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Party Etiquette: Does Your “Push Marketing” Need To Be Pulled?

shutterstock_273210299Until recently, most marketing was “push” marketing. Advertised sales and special promotions pushed consumers to act; telling us when, what, and where to buy. Products and services were pushed into the marketplace with the goal of an immediate boost in sales. Branding was based on product lines, not on the company culture. In the last few decades, the internet has fueled the rise of “pull” marketing; a subtler conversation with consumers that invites us in as friends, rather than demanding our attention.

Here’s why “pull marketing” should be a major part of your marketing strategy.

Be interesting…

Sit in a room full of puppies or children and shout, “come over here, come over here, come over here.”  Odds are, they will ignore you, or even run away.  But if you do something interesting, entertaining or otherwise engaging, those pups or kids will naturally gather around you – and they will stay as long as you continue to pique their interest.

Target is a prime example of a retailer committed to pull marketing.  Their commercials are bright and colorful – lots of movement and music and fun.  Target is promising just the sort of experience that room full of puppies or children would run toward.

Build a rapport…

With Millennials (now the largest generation) and Gen Z flooding the consumer market, “pull marketing” becomes even more important.  These digital natives can instantly learn everything about your product – and do a price/feature comparison between your brand and others in seconds.  They already know how to buy, where to buy and what it will cost.  You don’t need to tell them that.  All you can influence is “when” to buy, “why” to buy, and “what” to buy – and you do this by using your marketing to build a rapport that pulls them in and builds a relationship.

Be genuinely social…

One huge mistake business owners make is ignoring the “social” in social media.  They feel that the purpose of social media is strictly to get their own message out – to talk at people.  Who is the person you avoid at a party? Is it the one who seems interested in you, the one who entertains you and makes you laugh – or the one who talks only about herself all evening?

Case in point: Wendy’s sassy Twitter exchange with a consumer who accused them of using frozen meat – complete with a mic drop ending – went viral last January and instantly turned Wendy’s Twitter feed into a “must-read” experience.

If you blast out posts that are the equivalent of standing at a party yelling “look at ME, look at ME,” you’ve written yourself out of the conversation.

Social media marketers follow various ratio rules, such as the 80/20 rule.  Twenty percent of your posts can be persuasive call-to- action pitches for your services and products, but eighty percent should be informative, entertaining, and sharable content. That’s how you build your brand, extend your reach and keep the attention of your audience.  In Forbes.com, May 15, 2017 article “12 Of The Worst Social Media Mistakes And How To Avoid Them” the Forbes Communication Council wrote, “think of promoting your business as a “commercial break” among other content that provides value.” Yes, that’s a lot of work, but that’s how you get results.  If your audience wanders off to talk to someone else at the party, you’ve lost your ability to talk to them at all.

Marketing has generally become more conversational and personal.  Today’s consumers have high expectations and short attention spans.  That calls for a fresh approach to your marketing strategy.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: inbound marketing, Marketing, Outbound marketing, Pull markrting, Push marketing, social media, social media mix, social media posts

Tales from the Crypt: Mostly Dead Websites

In the past few weeks, we at K2M have been utilizing lots of what we call inbound marketing in our own personal lives. Inbound marketing is marketing used by a business in order to be found by potential customers or clients. It is what people find when they are looking for you or the service your provide, whether it’s phone book listings, internet listings or your own web pages.

There are more kids around us this summer and more need to find things to keep them busy, places to go, new restaurants to try, movie times to check on, pool schedules, local attractions for day trips…you get the idea. In our quest to keep our kids entertained and to save us from their constant cries of boredom and need to be fed something new and different, we, like you, have been slaves to our electronica, desperate for WiFi wherever we go, and exploring lots and lots of websites. Regarding those websites, we know that a decent website is not the sum total of a good inbound marketing plan, but A LOT of the websites we have encountered have been, as they say in The Princess Bride “mostly dead”.

What are the components of mostly dead websites?

  •  Non-existent contact information with no phone numbers or addresses, so you can’t tell if the establishment is real or fantasy.
  • Contact information that indicates that the restaurant near the DIA is still in business, but when you go there, it is boarded up (Yes, it really happened).
  • Outdated information that has been contradicted by your friends who are “in the know” and who assure you “just ignore their website”.
  • Stock photos that have been around since the Clintons were in charge the first time.
  • Clunky, nonresponsive menus and tabs that take you to error messages or unfinished pages.
  • Sites that are not compatible with mobile devices or tablets.

Argh! Don’t fret…our children have been well-fed and entertained, despite the cyber-detritus we have encountered. But it has strengthened our resolve to make sure our clients’ inbound marketing makes people pleased to find their companies.

BTW, if you have a mostly dead website, your own strategic marketing plan could use some help, too. “Miracle Max” and his abilities–that’s from the world of fiction. But maybe we can help you revive your mostly dead.

Filed Under: Feature Tagged With: dead website, inbound marketing

From Our Blog

  • Can I Just Do It Myself? Sometimes.
  • Please, No Fake Words in My Sweet Sauce
  • Color Me Beautiful and Make My Logo Gorgeous
  • Salmonella Social: Half Baked Social Media Isn’t Worth Serving
  • Slip and Catch

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WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

“We definitely saw a huge increase in leads and calls.  There was no question about it because there was proof in our CRM.” Small Law Firm
“I never had the time to do marketing before because I was always so busy doing what I considered my “real” work.  Working with K2M made a tremendous impact on our office.  Not only were we busier with patients but we knew how to represent ourselves because we had a better sense of who we were.” Dental Practice
“We had a really good time.  I was surprised at how much we enjoyed it.”  Physician

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If you are considering marketing, give us a call.  There is no hard sell.  No pitch.  Just a conversation.  We are happy to share our ideas and impressions.  Nobody loses from an honest conversation.  Give us your questions and we’ll give you answers.  Really.  No strings, no magic smoke.

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