Do you remember the moment you walked into the local sweet shop, 10p burning a hole in your sweaty palm? Time spent looking around at the plethora of jars, trays and boxes, nostrils full of the sweetest smell. The possibilities were endless.
Sorry to spoil your little reminisce, but you know what came next. The realisation that the, now sweaty, 10p just wasn’t enough to fulfil your strongest desire. Yet that initial feeling of so many possibilities, you were a kid in a sweet shop.
Now imagine that 10p was a crisp £10 note. That’s right; you’re 8 years old, in a sweet shop with a £10 note. Oh my word! Just imagine the possibilities then, especially if like me you clearly remember sweets being bigger, lighter and all starting at 10p a quarter or even ½ penny a sweet. That £10 is getting spent and you will have the largest range of sweets you could possibly get. It doesn’t matter if the combinations work, no, here’s £10 now fill my satchel!
It is good metaphor for the current position of digital marketing within most businesses.
Many businesses, managing directors, marketing directors, sales teams and marketing departments have heard the buzz, they’ve attended all kinds of seminars, they’ve heard one expert after another tell them the latest, sell them the latest, smelt the sugar… I’ve talked with many clients in this position. Past is the need to get a basic understanding of what each aspect of digital marketing can do for them. They can see the shelves stacked with ‘digital wonders’ and just want to jump on the ladder and get eating.
Unfortunately, this applies to even some of the most experienced marketers and business owners. The digital sweet shop is just too hard to resist, and too many are overcome too easily by the number of different variables instead of putting aside the shorts and satchel and considering the best combinations to use for the outcomes they need.
The debilitating distractions of the digital sweet shop are made even worse by their ability to also divert attention from the more traditional marketing shop next door. The digital sweets have undoubtedly brought a new dimension to marketing, sales campaigns and even the composition of businesses. However, the principles for developing your business/campaign/strategy remain the same they always have.
If you put your customer at the heart of your strategy and spend time and energy understanding them, you will gain insights into how best to engage with them. Digital sweets have opened up huge new areas of engagement. Indeed we are in an age when engagement is no longer a nicety, it is essential in building your business/growing sales. However, integrating your digital sweets in the right way both together and within a wider ‘offline’ approach will gain you the very best results.
So here’s my tip, stop acting like an 8 year old in a sweet shop.
Try each of the sweets, see which ones work for your customer and you, and develop your plan. Then next time you stand in the marketing sweet shop you’ll be able to pick the sweets that suit you best for the best results. Otherwise you might find that initial buzz that comes from a belly-full of sweets becomes a regret filled stomach-ache of empty sugar.
Simon Brooke is a Director at Happy Creative, a full service marketing and creative agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk or @Happy_Creative
