This week’s tip is all about marketing modernism. If you are looking to grow your business, then starting with an understanding of what makes something “modern” can help you in that process.

Modern design looks back at earlier styles as its sources and influences. Artists and designers use these references to create new designs that still have this inspiration from the past.

Certain concepts such as proportions, colors, and textures used in modern designs look very familiar to us because they were repeated over and over throughout history.

That familiarity helps make them feel natural and easy to use. It also creates a sense of nostalgia for those who enjoy modern art and design.

In fact, some would argue that contemporary artists take cues not only from the past, but from older generations of artists as well!

If you want to learn more about how modern style influenced other styles, check out our article here. Now let's talk about why it's important to market using modern aesthetics.

Get rid of the dinosaur approach to marketing

As we mentioned earlier, most traditional forms of advertising and marketing are becoming obsolete. Due to how technology is advancing at a lightning speed, you will not be able to keep up with what tricks companies are using to market their products.

New technologies such as social media, smartphone apps, and online shopping make it easy to spread your brand’s message, promote your product, and connect with other people.

By giving yourself more tools to advertise, you will have an edge over competitors that are investing in outdated strategies.

What about advertisements? Television and radio commercials are going away too! Companies use digital platforms for ads now, so there is no need to spend money on expensive broadcast equipment.

You can create a business website or app and add advertising features such as video campaigns, interactive contests, and targeted promotions.

Replace it with what?

Changing your marketing approach is not a quick, easy or casual process. It takes time to test concepts that work and doesn’t work, so you have to be firm about how much money you want to spend before diving in.

If you are continually changing things up, you will lose focus of what works and what doesn’t. You will become too distracted by new trends which can waste your hard-earned capital.

It’s important to find a stable form of marketing that delivers results while staying out of the way. Find something that you know works and stick to it!

That being said, there are some classic ways to market products that still hold weight. A few tried and true strategies include: TV advertisements, billboards, direct mail, social media ads, online stores, and flyers/pamphlets.

These types of advertising are totally okay to use once in a while, but if you feel like your business has run dry and needs an injection of cash, try one of these strategies first.

How to do market research

You may wonder what kind of research you should do to determine whether or not these methods are working for your company. Here are some tips to get you started.

1. Do some cost-benefit analysis. What benefits does this product offer me as a customer? How much will I save if I purchase it instead of another similar item?

2. Check reviews.

Listen to your customers

Let’s look at an example of how smart marketing can be. A few years back, people were still talking about “branding.” Companies would try to create a distinct image for themselves by using distinctive colors or shapes, developing slogans and logos, and so on.

These days, that idea has been replaced almost entirely with the term “customer experience..” Why? Because it’s a better way to describe what companies should be doing.

Instead of thinking about their brands, they should think about something closer to what people want from their products and services. That may sound vague, but it gets into some very specific areas.

For instance, why do people buy Amazon Prime? To save money by getting free shipping! And why does Walmart continue to spend vast sums of money on advertising every week? Because they know people love their stores.

And what makes someone go out and spend lots of money on a new smartphone? The design looks cool. Partly because designers put a lot into making them attractive, and partly because people enjoy looking at pretty things.

That’s just one small example of how businesses have come to the conclusion that if you’re going to make a profit off of something, you need to focus on giving people whatever they want out of it.

Develop your brand

As we mentioned before, marketing is more than just advertising products or brands. It includes telling people who you are as a company, creating strong relationships with others in the community, developing your personal branding, and investing time into establishing yourself as an influencer.

All of these things take work that may not necessarily pay off right away but will eventually help you grow!

Influencers are famous individuals or companies that have a large audience that trusts them and believe what they say. By adding their voice to yours, you gain exposure and recognition for your product or service. Influencers are very popular due to this influence so invest in it by joining groups and sharing your knowledge and experiences.

Your personal branding is how you present yourself online and offline- your style, personality, and tone match. Make sure those matches sync up and create an impression that people can relate to or trust.

Know your customers like the back of their hand

It is not enough to assume that everyone in your target audience knows you, likes you, and has done business with you before. You have to prove it every day by interacting with them, marketing to them, and understanding who they are as individuals.

Your potential clients may know about your product or service but that doesn’t mean they're going to buy from you. They might need something else at the time, or maybe they don't want what you sell anymore.

They could be reading reviews about you now and deciding whether to work with you depending on how bad or good those reviews are!

In this era of digital literacy, people expect fast answers, clear communication, and easy access to information. If you're not sure what they are looking for, they will find it somewhere else.

You must ensure that your competition isn't more efficient at marketing than you are if you want to remain competitive.

Encourage your customers to be a part of your brand

As we mentioned before, marketing is not about telling people what to buy but instead incentivizing them to spend money on your products or services.
As a marketer, you should strive to create loyal followers who will constantly purchase from you. You can do this by encouraging your clients to be parts of your company.

By being social, sharing your experiences as an entrepreneur, hosting events, giving out awards for achievements – these are all ways to get connected with your audience.

These connections could be via chat programs like Slack, Twitter, Facebook, etc., event participation, direct messages on social media, and/or meeting in person at a conference or event.

Grass-roots strategies that don’t cost a lot of money are perfect ways to connect with your community.

Use social media

As we mentioned, staying relevant in this digital era means being active on all of the major social media platforms.

That’s not to say you have to be posting about marketing every single day or even that your posts should always be focused on advertising, but you should at least be using the tools for what they were designed for!

Using Facebook to connect with friends and family is great way to promote your business, but tweeting and/or writing blogs are much better ways to create an audience and generate interest in your products and services.

By adding these into your promotional mix, you’ll find yourself more successful than before.

Create a website

Creating your own online presence is an easy way to get started marketing. All you need to do is pick a good domain name, install WordPress or another content management system (CMS) that can help you design and update your site, and then start creating!

There are many free tools available to anyone who wants to create an online space to share information and products. Content may be limited to only you, but with the right tool, you can easily expand upon it. You can also use third-party applications to add more functionality to your site.

Some apps make it easier to connect with people and other sites, while others offer features such as SEO optimization or eCommerce capabilities. There’s no wrong way to choose them, so experiment away!

Your domain name is like their address. It helps tell people where they can find you if they want to contact you or learn about what you have to say. Find one that makes sense and is memorable.