How can a startup in the green economy effectively use its limited advertising and marketing resources in order to get the biggest bang for its buck?
Obviously, there is no easy answer, but a recent study published in the Harvard Business Review by a McKinsey and Company Online Marketing Specialist gives companies a solid suggestion about where to focus their dollars to effectively improve customer loyalty.
Adapting that strategy for the green economy is a no-brainer, as people who buy green WANT to love the companies they buy from, and this method gives startup entrepreneurs great advice to do just that.
One challenge that almost always faces startups is marketing…and the money to do enough of it. Many green startup entreprenenurs I’ve worked with for the last 10 years have confided that they feel they are literally throwing their marketing dollars in the trash. Marketers often advise new business clients to target particular places or niche groups with their limited ad dollars.
In the new age of social media and a coming transparency economy, perhaps focusing on “when” in the purchasing decision framework to use their marketing dollars might be more prudent, according to David Edelman, McKinsey and Company’s Global Digital Marketing Strategy coleader.
Social media, he argues, allows even companies with limited budgets to do just that. The key, he says, is not to focus marketing dollars on the competitive timeframe, when customers are choosing between multiple brands. This latter idea is more the traditional viewpoint in marketing, which is why Point of Sale marketing has traditionally been very popular with companies.
With the new era of social media, however, when most customers get much of their product information from people they trust (other customers who are like them), spending money wisely may help you build a brand loyalty that many other companies are missing out on.
Read the full article here.