{"id":1171,"date":"2011-04-04T20:37:01","date_gmt":"2011-04-05T00:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.archimediastudios.com\/corporate\/?p=1171"},"modified":"2011-04-07T19:20:42","modified_gmt":"2011-04-07T23:20:42","slug":"the-new-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.archimediastudios.com\/corporate\/2011\/04\/the-new-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"The New Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The world has changed. We are in the midst of an unprecedented shift of power to the consumer fueled by the virtual megaphone handed to them through social media outlets. When a customer is angry or has a bad experience with a product or service, the old rule of thumb was that they told an average of 10 people about it. In today\u2019s world some could easily be telling 10,000 (or more!). On the flip side, happy customers can be telling many more than the old average of 3 people about their good experience. Marketing executives just need to design initiatives that enable and activate them to do so. That shift can be represented through adapting one of every marketer\u2019s favorite marketing conceptual frameworks, the funnel.<\/p>\n

Infusing Engagement into the Marketing Funnel
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With the expansion of the marketer\u2019s toolbox to include social media, marketing is no longer about pushing out one way communications. The marketing world is no longer defined solely by impressions; it\u2019s now a world of interactions. Today\u2019s marketing includes the customer\u2019s voice throughout the process, whether it\u2019s intentional or not. Customers will talk online and comment on a brand\u2019s marketing campaigns, products, services, and even how a company treats employees. It\u2019s not enough to think about how companies communicate outwards; it\u2019s just as important to think about how customers can communicate back, with each other, and arguably most importantly, with new prospects.<\/p>\n

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A few years ago,\u00a0Forrester Research published a report on \u201cengagement\u201d and suggested that the marketing funnel has become much more complex in today\u2019s environment.\u00a0 (See image.\u00a0 While the influencing factors are more complicated, the same simple, visual framework as the traditional marketing funnel can be leveraged to show this complexity. The design needs to account for engagement throughout the process rather than looking at it through a lens of static messages we push out.<\/p>\n

For example, traditionally, marketers look to create awareness by placing carefully planned messages across appropriate media outlets. Today, customers can create and spread their own messages about a brand through user-generated content and social networks. Traditionally, marketers would hope to influence customers in the \u201cconsideration\u201d phase through strategic promotions and sales tactics. Today, user-generated ratings and reviews are frequently enough to convince a customer to make the purchase. Building loyalty is no longer just about loyalty points programs for repeat purchase or sending regular emails to customers. Building loyalty now means entering into a dialogue with them and letting customers participate in more meaningful ways than static customer feedback surveys or a constant barrage of emails announcing special promotions.<\/p>\n

Extending the Marketing Funnel
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The old marketing funnel generally followed some version of this pattern:<\/p>\n