10 Marketing Masters You Should Study

The ever-increasing reliance on digital media highlights the evolution of marketing.

Anyone involved in marketing has no choice but to adapt to what consumers want.

The changes in how and what people use to find products and services are seemingly putting traditional methods in danger of getting obsolete.

It would seem that strategies that used to be effective several years ago are no longer as popular.

Nonetheless, popularity doesn’t automatically equate to results.

Never undermine the value of “outdated” marketing strategies; although some are no longer popular, they can still bring optimistic results.

They are still as effective today as they were when they’re the only options available.

Old Techniques in a New Landscape

Advertisers and marketers put 90% of their efforts into digital marketing, and for a good reason.

Four out of five consumers go to the web using their smartphones and tablets to look for products and services.

Online campaigns dominate the marketing landscape, but did you know that less than 30% of businesses are happy with their conversion rates from internet marketing?

Despite the digital marketing trend, businesses don’t achieve outright success by solely establishing an online presence. So, what should you do to maximize your marketing potential?

The answer is to incorporate old techniques in a new landscape.

If you can’t find a reason to embrace traditional marketing concepts, these ten individuals will change your perspective:

“Make buying easy.” – Stu McLaren

Marketing expert and coach Stu McLaren stands by the simplest of rules in business: make the buying process as convenient as possible to the consumer. You can learn a thing or two from this “old but gold” advice; start by figuring out how many steps a consumer must go through to purchase a product from you.

Find ways to streamline the process because consumers don’t like it when they’re forced to wait or do many things just to buy something.

“Listen to your customers.” – John Haydon

The art of listening applies to everything, including advertising and marketing. Haydon preaches the concept of hearing and understanding what people want.

Listening to the consumers’ desires means knowing what they want from you. Interestingly, it’s one attribute that brands focused on digital marketing are slowly abandoning.

“What are you struggling with?” – John Lee Dumas

Popular podcaster John Lee Dumas represents the modern take of marketing with his successful digital campaigns, but he knows more than most people that asking the most fundamental question is the key to success.

According to him, as a marketer, you get a ton of information by asking your audience what they’re struggling with.

Hear the answers out, and the focal point of your marketing strategy is to provide a solution to their struggles.

“Understand your prospects.” – Daniel Faggella

Modern marketers spend most of their time establishing an online presence through blogs, websites, and social media.

What they don’t realize is that they’re missing out on something that works 100%:  understanding their prospects.

If you want to know what your customers need from you (or if they need anything in the first place), do it the old-fashioned way by calling them.

Directly ask prospects some questions that will help you understand if they should even be your focus.

Aside from calling customers, you can also get the same information through surveys. They’re both old marketing tactics, but they work.

“Consider lifetime value.” – Nathan Latka

Digital marketers develop a tunnel vision when it comes to sales. For them, nothing is more important than driving the first sale. As a result, they usually forget or even blatantly neglect the value of post-sale relationships with consumers.

But according to Nathan Latka, marketing must focus on delivering value that leads to added revenue from the same group of consumers.

There’s nothing new about this principle, but the reliance on social media and online marketing has gone as far as undermining the significance of building lasting relationships.

 “Build trust.” – Jason Swenk

People buy your products or avail of service from businesses they trust.

Unfortunately, the way marketing is done these days, and it appears as if the goal is to achieve overnight success.

While you can always convince a prospective customer to buy your product or service after just one pitch, you’ll never sustain it.

The old marketing approach focuses on building trust, constantly engaging people on multiple fronts. The idea is to relate to and earn their trust. Once you get it, they’ll become your repeat customers.

“Make a habit of saying thanks.” – Derek Volk

It’s not every day that customers get credit for choosing a brand or buying a product. Nonetheless, you should embrace the habit of thanking your customers the old-fashioned way.

E-commerce sites and online stores constantly ask their customers to leave feedback after the purchase, which is a subtle way of asking them for a “thank you.” In the traditional marketing sense, businesses benefit by thanking their customers instead.

According to Derek Volk, you can do so by simply sending a handwritten note with your appreciation in it. Customers remain loyal when they’re appreciated.

“Solve a problem instead of sell.” – Chris Ducker

The purpose of marketing is to sell, but businesspeople must acknowledge the risk of overdoing it.

Boost your digital marketing campaign all you want, but it’ll never succeed if you’re overzealous about selling.

Call it old style, but you must redirect your strategy towards problem-solving instead of sales. In other words, showcase how your product or service solves a target audience’s problem.

It’s a traditional marketing approach that still works today. Although you’re still technically making a pitch to sell a product or service, you should at least find a way to do it in style.

“Make promises and keep them.” – Hugh Culver

Digital marketing is where you find an abundance of false and unkept promises.

With stiff competition in any niche, businesses and companies do crazy stuff just to lure in customers.

The problem is that they make false claims and end up disappointing their clients with a bad product or a lousy service.

If you are to learn a thing or two from old school marketing masters, one of them should be the concept of keeping your promises.

Hugh Culver says you can do this without even going out of your comfort zone.

Suppose you’re well-acquainted in basic marketing principles.

In that case, you know that writing detailed proposals, making follow-up calls, and full disclosure in creating contracts are the ways to go in keeping your client’s confidence towards your company.

See that you fulfil all your obligations and responsibilities as provided in any agreement you sign with your client.

That’s how you tell everyone else that you’re a trustworthy company.

 “Use SMS.” – Greg Hickman

It’s funny how SMS is considered “outdated” when it was a staple for instant communication several years back.

But for Greg Hickman, it remains a potent marketing tool and is even more impactful than email or social media.

You should revisit SMS for marketing because there are more people active on it than email. If people use it more often, then it makes sense to have your brand appear in it.

Final Thoughts

It’s easy to forget about the old-school marketing techniques when we’re all going gaga over digital marketing and social media.

Don’t wait until you realize that your online marketing campaign isn’t enough before studying and incorporating these conventional tactics.

Rise above your competitors by embracing a longstanding yet highly effective marketing approach.