Engage or Disengage?

I do not know what your definition of marketing is, but for me, it is ‘building a community through continuous engagement’.

The big question that all of us need to ask ourselves, probably as a derivative of month-end financial reporting is -> “Are we doing enough to engage with our Target Audience?”

Do a snap profiling of your Target Audience (TG), and ask:

“Do enough of these people know me?”

“What can I do to keep myself in their mental space?”

“How often should I get in front of them?”

“If I do nothing, will they still recognize my company name or me?”

“How can I get their mindshare without spamming them or being intrusive?”

“Am I engaging with them enough?”

“Do I come across as a knowledgeable entity to them?”

“How can I not hard-sell?”

“Can I add value to their lives, processes, world in any manner?”

Can you?

Marketing should not be about ‘Buy my product, I make the best one’.

It should be about ‘How can I help you take the best decision and add value’.

I recently saw a TV ad in which a logistics company was extolling its clientele to go in for their services because ‘B’ stands for ‘Best’! Moreover, because their name starts with ‘B’!

Really? Is Alphabet advertising in vogue nowadays?

They are spending all those hard earned dollars making and rolling out a TV ad, and this is what they have to say? It is incredibly tragi-comic!

Whatever business you may be in, you can add value to your clientele. Do think from their perspective.

The different marketing tools and formats are just the carriers of your message.

If your marketing tools are 360 degrees complete with all the Ads, Videos, PR, blogs, mailers, newsletters and case studies in place; and yet you are unable to engage your TG, then you are eating an ice cream cone without the ice cream in it!

The structure is there; the substance is not. There is no flavor!

It is infinitely more important to understand and formulate what message you need to showcase before your audience. Distribution is secondary.

A few pertinent examples of companies engaging with their TG effectively are,

Vodafone with the following puppy, Fevicol ads, Idea Internet, Dove Real Beauty campaign, Five Star Ramesh Suresh ads, TBZ Wedding, Some Coke and Pepsi ads, Airtel with ‘Har Friend Zaroori Hai’ and their latest 4G Campaign, Hamara Bajaj, the opinionated Amul Girl, Chlor-mint, Centre Fresh, Mentos etc. spring to mind.

Unfortunately many organizations, even while doling out big bucks to hi-profile agencies and Gurus, are unable to make an impact because the engagement is off!

To create and sustain high engagement, you need to connect emotionally with your TG and convey a message that touches a chord or answers an unmet need imaginatively. Look at the big picture your industry brings onboard.

Please do not blow your own trumpet incessantly. Otherwise, your TG will become tone-deaf! 

Disengage from the non-value add approach. Engage with adding value. Today.