When we think of marketing, there are multiple words we connote with the term. It used to be a synonym for advertising. Lots of money was spent on grabbing attention and using powerful messaging to affect the mind of the masses.
Those were days when channels were far fewer. Radio, TV, print ads and newspapers were funneling the media we all consumed together.
Today, social media, search engines and online ads are part of the marketing mix. The net has broadened, and we can control more of what we consume.
The problem with all these mediums and channels is that there are a plethora of voices trying to grab our attention. And that hyper-competitive environment drowns out what is true. If you are remarkable, it may be hard to know when you are blended into the noise of marketing.
But what about the people who have given you their attention?
They don’t have to be won. They have to have a wonderful experience.
This makes everything you do – how you communicate, what things look like, how you schedule appointments, when you show up for appointments – part of your marketing.
Everything that touches the customer, namely touchpoints, is a success or failure point. You can delight a person or totally turn them off by the attention to timing and detail.
If you delight them, then you have equipped someone who can potentially “sell” for you. They become a sales arm for you by sharing their wonderful experience with others.
It does take a mindset shift and focus. You can’t merely look at marketing as some kind of budget spend or isolated activity. No, marketing is everything you do. It’s how you interact with the world and how it carries through your culture and touchpoint processes.
So, think about those little steps that may have become so familiar to you, but an exposure point for a new customer. You may have overlooked the opportunity to make a fan for life by limiting your imagination or simply being mundane and boring.
Every touchpoint becomes marketing.
If you were a new customer, where would you feel delighted experiencing your service?
