It’s a new year and there is no time like the present to evaluate the marketing trends and opportunities available to you, as you launch your business into 2021. Real-time marketing is the real deal and it is helping companies across the globe advance their marketing reach and success. Are you ready to help your business grow and takeoff with real-time marketing?
Before we get you ready to go out of this universe with real-time marketing, I guess it would help if we gave a bit of insight into what this marketing method is. Real-time marketing is focused on reacting in real, or near, real-time. It’s about creating relevant messaging, and by listening to and anticipating customer needs. Essentially, real-time marketing focuses on current events, trends, or feedback.
Real-time marketing is marketing performed “on-the-fly” to determine an appropriate or optimal approach to a particular customer at a specific time and place (Wikipedia). It is a form of marketing that seeks the most appropriate offer for a given customer sales opportunity and can be changed in the moment. The dynamic ‘just-in-time’ decision making behind a real-time offer aims to exploit a given customer interaction defined by website clicks or some form of conversation (typically via social media).
A study found real-time marketing not only positively impacts standard marketing goals; word-of-mouth, attention, preference, likelihood to try or buy, but it also skyrockets other marketing initiatives, including paid and owned media effectiveness (Altimeter). In fact, a report from Monetate and Econsultancy concludes that marketers report a 26% increase in conversion rates from real-time marketing (HubSpot).
Real-time marketing is the exception to the business rule: “Be proactive and not reactive”. Real-time marketing occurs when your company reacts, instead of planning or strategizing a marketing plan for months. The objective of real-time marketing is to connect with your audience and communicate your brand position. This form of marketing is about being agile and having the ability to change your marketing strategy to engage your customers in the moment.
Real-time marketing doesn’t always have to be an unplanned event. You may be able to plan real-time marketing if there’s an occurrence or ongoing trend. For example, if you strategize an ad around a current fad, your company might become more appealing to your audience because you understand them and can relate to them. A current example of planning a real-time marketing campaign around a present event, is COVID-19. Having marketing that addresses and speaks to your audience about something that is a major “here and now” thing, will help you ignite your real-time marketing strategy.
Real-time marketing helps your business provide relevant messaging that is tailored to your audience’s wants, interests, and needs. Having an active social media presence will help your business implement a real-time marketing strategy. Using social media to connect to your audience, allows your business to be “in the know” about current trends and conversations, which should propel you to react and adapt your marketing.
You can also gain knowledge about your audience and their current interests by looking at your marketing data. What pages on your website is your audience visiting the most and what is gaining the most response and action? These analytics can help you to determine what is relevant to your customers and how you can actively engage them more, as you adjust your real-time marketing strategy.
Search engine marketing is also a robust tool to use to help you better understand your audience and real-time events. Search engine marketing can help you identify what your customers are searching for, so you can adjust to stand out. You can also use search engine targeting tools to ensure you reach the right audience. That type of personalization, in marketing, has elevated real-time marketing efforts.
Are you ready to help your business grow and takeoff with real-time marketing? To effectively implement a real-time marketing plan, you should always listen to your audience, monitor industry trends, and know where the conversation is taking place. Once you are “in the know”, you need to react and respond to your audience, while not forgetting who your ideal audience is, what your brand stands for, and how you believe you can ensure a successful liftoff for your business.
At Water Bear Marketing, we are real-time marketing experts. With our proprietary technology, we can help you launch a successful real-time marketing strategy. Contact us today for a free consultation. We are ready to make your business soar in 2021.