- Read this article, “Modern marketing methods: Strategies to connect digital with traditional techniques.”
- Take the quiz here.
- Earn 25 credits towards the Pool & Hot Tub Council of Canada’s ( PHTCC’s) Trade Certification Program.
-
Voice search
Almost everyone has used Siri, Google, or Alexa at some point. Industry experts are finding ways to integrate the convenience of voice recognition into their businesses. Web developers insert a code into a website that allows customers to ask questions outside of the typical chatbot option with the click of a button (even TVs have started incorporating this alternative to guide searches). With the help of Google Search Console, one can formulate potential question-and-answer scenarios and predict the type of information website visitors may request.
-
Experiential commerce
The key is to provide consumers a positive engagement with a brand to support product sales or marketing. One can even build/offer a hands-on interaction to promote their brand and evoke an experience for the customer. It is a mini-event that allows Instagram worthy images to be shared with a branded hashtag—it steps outside the box and is creative. Maybe one has a swim spa setup and can allow a free swim week with exercises, yoga, and kid-friendly fun available? Or perhaps, one has mini samples of a product that can be won by participating in an exciting game? It is good to conjure up positive emotion and have the customer feel like they were a part of something and are welcome back anytime they want.
-
Personalized e-commerce
This concept focuses more on the customer’s experience online than the products or their price. Customers want an easy, personalized, and unique shopping experience. They want augmented reality, live agents to help walk them through any questions they may have, and feel catered to. Businesses who opt for this type of marketing method present customers with products that complement their purchase history and make them feel special by interacting with them on a VIP wavelength. Perhaps a business asks the customer to upload an image that has an avatar created—the avatar can sit in a digital pool, on a digital floatie, or try on sunglasses from the comfort of their home.
-
Visual search
This trend is on the rise because of Google’s image search feature and apps such as CamFind and Snappar. Customers (millennials and Gen Z especially—generations marketers need to take into consideration) no longer type the words of a product to locate it. They simply upload images and find their next purchase visually.
How does a business stay on track with this trend without investing in their own complex scan platform? They ensure their product images are online, build image search into their web inventory, focus on schema mark up (a code on a business’s website to help search engines return more informative results for users) and metadata, submit images to sitemaps, and use image focused sites, such as Pinterest, with links to direct purchase Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).
