It seems like we were just ringing in 2023 yesterday, but here we are again: speeding toward the end of another year while setting marketing goals and strategies for 2024. As we remain in uncertain economic territory, with slim margins and high customer expectations, marketers are looking for ways to simplify in the new year.
The dream: create consistent brand experiences, simplify marketing operations (or vendor management), and maximize MROI.
So, as we set our sights on a new year, here are a few recommendations from OneTouchPoint for refreshing your company’s marketing strategy with simplicity and impact in mind.
1. Embrace Multichannel Marketing
A truly successful marketing strategy blends digital, print, and in-person communication in order to meet customers where they are, when it’s convenient for them. Yes, keeping the digital, print, and in-store plates all spinning at once seems like the opposite of simple, but a multichannel marketing strategy is critical for attracting new potential customers and then building the familiarity and trust that turns them into first-time buyers and lifelong supporters.
And here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to be complicated: with the right partner who can support every element of your strategy, multichannel marketing can be a breeze. Read our recent blog post to learn how OneTouchPoint helps clients level up their multichannel marketing strategies for maximum impact with minimal management burden.
2. Empower Your Team with Through-Channel Marketing Automation
Now, here’s where we simplify. A through-channel marketing automation (TCMA) platform provides all the tools national marketers and their affiliates — sales representatives, distributors, franchisees, retail managers, etc. — need to design and execute those powerful multichannel marketing campaigns that customers are looking for. Here are just a few of the benefits of a TCMA platform:
- Consistent branding through centralized asset management: National brand leaders don’t have the time to babysit collateral, fielding endless requests for the latest versions, juggling print orders and micromanaging the budget. But taking your hands off the wheel may mean compromising brand quality and integrity. Your TCMA functions as a centralized communication hub, keeping all the latest messaging, assets, and templates easy to access 24/7.
- Automated customer intimacy: While automation of any kind tends to evoke the opposite of intimacy, TCMA is actually a powerful driver of customer relationships. That’s because what these platforms are the logistics: the coordination, the supply chain management, and the other minute aspects of marketing that, when handled manually, only add complications and obstacles to campaign creation. With a TCMA platform supporting those aspects of marketing, local and national marketers are free to focus on what really matters: the message, substance, and value of their customer relationships.
- Quality & Budget Control: A great TCMA platform allows users to order printed materials directly from a trusted provider right there within the platform. This means every brand representative is producing quality materials at a reasonable price. And real-time budget monitoring and chargebacks mean corporate marketers no longer have to worry about overspend or spend time chasing down expense reports to manage the budgets.
All this is just the tip of the iceberg. Learn more about how our U.Connect TCMA platform empowers marketers to achieve every new year’s resolution, every year.
3. Look Local for Customer Loyalty
The importance of local marketing is no secret: 88 percent of mobile searches for local businesses lead to a call or visit within a day, 72 percent of computer users want to see ads tailored to their areas, and localized print marketing materials provide a personalized experience that encourages customers to engage with a brand.
But, just like so many important things, great local marketing is easier said than done, especially when corporate teams and affiliates lack the resources (time, money, human power) or expertise to create and launch robust campaigns. However, when you commit to tailored messaging for every market — and then empower your teams through centralized assets, customizable templates, and everything a local marketing platform like U.Connect can provide — then creating personalized campaigns for every audience is no sweat.
4. Streamline Mailing & More with Vendor-Managed Services
In a moment when cutting costs, minimizing waste, and maximizing efficiency is more important than ever, marketers have a long list of goals around streamlining operations:
- Maintaining careful inventory of that ever-changing print collateral and relying on print-on-demand capabilities to keep costs down by reducing wasted materials.
- Automating address verification and other process on mass mailings to save human hours that could be used on more impactful projects.
- Finding printing and shipping discounts by removing the middleman from the supply chain wherever possible.
- Having a foolproof process for ensuring data security and regulatory compliance with every communication.
- Maintaining transparency and control over marketing budgets at a national and local level.
Some companies implement piecemeal solutions to shave costs here and there, but these “solutions networks” often require significant hands-on management of the disparate vendors, and they frequently incur more costs than they save. The more successful marketers are those who find broader savings opportunities by teaming up with single-source marketing execution and supply chain partners who can take management burdens off leaders’ plates while achieving significant savings in time, resources, and energy.
Learn more about vendor-managed services in our recent blog post, and resolve to streamline your most complex marketing operations in 2024.
5. Create an Unforgettable In-Store Experience
If your brand has brick-and-mortar stores, your marketing campaigns don’t stop when customers walk through the door. So, what does the in-store experience you offer look like? If your products are for sale with retail partners across the country, does your branded signage make them easy to spot and tempting to buy?
Whether you need to spruce up your own store or make your products stand out from the competition, resolve to more effectively catch eyes and communicate value by stepping up your signage game in the new year.
Whether you’re planning a grand opening for 2024 or simply looking to increase foot traffic, think about getting customers into the store with enticing banners, window clings and other outdoor signage. And once they’re inside, highlight promotions, new products, loyalty programs, community events, company values and more with floor stickers, point-of-sale signage, wall decals and posters — all beautifully printed with high quality materials to showcase your brand in its best light.
Here at OneTouchPoint, we love nothing more than helping companies put their best brand foot forward by streamlining the marketing execution process, and if that sounds like a 2024 resolution your organization is ready to embrace, we’d love to talk about how we can empower your entire team to deliver consistent, quality communications to prospects and customers. Contact us to learn more, or request a quote on your next project. Our experts will provide insight and ideas to deliver phenomenal results at a great price.