Mentor Network: The Use Of Marketing In A Modern Business – Marli Welgemoed

Marketing plays an essential role in the modern business environment. There is a reason why companies around the world are spending billions of dollars on their marketing strategies; effective marketing correlates directly to more customer engagement and higher sales.  

The business world right now is more tech-driven than ever before, which is driving marketing further into the future. Marketing today is all about creating diverse, multi-pronged plans that create brand awareness and are suitable for gaining leads from multiple online platforms.

Keep reading to learn how the use of marketing in modern business is key for achieving success:

What The Internet Did For Marketing

The introduction of the internet created a vastly different marketing environment to the one many traditional business owners were used to and changed the rules to the game completely. As the smartphone became more common and moved the internet to the convenience of people’s pockets, marketers realized this was an entirely new way to gain leads and convert them into customers. 

As a result, for today’s businesses to succeed, they need to have marketing strategies that have moved with the times and will be relevant to the behaviour of modern consumers. It’s safe to say that any business without an internet and social media presence is missing out on hundreds or thousands of potential customers.

The Essentials Of Today’s Marketing Strategies

For any modern business to connect with today’s consumer, there are several core bases they will need to cover. The best marketers out there today know better than to put all their eggs in one basket and cater their strategies to be diverse. 

The first is essential for businesses is content marketing. Content marketing is one of the most powerful tools in the modern business toolbelt, costing 62% less on average than other marketing strategies but bringing in up to three times as many leads. Think about content marketing this way – instead of blatantly selling things to people, you use targeted content that convinces them of your value and why they should buy something or subscribe to your business. Content marketing with keyword optimization is also what will help your website rank higher on search engine results and earn more organic traffic.

The second essential is marketing for social media. The most recent data shows that the average person spends a total of 144 minutes a day browsing social media platforms, and more than half the population of the world has an active social media profile. This makes it a key place to create awareness about your business, engage directly with customers, and get an idea of their behaviour online.  90% of marketers view social media as the top way to get more exposure for their company.

The Role That Marketing Plays Today

Marketing today plays multiple key roles in the business environment, from building trust in your company to engaging with customers and boosting sales. Putting thought and effort into your marketing strategies will get you more opportunities to earn revenue, and with higher revenue, your business options expand notably. 

The best marketing plans out there are diverse, iterative, and make provisions for short-term and long-term business goals. Your marketing plan, no matter the size of your business, should address your target market, help you make a competitive offer, and get sales conversions.

Want to know what the greatest thing is about marketing in the internet age? Affordability. Marketing your business today is a much more affordable process with a low barrier to entry. The caveat is that marketing your business will be an ongoing effort and something that will need to be done daily in order to maintain your relationship with your existing customers and help you gain new ones.

If you haven’t already adopted the most recent marketing strategies, the good news is that you can easily start now. In order for your marketing to be effective in a modern business environment, you’ll need to pay attention to the increasing role of the internet and smartphone technology with the average consumer. It is these two factors that have dictated the types of digital marketing that are most effective in converting leads into successful sales. 

Your business marketing strategy will need to be multi-pronged, suitable for various online platforms and iterative; using analytics you can find out exactly what is working and what is not. Don’t be afraid to canvas your biggest online competitors and draw from their marketing strategy either. 

With the affordability and ease of today’s digital marketing, you are guaranteed a high return-on-investment for your business.

Marli is a South African writer with five years of marketing, copywriting and community management experience specializing in remote work. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Social Science from Monash University and has a considerable background in technical support and project management.