Can Singapore Marketers Avoid Being Behind Times In Inbound Marketing?

Whenever we speak of marketing, the 4P’s come to mind as part of the strategy. However, will just understanding these 4P’s be enough? Do Singapore companies and marketers have the skillset to create plans and campaigns that match how their clients, prospects or leads buy products or services currently? How does Inbound Marketing* come into play?

Below are 3 points we should take note of to adapt our skills and knowledge and to work productively in the increasingly digital world.

Real-Time Marketing

It used to make a big difference if you can control your expenses to schedule events, meetings and campaigns. However in recent years, it has been increasingly popular for consumers to be sharing and discussing about your company, brand, products or services sold. They can discuss about them anytime, anywhere, whether it is with you in it or not. You also need to take note that with every customer service interaction on the social media platforms, it comes with an audience of potential buyers too.

Hence we, as marketers, have to be comfortable and open with real-time marketing as this is what everyone is doing. You need to learn to embrace forums, reviews and social media conversations that are happening. There could be a trained team of personnel which is responsive and has the ability to manage them, and especially so in the case of negative feedback.

Organizational Chart

Everything is changing, and your marketing organizational chart should not be an exception. Review your organizational chart, and make sure it is not built for the past—it should be built for the future. The structure of the different teams and hiring approach should have changed over the years (and if it has not, you should put some efforts into enhancing it). Systems such as marketing automation, online marketing and mobile optimization are new and does have an impact on the organization. There are definitely changes to be made.

Map out your customer touch points and look out for gaps in your service delivery, teams’ skillsets and structures, then change the hiring approach accordingly.

Focus

There are 6 difference audiences that can impact your business:

1. Analysts
2. Bloggers
3. Competitors
4. Customers
5. Employees
6. Job Candidates

Your marketing strategy should include a business-oriented and focused objective for identifying, educating, informing and inspiring each of these groups of people. Strategic planning such as employing the use of marketing automation for lead nurturing can make it easier and more efficient. Nurturing core audiences is a gradual process that takes time, but with a well-planned strategy and the right technology used, lead nurturing with content made specifically for each core is definitely the way to go for marketing success.

Stop the excuses and putting it all on hold. Based on the goal you want to achieve, start changing and develop a more performance-driven, effective and productive team. Those who are reluctant to change and adapt to this increasingly digital world will be left behind eventually. Do you want to be a part of that?

* Inbound marketing is a form of digital marketing that involves SEO, Social Media, blog and landing pages to generate sales leads.