Managing business has become one of the most challenging tasks in the contemporary business environment. Global markets have become increasingly saturated. The competition is getting fiercer with every following day. Thousands of new businesses are entering the market every year, creating congestion in existing market channels. So, many stakeholders are relying on limited market potential. The market is not expanding at the same pace as businesses are. Therefore, marketing strategies need to be innovative and more thorough to produce positive results.
As we’re coming into 2023, we can’t speak about marketing without touching on digital marketing. Digital marketing is advertising on digital platforms like Google and Facebook and companies have slowly shifted their advertising budget from traditional newspaper marketing to digital marketing. Digital marketing agencies have been investing their efforts in a variety of strategies including social media marketing and search engine marketing.
It’s amazing to see how marketing has evolved into a new form of digital advertising. Companies are now partaking in social media platforms like TikTok and creating helpful videos on YouTube for video marketing on social media. A lot of the content produced is put out online for free-of-charge. Digital marketing has perfectly captured the fourth C – creativity – and brands now pride themselves on branding via creative ideas that interest everyone online.
Marketing has undoubtedly become a crucial business function, dictating success for businesses. Robust marketing strategies mean continuous customer acquisition and steady sales. More importantly, it plays a pivotal role for online businesses. The scope of eCommerce is widening at an unprecedented rate. So are the complexities and subtleties of marketing for online businesses. Global retail sales have already reached $26.7 trillion. That is approximately 16.2% of the total retail sales worldwide. No business can ignore such sales and marketing channels.
However, not every marketing communication generates the necessary market response. Whereas some sweep away the competitors and efficiently encapsulate the target audience. It all depends on specific communication characteristics. These are what this article focuses on below. It will highlight seven Cs of marketing every online business should develop.
The 7C’s of Marketing to Create an Effective Marketing Strategy
Also read: Guerilla Marketing -Everything You Need to Know About
1. The First C – Customer
The most important factor of any business is its customers. The marketing strategy must carefully cater to the right customer segment. For instance, when a self-storage company targets a niche, it must determine all of its unique requirements. Now the self storage internet marketing campaign needs to be even more precise and targeted toward customer preferences.
The demand for product personalization has drastically increased in online markets. People demand product customization and a personalized customer experience. Marketers need to consider these customer demands and incorporate them into the overall marketing strategy. Only then can they attract, retain, and grow the right customer segments.
2. The Second C – Convenience
A simple rule of thumb is that customers purchase conveniently available products. It doesn’t just relate to the availability but also the added convenience of getting product-related information. The marketing strategy should convey a clear message about the product or service offering. It adds convenience for the marketer and the customer to understand the true value proposition of the products.
Convenience becomes more important in online marketing. The entire marketing campaign should be well aligned with all the customer touchpoints, navigating customer interest in all the possible domains of a particular product offering. It creates a holistic marketing approach and captures customers at different online platforms.
One of the best strategies to achieve convenience in digital marketing is through marketing automations. Agencies like Acuto offer custom automation solutions like marketing chatbots, automation scripts and data warehousing to help businesses supercharge their marketing campaigns, streamline workflows and save time.
3. The Third C – Competition
Business is all about identifying, managing, and then tackling competition. A successful marketing strategy differentiates your brand from others. It ultimately develops a distinct persona for your brand, which separates you from your competition. Savvy marketers closely monitor their competitors and then devise their marketing strategies.
A scrupulous watch on competition enables your brand to achieve product differentiation in the market. It provides you a competitive edge. Only then can a business acquire a sustainable market share. Moreover, studying the competitors also offers valuable insights to upgrade your business model with necessary components. It becomes stronger to stand firm in the market of Red Ocean.
4. The Fourth C – Creativity
Why has Apple become a trillion-dollar company? Why is Amazon still in profit even under testing times like the wake of the COVID pandemic? The simple answer to so many of such examples is creativity and innovation. It enables a business to meet the actual needs of the market. Innovation helps to stay updated with contemporary market demands. Otherwise, brands become outdated and lose their market share.
Creativity equips a marketing strategy with modern-day tools and contemporary gimmicks. It has become essential to stir the interest of the consumer. Since people are exposed to thousands of advertisements and marketing content, only the innovative ones capture their eye.
5. The Fifth C – Communication
People consider communication different from marketing and that it has more to do with other business dealings. However, marketing communication is an essential part of any company’s functions. A marketing strategy with clear and precise communication produces the desired results. Similarly, effective communication with the internal and external stakeholders creates a positive brand image.
It develops trust among the consumer, which creates loyal customers for a brand. Proper communication is necessary to increase customer lifetime value for a business. People only trust brands that communicate with their customers regularly. They feel a part of the larger philosophy behind a brand’s market perception.
6. The Sixth C – Change
Change is difficult. People do not readily accept change. However, when the atmosphere of change sets in, things start to transform rapidly. The same happens with market dynamics at regular intervals. They keep on fluctuating with deviating customer orientation. Therefore, change becomes a critical component of any brand’s marketing strategy.
Marketing efforts need to change with time. They should integrate all the necessary facets of current market dynamics. Moreover, effective marketing always relies on continuous improvement. Businesses can never attain continuous improvement if they don’t alter their marketing strategy with time. The process of marketing adjustment is crucial, especially for managing technological change. Modern-day marketing is incomplete without technical support. Therefore, marketers should welcome change with time.
7. The Seventh C – Credibility
Delivering on your commitment is a fundamental ethical premise. However, not providing what you promise becomes unforgiving in the business world. Once customers lose trust in a brand, it becomes almost impossible to regain it. Therefore, credibility in marketing communication is pivotal for business success.
Online businesses are more vulnerable to credibility threats because a plethora of information is available online. Customers can tally a market offering against many others. If marketing communication is not credible, it spreads devastating word of mouth for the company. Online platforms provide an efficient tool to widespread these reviews like fire. Therefore, credible marketing collaterals act as a cornerstone for business success.
Final thoughts
There are several other facets of a marketing strategy. These behave as the basic foundation of a strong marketing strategy for an online business. Identifying the right instances and marketing tools to take advantage of the market is key to eCommerce success. We have already seen how online transition saved many businesses amid the pandemic. It has vast future scope, and it all depends on how well you market your offering.
