In the world of marketing, staying in stride with your competitors isn’t enough to gain momentum and success. Many companies are stuck in the sales and marketing playbook from twenty years ago—still relying on expensive direct mailers, print catalogs, billboard ads, TV spots, and cold calling campaigns. The problem with these methods is that consumers have gotten really good at ignoring all of these push tactics from companies. From ad blockers to DVRs, your customers are telling you that they don’t want pushy ads.
So here are 5 non-traditional marketing ideas to help you get your creativity flowing and start to break the cycle of interruption:
1. Answer Your Audience’s Questions
This seems like a really obvious idea, but there are a lot of companies that aren’t doing this. Use your blog to create real, authentic posts that aren’t focused on selling, but instead focus on helping your customers. Social media channels, like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are another perfect place to address common questions, barriers and pain points that your potential customers may have. Answering these questions creates a sense of transparency, generates trust and removes hurdles in the buying process.
Things to try:
- Broadcast a FAQ session on Periscope or Meerkat
- Create a downloadable e-book with answers to common questions
- Publish an FAQ blog or website page
- Use social media to do a question chat or post common questions once a week
2. Help Customers Create Their Own Story
Have you ever had a really exceptional experience at a company? How many people did you tell about that experience?
Helping customers create a unique shopping experience will not only create brand loyalty, but also give the customer a great story or shareable moment. When customers love your brand enough to share about it, they become powerful promoters.
Things to try:
- Inspire exceptional customer service, give your employees permission to go out of their way to give guests and customers a great experience
- Surprise your customers
- Loyalty programs
- Throw a customer appreciation party
3. Educate Potential Customers
Information is now more readily available for buyers than it’s ever been, so consumers now spend massive amounts of time researching, learning and preparing before they make a purchase. Consumers hate the feeling of being tricked by the car mechanic or the pushy salesperson trying to add on the $350 upgrade.
When you take the time to educate customers, you show them that you are trustworthy. Show them how you can solve their problems, help your customer to be smarter—then, if they run into trouble or have questions, they will know exactly who to call.
Things to try:
- How-To-Guides
- Video Instructions
- Free Webinars
- Online Resources
4. Show Them You Care
Consumers love to support companies that care about the communities around them. Volunteering and showing the stories going on in your company can go a long way to help humanize your brand. People love supporting other people, but consumers are often leery of big corporations.
Things to try:
- Tell the stories of your customers and employees
- Volunteer with members of your company
- Sponsor events & support companies that give back
- Share stories from your community
5. Be Interactive
Traditional marketing is all about pushing your ideas on to potential purchasers. By allowing your customers to be interactive with your brand, you instantly become more memorable. Not all companies can do elaborate campaigns with vending machines like the one below, but you can use the principles to create an unforgettable experience.
Things to try:
- Interact with shoppers on social media
- Use surprising signs and display ads
- Let people try your product
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6. Develop an App
Developing an app may seem like a stretch for some companies, but just hear me out. There are a lot of awesome free tools and interactive apps available today. Think about things like headline generators, calculators, or the free versions of keyword research tools.
These apps can be a great introduction to your company in a non-salesy way. Helping people get answers to their questions and better understand the value that you bring to the marketplace.
Companies that already have developers are more likely to have the resources in-house to deploy this kind of tactic, but there tons of websites out there that can connect you will talented designers and developers that can help you get these tools built.
7. Start a Podcast
According to Convince and Convert, 67 million Americans listen to podcasts monthly and 42 million Americans listen to podcasts weekly. This is a huge number of potential captive listeners over the length of your podcast. While content marketing is a continually crowded space, there is a steady number of listeners who are looking for great podcasts to add to their mix.
Here are a few tips for getting started:
- Make a plan – Know what your outline will be and what specific content area you want to cover.
- Invest in some good equipment – This doesn’t have to be professional recording quality, but do some research on high-level podcast quality equipment to make sure you sound great.
- Promote your podcast across multiple channels – Don’t expect that new listeners are going to come to you right away. Use your blog, social channels and emails to start gathering consistent listeners.
- Get lots and lots of feedback – Find out from your listeners what works and what doesn’t and always keep iterating.
Conclusion
Marketers aren’t going to be able to rely on the same playbooks forever. It’s time to start innovating and testing different ideas to help you stand out from the crowd of businesses that are out there making noise.
These are just a few ways that you can break the cycle of interruption-based marketing and implement a non-traditional marketing idea to connect with buyers in a new and different way.
Author’s Note: Originally published Aug 17, 2015 and updated November 16, 2017