Everyone knows about content marketing, but are you up-to-date on the new assistive marketing trend? Mobile has overhauled how brands market to consumers. More than 50% of all Google searches are made from a smartphone. Customers can research products from anywhere including the store, the bus or even the meeting they’re not paying attention to. More and more business is conducted on mobile and deals are won and lost between taps.
As mobile continues its dominant takeover of our lives, more and more micro-moments are created in which companies must compete for attention. Just as content marketing surged in the late 2000’s, assistive marketing is a new wave that you can expect to start hearing about more and more.
Assistive Marketing isn’t new, just the way we do it.
Content marketing wasn’t new either. It dates back to the 1700’s when Benjamin Franklin printed an almanac to promote his printing business. In the 1950’s during the Golden Age of Television, advertisers latched onto televised content. The only thing that changed in the 21st century was how accessible and interactive content became with the widespread adoption of the internet, social media and iPhones.
Brands have been assisting their customers for a very long time. At the very core of a business, they are helping people solve problems every day. However, now brands must take on the challenge of assisting current and potential customers even when they’re not in direct contact with the product, a representative or even your website. We can thank smartphones and devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home that have taken advantage of voice recognition and built worthwhile virtual assistants that are actually helpful.
The value of assisting people is contact.
Just like content marketing, assistive marketing is all about making contact with a consumer and providing them with value in the moment. For example, as a B-to-B business you could build a chat bot that answers your customers most pressing frequently asked questions. This seamless experience replaces the headache of searching for your FAQ page and digging through it to find the answer.
Interact on an individual basis.
Another part of assistive marketing is interacting with consumers as individuals instead of using mass messages. The most successful brands will know how to interact at every turn, through the customer journey and servicing the relationship after the sale. A well-timed SMS text message that fulfills a need in that micro-moment may just turn the tide in your new business efforts.
Technology is hard.
Implementing new technology into your already busy marketing department can be difficult to say the least. Agency Entourage has dedicated experts that can help you build the infrastructure to better assist potential customers every day. Contact us to discover how we can work together to drive better marketing technology and grow your business.
