Marketing plans can be a lot like life—it’s easy to get in a rut and keep doing what’s comfortable.  

Internal marketing departments are often tackling multiple initiatives and ever-changing technologies, along with daily tasks and asks. So hitting the restart button on the previous year’s marketing plan feels like the path of least resistance. After all, if it’s not broke, why fix it? 

But we’re getting ready to embark on a new decade. And what better time to infuse some creativity and fresh thinking into your marketing plan? 

We surveyed our account managers at Approach and have gathered four fresh ideas to spice up your marketing strategy and plan for 2020.  

Find Feeder Audiences 

Every business has their key defined audiences, of course. But if you feel like you’ve exhausted every avenue to reach them, think outside the box for who might be influencing the purchasing decisions of your target customers. For brands targeting families, consider how you might engage grandparents as well as parents. If you have a product that makes a great gift, infuse strategies to reach gift givers, not just gift recipients. Identifying these connected audiences opens up unique outlets and opportunities to get your product to the right people. 

Create New Ways to Get Customer Input 

Customer input is vital to help brands and businesses know if they are meeting the needs of their customers. But how do you fit in gathering this input, beyond randomly asking customers to fill out a survey or leave a review? In 2020, make customer input a key priority. Host some focus groups. Offer incentives for customers who fill out a survey or write a review. Hearing what your customers have to say helps you better serve them, and you can use those rave reviews in other areas of your marketing plan. So it’s a win-win all around. 

Try Something New Socially 

Speaking of customer input—your social channels are an untapped resource when it comes to understand what resonates with your audience, not to mention all of the analytics a brand can utilize to inform more than just their social strategy.  In general, social media is an efficient and effective way to try and test new things.  Think about how you can use A/B testing to see what content, imagery and language sparks with your target demographic in the coming months to inform what you will do in the coming year.    

Get Back to Grassroots 

We often remind ourselves that marketing is about making personal connections with customers.  While a cohesive big-picture marketing strategy is imperative, don’t forget about the high-touch, often small moments that will influence your target’s final purchasing decision.  Whether it be involvement in a hyper-local event, involvement with a relevant community partner or partnering with an influencer who can authentically speak to your brand’s true value proposition—these meaningful strategies are an important (but often forgotten!) way to reach customer hearts and minds.  

We love brainstorming new ideas with clients. Are you ready to get out of your marketing rut? Approach us at hello@approachmarketing.com. We’d love to chat!