October 28, 2016
Andrew J. Chapin is founder of benjamin
These days, push commerce is the default setting for marketers. Do you want customers? Assemble a gargantuan email list, blast out notifications with dozens of deals multiple times a day, and hope it will nudge someone toward a buy.
Sounds good, right? There is just one problem: An Experian PriceGrabber survey estimates more than 52 percent of respondents find this tactic overwhelming and irritating.
Count me among the annoyed.
For years, Groupon assailed my inbox with offers for spa treatments, paintball games and other deals that had nothing to do with me.
Of course, because it possesses such a big email list, it did not matter that the site converted less than 1 percent of those leads into sales. Luckily, for the rest of us, there is another way.
Pull, do not push
It is no longer about the number of leads you bring in.
In fact, according to a recent trends report by BrightTALK, 68 percent of business-to-business marketers mention increased lead quality as a top priority.
Mobile pull campaigns help define lead qualification and set a clear framework for the buyer’s journey.
Rather than bombard uninterested mobile customers, this strategy zeroes in on an educated lead more willing to be converted.
Can they coexist?
Some marketers assume the solution is to combine both push and pull.
Push helps reach new customers, develop qualified leads and wake up dormant customers.
On the other hand, pull appeals to those just starting to search out your product and can help position your company as a thought leader.
However, due to the current ubiquity of social media and advertising, most customers already have all the information they need — and if they want more, they will find it on their own terms.
In the meantime, they will tune out your unwanted push ads.
Most businesses would probably claim to use both tactics equally.
However, when it comes to striking the right balance, Amazon gets it right. It does not have to send out a lot of promotional emails to get qualified leads.
So why should others adopt pull marketing tactics? Here are three reasons:
1. It brings the right people into the conversation. You cannot argue with a campaign in which 100 percent of the leads are interested in completing the transaction.
For example, some of the best deals are not even promoted — they are just planted.
From there, loyal users take and run with them. Mobile users get these prepared deals delivered to their fingertips, enabling them to act on them instantly.
Once your qualified leads are aboard, they will share deals out like crazy until a blog picks you up. After that, your work is done for you.
2. It creates more wins. Your conversion rates will not be the only thing that skyrockets. You will be able to instantly identify your customer base and know how to keep it coming back for more.
In fact, a Marketo survey found that referrals convert almost four times as often as other channels.
Strong word of mouth can unearth qualified leads you did not know were out there.
3. It produces better marketing material. Relying on push strategies means you have to rack your brain for attention-grabbing headlines and often resort to gimmicks such as emojis and caps lock abuse. But people can only read so many of these before they build immunity.
Pull marketing is not about trying to stay in people’s faces constantly.
With it, you can redirect your efforts to writing simple, effective and personalized marketing copy.
In fact, 76 percent of marketers believe that in the next five years, email marketing will become more personalized.
Specialized mobile marketing material curated from a pull campaign tells a customer what he or she needs and when to get it. And when customers feel that you are speaking directly to them, they will keep coming back.
IN SHORT, why be pushy or irritating when you can find top-notch leads using pull marketing?
With it, you see firsthand the age-old concept of quality over quantity — with quality coming out ahead every time.
Andrew J. Chapin is founder of benjamin, Mountain View, CA. Reach him at andrew@benja.co.
Share your thoughts. Click here
