Most marketers are aware that in today’s Internet environment, consumers participate in creating the brand message. They do this by expressing themselves on the web and by purchasing the brands they can relate to. It’s your job to make your brand attractive to consumers by anticipating and fulfilling their needs.

Consumers in Control: Consumers are at the helm. They are personalizing the way they shop, interact and communicate. They are creating videos and watching the videos made by others. They listen to podcasts and record their own. They share their photos, create social networks and subscribe to RSS feeds — or create their own feeds. Not only that, they pack their media on their cellphones or moble devices.

The end result is that the information on your brand is delivered and developed outside of your company. Organizations no longer have control over their brand like they did in the days of yore.

Move from Push to Pull: You’ve heard this before when search engines first hit the scene. Today, pull marketing is taking hold in every sphere of the marketing realm. This change creates a challenge for marketers. Along with change come new opportunities to connect with consumers and meet their needs. You can do this by listening to their concerns and providing solutions. The Internet provides a unique opportunity to understand exactly what customers want because they are online and they’ll tell you. Listed below are some of the many things you can do online to acquire new customers and meet the needs of your existing customers.

Marketing Opportunities

•    Acquire new customers cost-effectively with tactics such as search engine marketing and email marketing.
•    Use web analytics to measure and then optimize your web site for more conversions
•    Use web analytics to measure and then optimize your marketing campaigns for better ROI.
•    Use Web 2.0 applications to engage customers in novel ways, building customer loyalty.
•    Use consumer generated content for viral marketing.
•    Listen and then deliver the right message to the right person through the right channels for your benefit and theirs.
•    Develop more profitable relationships with customers that will last longer than ever before.

The Internet gives you the benefit of a two-way dialog with your customers. Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity. Online retailers and wholesalers should consider moving from push to pull with their marketing campaigns. The key is to track your results with web analytics. Collect your data, identify your visitors and identify the effectiveness of your campaigns. But don’t stop there. You can continually optimize the results of every campaign, fine-tuning your message to meet the ever-changing needs of your audience.

You can get Google Analytics for free. Other programs are available for a fee, depending on your budget. JP Communications uses Google Analytics and a proprietary analytics program developed by our staff for collecting the data to meet our customers’ needs.