Developing a 360-Degree Marketing Plan: A Look at the Why and the How

June 12, 2023 by Christine

A 360-degree marketing plan is an approach that allows you to reach customers at all possible points of contact—every business owner’s dream! However, you may be wondering if it’s really worth all the effort. In that case, consider this: Successfully putting together such a plan enables you to maximize the chances of finding new potential customers and engaging them in a wide variety of ways.

Still not convinced?

Then let’s take a closer look at why your business needs a 360-degree marketing plan and explain how to execute it using the resources that are available to you…

Why Your Business Needs a 360-Degree Marketing Plan

Like any business owner, you want to expand your customer base so you can increase sales. To do that, you must ensure your marketing efforts are as effective as possible. But unless you have a 360-degree marketing plan in place, you’ll miss out on opportunities to reach, engage, and eventually convert prospects into paying customers. 

Why?

For starters, there’s the fact that customers are unique individuals who use various channels and spend time in various places. So, the customer journey may look a little different from one person to the next—like how they become aware of your business in the first place. By ensuring you are where your audience is and tailoring your message to each platform, you can enjoy much better results.

Research also shows it takes an average of 8 touchpoints to make a sale. That means a prospect will likely have at least 8 interactions with your brand before they buy. By varying those interactions, you can stay top of mind and potentially shorten the time it takes them to make their buying decision. 

Ultimately, implementing such a plan means maintaining a solid presence across multiple channels (both online and offline) and connecting with prospective customers where they are. It means taking a holistic approach to marketing so you can avoid leaving any gaps. With all your bases covered, you can put your message in front of your audience, no matter where they are. And as a result, you can boost your chances of turning them into customers. 

What Are the Benefits of Having a 360-Degree Marketing Plan?

At Viral Solutions, we focus more specifically on a 360-degree marketing plan. In each case, the business is using all the resources at its disposal to reach prospects and customers at all possible points of contact. 

Here are some of the benefits:

• It ensures consistency in messaging and design, which leads to brand recognition.
• It allows prospects to engage where and how they want, which improves lead generation. 
• It provides more comprehensive data, which shows what’s working and what’s not.
• It gives greater insight into customer behavior, which improves future efforts.
• It helps in maximizing resources, which ensures businesses get the most out of their marketing investment.
• It delivers greater exposure, which gives companies an edge over the competition. 
• It helps nurture existing customers, which increases retention and brand advocacy. 

Putting such a plan into action means you’re not relying on a single method of reaching potential customers. It makes your company more flexible and quicker to adapt to market trends. Moreover, it allows you to pivot with ease when customer needs and preferences change.

What Resources and Tactics to Use

Now we’ve reached one of the most common questions on this topic: How do you execute a 360-degree marketing plan?

The answer is that it depends—on your budget, industry, competition, audience, and so forth. There isn’t really a universal way to put such a plan into motion because there are so many factors at play. That’s why you need to rely on your unique strategy for guidance. 

Successful marketing takes both discipline (strategy – a written plan) and execution (tactics – the people and the tools). Strategy must come first; otherwise, you’ll end up wasting time and money on tactics that don’t fit. (If you remember nothing else, remember that using marketing tactics without strategy is a recipe for failure.)

So, you need to conduct some in-depth research and follow the appropriate steps to build a campaign. Once you’ve done the legwork, then you can deploy it. 

With that said, here are some of the resources, tactics, and key components of 360-degree marketing (beyond your company’s website) you can use…

• Social media

This is one of the most important resources for marketing in the modern age. Social media networks allow you to engage in direct contact with current and potential customers at any time. It is also an excellent method of word-of-mouth advertising, as followers who love your brand will share posts with friends and others in their extended network. 

• Direct mail

What may have fallen out of favor is once again new. This tactic, often referred to as snail mail, is still highly relevant. There isn't much in the mailbox any longer, which is why you should consider being there with pamphlets, flyers, etc. You can even determine how effective this tactic is by including tracking URLs or QR codes on the materials you mail out. 

• Live events

The landscape has changed a bit, especially over the last few years, with more events taking place virtually. However, there’s still a great opportunity to connect with potential and existing customers. Look at getting involved with conferences, speaking engagements, and other events related to your industry. Additionally, you can host your own events online—from prescheduled webinars to more laid-back “Ask Me Anything” sessions.   

• Blogging 

It's important to consistently create quality content through a blog and establish yourself or your business as an expert in your given field. This builds not only authority but also trust with those in your target audience. The key is to determine what potential customers need and provide real value through the content you create.  

• Apps 

Both web applications and mobile applications are always great for enhancing the customer experience and staying in touch. Mobile apps are especially useful because they allow you to reach customers anytime, anywhere.

• Email 

Email marketing is an excellent method of spreading the news about sales or special deals you have going on, as well as making announcements related to your business. It also allows people to subscribe to a mailing list so that you can specifically target your messages to people with the greatest interest. By putting effort into the messages you send to those on your list, you can get more conversions from your email marketing. 

• Video

Video marketing continues to be one of the most popular and effective forms of advertising. Having a presence on YouTube and posting videos to your website can help extend your reach and engage potential customers. You can even create interactive branching videos. This is where a piece of software stitches together a series of variables based on a series of questions and answers. The video morphs as the answers change, allowing viewers to create their own narratives. 

• Mobile web design 

It's not enough to have a great design for standard web users; you must also optimize your site for mobile browsers, especially as the percentage of people who browse the internet on mobile devices continues to increase at a rapid pace. Make no mistake—mobile isn’t going anywhere, so if your site isn’t already mobile-friendly, you need to catch up fast.  

• Podcasting

There’s a reason 28% of marketers use podcasts or other audio content. Podcasting has exploded in popularity in recent years, with more than 460 million listeners worldwide. If your target audience has shown to listen to podcasts often, this could be a worthwhile tactic to include in your 360-degree marketing plan. You can reach more potential customers, entertain them, and prove you’re an authority in your space. 

• Your employees

Your team is your most valuable asset. Nobody represents a business better than highly trained and passionate employees. No amount of print media, social media, video, or email can replace the customer experience of working with the talent you've hired and developed. So, make sure your team delivers a positive experience in every communication.

Summary

If you’re wondering whether it’s worth developing a 360-degree marketing plan for your business, the answer is yes. In this day and age, using one method to reach potential customers just isn’t enough. To expand your customer base and increase sales, you need to make sure your brand is everywhere—and that means taking a holistic approach to marketing to spread your message wide.    

Want to find out where you may be missing out on opportunities to reach, connect with, and convert potential customers? Request a FREE consultation with Viral Solutions today! Our team would be happy to discuss your unique needs and ways we could help. 

Filed Under: Business Tips Tagged With: linkedin, marketing tactics, Viral Solutions LLC