Electronics Cooling Business Bulletin
Volume 6 | January 2012
In a recent article entitled “Who is Managing Your Brand Image?” my colleague, Graham Kilshaw, explained how customer behavior has effected a significant shift in marketing, from direct response advertising to brand advertising.
As customers gather on social sites where they share opinions and, in turn, are influenced by the preferences of others, marketers are growing increasing aware that their brand images are being created and shaped, with or without their involvement.
In the past, marketers were concerned primarily with “closing the deal”; whereas now customers prefer to build relationships with brands that they can trust. If our prime focus as marketers continues to emphasize “making the sale,” we may just lose the sale, along with our brand image.
Few would argue that the explosion in social media can be attributed to changes in customer behavior and demand. Customers are growing less interested in sales pitches, turning their attention to high-quality, relevant information that solves a problem or answers a question.
For this reason, there has been an unprecedented growth in content marketing as a means of responding to the customer’s needs. According to marketing company, HiveFire, 82% of B2B marketers have adopted the practice of content marketing.
Content marketing takes a holistic, multi-touch approach, whereby a company provides ongoing information to educate customers, thus building long-term relationships and, consequently, managing their brand image. It employs all types of media channels—print and digital, including magazines, newsletters, and social media platforms.
Doug Dixon, Marketing Communications Director at Henkel Electronic Materials, recently commented to us:
“Henkel’s vision is to be the global leader in brands and technology and converting on this vision means delivering high performance products and meaningful technology. From a marketing point of view, we realize that customers have many different touch points and information delivery preferences. To that end, we have engaged in a multi-pronged, content-driven marketing strategy that provides useful information for specialists in the markets we serve.”
At Electronics Cooling, our aim is to provide you with these necessary channels to reach your target customers. One excellent tool is Electronics Cooling Resources, a newsletter that showcases any type of content to your target customer. With Electronics Cooling Resources, you can establish yourself as a thought leader through a varieties of content, including:
- podcasts
- photos
- “how to” videos
- written testimonials
- testimonial videos
- case studies
- white papers
- webcasts
- webinars
- infographics
Instead of leaving it up to your customers to define your brand image, you can start responding to their questions and needs through valuable content that engages them right where they are.
No marketer wants their brand to be hijacked; but if it has, you can not only reclaim your brand image but also shape your reputation and improve custom loyalty. If you would like to discuss the possibilities of content marketing with Electronics Cooling, contact me, Paul Salotto at psalotto@item-media.net.
