SHOULD BRANDS FORGET ABOUT RETAIL ALTOGETHER?

Fighting for retail space is an ongoing and frustrating battle. Not only is it difficult to corner a sizable market share with retail, but retail also comes with associated costs that can be prohibitive for many brands. Fortunately, the online retail space brings some democratization to the sales process. But more than anything, the consumer experience is king, and meeting customer demands is what will make a company successful. The rise of the internet and eCommerce have fundamentally changed the way people shop. And with the increase in online shopping, consumer expectations have also changed. Brands should forget about retail altogether and focus on the online shopping experience if they want to stay competitive. Here are three reasons why:

Reason #1: People want instant gratification.
With the rise in internet shopping and smartphone technology, people have a ‘need it now’ mentality. It’s true that consumers aren’t as patient as they were a generation ago. Consumers expect that they should be able to find a product, buy the product, and have it shipped to their house within a few minutes. They don’t want to drive to a store. They don’t want to fight crowds or deal with the usual hassles associated with a traditional retail shopping experience. If brands want to stay competitive, then they will need to meet the customer’s need for instant gratification.

Reason #2: Brands need to shift their dollars to online marketing techniques.
With the rise in online shopping, brands would be well served to switch up their marketing techniques. Going forward, brands will need to devote more of their marketing dollars to online advertising. Online advertising, if done properly, will give brands some of the best ROI available. For example, the average Google AdWords campaign will give a business a 200% ROI.

Reason #3: Amazon has set consumer expectations high.
Amazon is one of the biggest reasons why consumer tastes have changed so drastically in recent years. More and more, consumers want the type of online shopping experience that Amazon can give them:

• Instant gratification

• Fast shipping

• The ability to quickly and easily comparison shop via reviews

• A variety of choices

Amazon is a multi-billion dollar company, so how can smaller brands even hope to compete with the online retail giant? It’s not as hard as some may think. It’s now easier and more affordable than ever for smaller companies to leverage effective digital marketing strategies.

Amazon has forever changed the retail experience for consumers. In the future, it’s going to be harder and harder to fight for a dwindling amount of retail space. Businesses will need to craft digital marketing strategies to stay competitive. By leveraging the power of Facebook, Instagram, Google, and other online advertising strategies, companies will be able to capture more market share in their industries.

It’s never too late to get started with an effective online marketing strategy. If you’re ready to ditch retail and rebrand your business for the future of online shopping, then you’ll need to consider digital marketing techniques to reach your ideal customer.

WHY IS SONIC BRANDING SO IMPORTANT?

How Important is Sonic Branding to Your Audience? 
Sonic branding is the act of using sound and music to trigger a memory or emotion. Many successful, iconic brands use sonic techniques to solidify themselves into the consumer psyche further. Think McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle, or the popular Southwest 'DING'.
 
Music and sound is a language that anyone, anywhere, can speak. Its power transcends culture, time, and place. So, sonic branding should be a huge part of your marketing strategies, regardless of your company’s size or industry. It gives you the opportunity to distill your company’s vision and ethos into a few seconds of sound that will imprint onto your target consumer, conjuring an emotion that is aligned with your brand’s vision. So, how important is sonic branding to your audience?
 
1. Consumers are dependent on voice.  
Content creation is accelerating at an alarming rate. More and more, consumers are relying on voice technology to help them sort through ever-expanding mountains of digital information. To better sift through content, consumers are starting to exchange their independence for fast, dependable information that is personalized, hence the rise of Amazon’s Alexa and other voice-activated devices.
 
Because consumers are starting to depend more and more on voice agents, those voice agents are standing between marketers and their target audience members. Going forward, it’s crucial that brands can create audio connections with consumers, and sonic branding techniques can help companies build their brand identity.
 
2. Sound is one of the most memorable of the senses. 
Consumers are constantly bombarded with images and sounds. To make sense of all this information and data, the most memorable must be simplified and stripped down to its bare bones. As content creation continues to accelerate, catchy, memorable phrases need to be continuously shortened. But when it comes to sound and sonic branding, it’s power is ever-present.
 
It’s much easier to create a memorable jingle than it is to create an iconic tagline that will not only communicate the brand’s vision but also imprint successfully into consumer’s memories. Sound is much more memorable than words.
 
3. Sonic branding conveys and triggers emotions more reliably than visual marketing techniques. 
Sound plays a strategic role in differentiating a product or service. Audio is stored in the emotional centers of the brain, and that’s why people can respond to and remember music and sound once it has been memorized. It’s one of the reasons why it’s easy for people to remember a song from their childhood, even if they haven’t heard it for decades.
 
Sonic branding is a way to better connect with your target audience as more and more consumers rely on voice recognition to make sense of information. With sonic branding, consumers have a greater ability to recall and trust your brand. Sound and music give you the ability to differentiate your products and offerings from your competitors further. And audio enables you to connect with your customers on a deep, emotional level. As you continue to hone and refine your marketing techniques, it’s important to understand how sound and music can enhance your campaigns and further build a mutually beneficial relationship with your customers.

MARKETING TO THE MISSING GENERATION

Millennials are always in the news. Usually, nothing good is ever said about them. In fact, they’re the reason so many industries are dying. Millennials have killed bar soap, Applebee’s, tissues, and they refuse to get married, settle down, or have children. Even the once formidable real estate market is under fire thanks to Millennials.
 
So, in most instances, core Millennials aren’t the best demographic to target anyway. Many members of this generation are struggling to earn enough money for life's basics, let alone have any money set aside for discretionary spending. But fortunately for most businesses, the older end of the Millennial generation and most of Generation X are prime consumers to target in their marketing strategies.

Say Hello to The Missing Generation
Consider the combined older Millennials and Gen X as the missing generation, but a marketing sweet spot for most brands. These buyers are between the ages of 35 and 50, and are referred to as ‘digital pioneers.’ This demographic’s spending power and position in history sets them apart from older and younger consumers.
 
With older consumers, it can be difficult to effectively market to them because they didn't grow up with technology. Most didn’t even pioneer its use. Younger consumers, on the other hand, do not have much buying power. So we're left with the in between/missing generation who understands and uses technology, and has a lot more discretionary spending than their younger counterparts.
 
So, how can a business successfully market to the missing generation?
There are several critical components marketers need to consider when they reach out to the missing generation.

1. Create messages that appeal to their stage in life. The average age of first-time home buyers has steadily risen since the housing market collapsed. Now, the average age is 32. Most of the missing generation’s members will be homebuyers. Most will also already have children. The older end of the missing generation may have teens at home or no children at home. But, they aren’t quite ready for retirement like older generations. Consider their unique life stage when you market to this demographic.
2. Don’t coddle or patronize them with tech marketing. Digital pioneers were either super early adopters of technology or were the ones who created it. They know their way around a smartphone. Most probably use Facebook on a daily basis.
3. Appeal to their nostalgia. While digital pioneers are quite comfortable with technology, they do remember a time before social media and the internet. In fact, many older Millennials and Gen X are nostalgic for their childhoods, when times were simpler. When crafting marketing messages for the lost generation, try to appeal to their sense of nostalgia.
4. Do not use corporate messaging. Millennials and Gen X are leery of corporate America. The housing crisis shook this generation’s faith in big business and the government. It’s critical that marketers don’t use corporate speak or traditional advertising methods when they try to reach this demographic. Testimonials will appeal more to digital pioneers than corporate messaging.

Marketers have gotten caught up in the heady scramble to catch the attention of younger, tech-savvier consumers. In doing so, they’ve ignored a key demographic that has access to a steady stream of income. So when trying to appeal to members of the missing generation, don’t forget these crucial points.