From Shouting Vendors to Email Marketing - iContact
- Updated on: 2017-11-30
- Read original article here
For thousands of years, sellers have tried to attract buyers to purchase their goods and services. For instance, in ancient China, it was common for vendors to loudly shout out in markets to grab the attention of customers. Merchants also hung wooden signs or colorful flags to advertise the goods they were selling. During the Song dynasty (960-1276), the first advertising handbills were created.
Over time, technological advances made it easier and more effective for merchants to reach their customers. With the invention of Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press around 1440, retailers could mass-produce print advertisements on a much larger scale.
Besides advertisements that were frequently found in newspapers and magazines, by the 1800s merchants were thinking outside the box to try to reach consumers. New and clever marketing tactics included the emergence of billboard ads, product placements in Jules Verne’s “Around the World in 80 Days,” the first electric sign in Times Square, Sears’ invention of direct marketing, and the publication of John Deere’s The Furrowin 1895, which many consider to be the first form of content marketing.
With the arrival of the 20th century, it became clear to advertisers that branding, packaging, and experimentation were important in order to stand out from the competition. In 1905, the first celebrity endorsement ads featuring silent film star, Fatty Arbuckle, appeared for Murad cigarettes. By 1911, advertisers were experimenting quite boldly with the idea that “sex sells.” Woodbury Soap Co. launched an advertisement featuring a gentleman caressing a lady’s face, with the tagline: “A Skin You Love to Touch.” Interestingly, the company also included an incentive for buyers. By filling in a coupon on the advertisement and sending 10 cents, a consumer could get a full color repro of the ad along with a cake of soap.
Advertisers, eager to reach ever more sophisticated consumers, continued to push the boundaries of the possible. In less than a century, radio advertising, email marketing, and display ads arrived. In 1995, Hewlett Packard embedded the first video game, Pong, into a banner ad. By the end of the millennium, Internet advertising broke the $2 billion mark. And Google AdWords, social media, and the iPhone were about to explode on the scene.
Today, changes in marketing and advertising continue to be driven by changes in technology, consumer expectations, and the needs of customers — as it has from the beginning.
The challenge for marketers today lies not so much in breaking new ground, but in simply keeping up. In the blink of an eye, the marketing strategy you used for five years is outdated, thanks to rapidly advancing technology. However, that also means you have more options when it comes to support, media opportunities, and communicating with your audience.
While companies can still use traditional tools like newspapers, radio, and television, there is now a surplus of online tools such as email and social media that continue to redefine and expand the marketing landscape.
Even better? These communication choices allow you to speak to your target audience 24/7 wherever they are globally, and whatever their preferred channel. For example, if your customers spend most of their time on Facebook, with a few clicks and a small investment, you can quickly share your brand’s messages right where your customers are. With tools like email and marketing automation, you can send your customers very personalized messages based on their behavior or purchase history, and you can do it at any time of the day or night.
Moreover, we now live in a mad, bad mobile world. By 2017, the number of mobile phone users is forecast to reach 4.77 billion. Additionally, the majority of Internet searches are now being conducted on mobile devices.
In other words, if you want to reach your customers in the 21st century, you have to be mobile-friendly. That means making sure you have a responsive website design and creating content that fits on smaller screens.
With the ability to collect consumer information with every purchase or website visit, marketers are awash in data that allows for real-time changes to their content, products, and services. This can improve the overall consumer and commercial experience. For example, Hilton, among other hotel chains, now offers a mobile app that allows guests to check in and unlock doors without ever having to stop at the front desk first.
In the future, digital marketing will continue to evolve. Some trends we are likely to see include:
Despite all the new and exciting opportunities available to marketers, the basic, tried-and-true marketing techniques still apply. Remember, successful marketing relies on identifying a target market, understanding its needs, and communicating the benefits of your business or services through multiple channels.
What are you looking forward to in the future of reaching customers?
