My Daughter, The Marketing Expert

Contributed by Ryan Nelson

A little over a year ago my life changed in the best way possible. My daughter was born on Thanksgiving Day 2016 and it has been a whirlwind ever since.

Being a new parent, you have to learn a lot of new skills very quickly. Trying to appease a baby that is upset but can’t yet communicate her needs leads to some creative problem solving.  You have to think on your feet. What works one day will not the next. I have found over the last year that some of my marketing strategy experience and well as some marketing message best practices have come in handy.

Consistency Is Key

One thing you learn when raising a small bundle of joy is how important a consistent routine is. Children do better when they know what to expect from their day. More importantly, introducing something new is easier if you have a well-established routine.

Consistency with your marketing is just as important. Consider the journey your customers take; starting with learning about your brand, moving to engaging with it, and finally establishing a connection to your brand. As your customers move along this journey, a clear and consistent brand message will help make that journey a seamless one. If customers can draw a connection from one step of the journey to another, they are more likely to view your brand in a way that aligns with how you intended it to be interpreted.

Know Your Audience

I never thought I would be the type of parent that would resort to baby talk, but I was very wrong. So much so that very often I find myself struggling to talk to in a normal, adult-ish, type of way when I’m not around my daughter. As annoying as baby talk is, when using it with my daughter it is very effective. It promotes a safe, welcoming, and warm environment for her. It also never fails to put a smile on her face.

Much like the wooing and cooing in my conversations, the message you deliver needs to be tailored to your audience. Another important consideration is segmentation. What works for one of your audiences may turn another segment of customers off. When laying out your marketing strategy, identifying any critical segmentations is an important first step before you ever start working on your messaging.

Cutting Through Distraction

A popular stat I’m sure you all have heard many times (not that you completely processed it) is that the average attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in the early 2000s to 8 seconds today. Sometimes I think my daughter has about half of that. When communicating with my daughter, I often find that when I’m trying to get her attention the best strategy is to be short and concise when speaking and look her in the eye. Altogether, that is a good strategy when you are trying to get anyone’s attention, especially if they are busy playing on their phone.

There is a lot of noise out there. Getting your message heard is always a battle. A good marketing strategy will inform you on the best channels to distribute your message so you get in front of your targeted customers. After you figure out where you will try and connect with your audience, the next hurdle is figuring out what you will say. Taking cues from conversations with babies, a concise message that will leave the audience no doubt about what you want them to take away should always be your goal.

If All Else Fails, A Jingle…..

There are times when a consistent routine, a concise and direct message, and baby talk just don’t cut it. Teetering on levels of embarrassing that make baby talk seem like amateur hour, I have on many occasions resorted to singing to my daughter. One such occasion is during her bath time, where we sing a made-up song called “Baby Beluga,” beluga after the mighty beluga whale! When she was very young, my daughter loved the song. Now I think my wife and I are bigger fans than she is, but we sing it every bath night just the same.

Now not every company or product would benefit from a catchy jingle, but it is important to realize that a good marketing strategy should consider all types of marketing tools. Nothing should automatically be tossed on the cutting room floor. There is in-numerous amount of ways to market yourself or your products and it would be a disservice to not consider all the ways you can connect with your customers.