able to target your marketing activities to the specific people who are looking to buy from you delivers better business and marketing outcomes. This is where buyer personas will be your secret weapon in 2016.
A buyer persona is the process of delving into the attitudes and behaviours of your buyers, knowing their pain points, the nature of their jobs and the solutions they need to work better.
It’s a systematic approach to understanding people who are likely to buy from you, what motivates them to start researching and what information helps them ultimately decide to buy from you, or one of your competitors. This insight will help you align your marketing messages to what’s important to your buyers.Not sure how to write a buyer persona? Start here.
