Integrated marketing communications is the all the buzz these days. But which marketing tactics are best for your specific business or industry?
We’ve taken a look at five key industries to identify marketing trends and opportunities your business can use for its integrated marketing communications plan.
Healthcare
Although traditional marketing, such as tradeshows/conferences, direct marketing and print/TV ads, remains most popular with the healthcare industry, digital spending has grown the most in the last several years. Of all marketing tactics, paid digital advertising and social media spending increased the most, according to the 2013 Healthcare Marketers Trends Report by Medical Marketing and Media (MM&M) and Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide.
Financial services
Financial service firms have been slow to adopt digital marketing practices; but, according to a study by Marketo, financial companies’ social media presence rose 31 percent from 2011 to 2012 – way above average for other industries. Online tactics, like social media and marketing automation, can be highly effective for financial services companies.
See how Flint Group engaged banking customers with Alerus Financial’s Small Business Connect, a website tailored to small-business owners.
Higher education
Research shows that direct mail and email marketing is the best way to reach college-bound high school students. According to a 2012 study by Stamats, 39 percent of college-bound high school seniors prefer personalized direct mail and 29 percent prefer personalized email. Plus, more than half of potential college students use mobile to study college options.
See how Flint Group’s automated email marketing campaign increased University of Minnesota, Crookston, enrollment by 12 percent.
Industrial/Manufacturing
With 54 percent of industrial companies increasing their online marketing budgets in 2013, according to GlobalSpec’s 2013 Trends in Industrial Marketing report, there’s no question that the industrial sector is moving digital. Digital channels comprise seven of the top 10 marketing channels used by manufacturers.
- The most popular channels: e-mail marketing, tradeshows, SEO and social media
- The least popular channels: direct mail, mobile marketing and podcasts
Retail
A 2012 survey by Appcelerator revealed that nearly two-thirds of developers believe that consumers will make more purchases on their mobile phone than their credit card in 2013. This means that having a mobile-friendly website is more important than ever for retail businesses.
But it’s not just mobile – Brett Markinson of online show company Sole Society says that in order to keep up with consumer behavior, retail marketers must shift their focus from e-commerce vs. offline commerce to integrated commerce.
B2B vs. B2C
Regardless of your industry, I think you’ll find it interesting to look at the differences between the most effective marketing tactics for B2B and B2C companies.
I’ll leave you with an overall snapshot of the most effective marketing tactics for both B2B and B2C, followed by the difficulty level to execute these tactics.
Do these statistics surprise you? What marketing tactics does your business find most effective? Share with us in the comments below.