In a World of Marketing Madness, Simplicity Rules Posted on March 2, 2015 by Jessica Lunk Marketers and advertisers used to control the message sent to consumers. But a lot has changed. For instance, we can opt out of watching TV commercials and skip the radio for our favorite podcast. Today there are lots of different channels from which your audience consumes information. This also means that many forces are at work to influence customers to make decisions. Word of mouth, peer recommendations on social media, online advertising, thought leadership, online searches > all of these channels work together to turn prospects into customers. Today’s multi-channel approach to marketing can feel overwhelming, but there is relief. In a complex world of marketing madness, simplicity is key. Here are 5 ways to simplify marketing: Simplify Your Messaging > Do you know who your best customer is? If your messaging is generic, and you’re trying to speak to everyone, you’ll find it difficult to capture anyone’s attention. Instead, boil down your company’s mission, purpose, vision and unique value proposition to attract only your best customer. Your messaging will resonate much better with your audience, cutting through the noise to pull in more (and better!) customers. Simplify Your Design > Website design is trending toward big images, flat icons, and shorter, succinct copy. Sites and design are getting simpler in order to adapt more easily to a fluid landscape of devices, social media channels, email, video and online ads. Design is a communication tool. It should get to the point and aid in conveying your message. Design shouldn’t hinder your ability to connect with your audience. Simple, responsive design can help your brand resonate with your audience across all channels. Along those lines, simple design elements can help you quickly execute multi-channel campaigns, easily adapting creative to social media, print, ads, video and others. Simplify Your Tools > Have you ever invested in technology, only to find that you needed a specialized consultant just to get it to work for you? Not only are complex tools frustrating, but they are time consuming and costly. As a small business, you can’t spare extra time and resources just to make a system work like it should. Cut out the middle man and use simple, but powerful tools like Hatchbuck customers Deanna Fenton and Kim Doyal have done. When you invest in tools that fit your business size, budget and resources, you can dive right in and start seeing results now, rather than waiting 6 months to roll out new technology. Simplify Your Campaigns > Today, marketing is 6 months in, not 6 months out. Agility and flexibility are crucial in executing cross channel campaigns. The market, your target audience, technology – a lot can change before you wrap up a year long campaign. Shorter iterations give you a chance to test a campaign, measure results, learn from what worked (or what didn’t) and repeat. Simplify Your Tests > Little changes can add up to make a big impact. Test one little change at a time to improve customer conversions across channels. Elements like the color of a button, a homepage image, a line of copy, or an email subject line can all be optimized to generate better results. Moving the needle doesn’t need to be complex. Gaining incremental advantages can make a big difference in your business, improving metrics like conversion rates, deal size and customer lifetime value. It’s always easier to get complex. But complexity doesn’t help you to get organized, connect with your audience, or have those meaningful conversations with prospects and customers. Keep it simple to calm the marketing madness.