The 5 principles of engagement marketing: engage people directed towards an outcome

This week, Business Review USA is featuring the five principles of engagement marketing based on the e-book by  Marketo, which “[helps] marketers master the art and science of digital marketing.” Principle one is to engage people as individuals. Number two is to engage people based on what they do. Number three is engage people continuously over time.

Principle 4: Engage people directed towards an outcome

To understand this principle—and really, to understand engagement marketing—it’s essential that you have a strong grasp of the customer life cycle: consideration, purchase, use and advocacy for the product or service.  This is because “engaging people directed towards an outcome” is the tactful nudging of the customer from one phase of the cycle to the next, toward purchase or recommendation. Marketo calls this nudge the “call to action.”

From the e-book: “For example, you might design an infographic geared toward potential buyers who aren’t necessarily familiar with your offering. But your goal isn’t just to create awareness with your graphic; your goal is to start building a relationship. Your call to action, in this case, might be an invitation to view more of your content (which will eventually lead to buyers sharing their information, like their e-mail address, with you.)”

Let’s consider a national chain of fitness centers. It’s a mistake to allow your marketing to rely mostly on “a really good website.” At the end of the day, if no one buys a membership to the gym, it does not matter how many people visit the website. In this example, the call to action would be for all new website visitors to schedule in-person appointments. This would create an ideal situation to recruit a new member.

“Using an engagement marketing platform, the fitness center chain could carefully study the path to conversion that their customers take. What do new visitors do the first time they land on the website? What do they click on? What series of page views or emails leads to that crucial in-person visit?” writes Marketo.

Afterward, the information can inform marketing choices: “If a form on a particular website has a high response rate, consider moving that form to a more central page,” explains Marketo.

Through a deep understanding of the customer life cycle, and as a result, the best call-to-action at each phase, “[marketers] can both measure and optimize their marketing at every stage and see real impact on their bottom line,” concludes Marketo.

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