You may be familiar with the phrase ‘the best marketing secret is word-of-mouth’ but did you know that it’s not the only type of marketing secret available? In the previous century, companies relied heavily on printed materials such as flyers, brochures, and direct mailers to spread the word about their businesses. While this may have been effective in the early days, the world has changed. With the proliferation of social media, websites, and online forums, companies now have the ability to directly reach customers without having to spend loads of money on print materials.

Now, more than ever, effective marketing is about utilizing digital and traditional media to connect with your audience and encourage them to engage with your brand. Forbes has named digital marketing in its Top 10 Marketing Technologies to Watch in 2021 and described it as “a rapidly evolving marketing technology that can help businesses of all sizes and in all industries engage with their customers in completely new ways, allowing them to connect with consumers at scale, while also providing advertisers with valuable insights into consumer behaviour and motivations”. Sounds promising, right?

The Many Forms Of Marketing Secrets

Depending on your industry and the size of your company, you may have quite a bit of insight into marketing already. If you are a well-known brand with a history of success, perhaps you can share some of your proprietary sales techniques with your new team members. Or perhaps, you already have an entire department of marketers whose job it is to come up with new ways to get the word out about your company. Whatever your situation may be, you most certainly have access to a variety of marketing secrets that you can share.

In the past, marketers would rely on their own ingenuity in coming up with campaigns and ideas. However, with the rise of the digital marketer, this has changed. With the ability to tap into consumer data in order to understand what resonates with their audience and encourages them to interact with your brand, marketers now have a wealth of research at their fingertips. With big data analysis software like Pardot filling in the gaps, marketers can uncover valuable tips and tricks that can boost conversions and drive revenue.

This is why the phrase’marketing secrets’ can be misleading. While there is no denying that some companies have valuable information that can be helpful to marketers (or any type of business for that matter), it does not mean that all marketing secrets are created equal. Some are more valuable and useful than others. Here are a few of the most interesting and effective marketing secrets that you should know about.

1. Customer Research That Doesn’t Involve Marketing

In some cases, marketers are asked to conduct research for other departments, such as sales or operations. While this may require some research effort, it does not involve coming up with creative ideas or implementing strategies. If you’re not comfortable venturing off-label or if you’re asked to conduct customer research for something completely unrelated to marketing, it’s probably best to say no. At least, not without a fight.

Sometimes, there is no replacement for good old-fashioned customer research. Even in today’s world, when data is available at our fingertips, there is still value in hearing from real-life customers and understanding what they have to say. To quote Google Marketing Advisor Luke Maguire, “Even in the most complex marketing scenarios, proper customer research can provide a clear path forward.”

2. Online Marketing That Works

If you’re reading this article, it’s probably because you’re either (a) a marketer looking for ways to improve or (b) someone who works with marketers and needs help from the outside. If your company is large enough, you may even have an in-house marketing department that can help with these processes. What you may not have is an in-house internet marketing expert who can help you come up with ideas, build strategy, and implement campaigns.

In this case, it’s best to say no to marketing secrets and opt for a digital marketing agency. At least, not without a fight. The good news is that there are plenty of proven tactics that you can use to successfully market your product or service online. The key is to find a way to apply them efficiently. For instance, you can outsource social media management to save you time, or you can use digital marketing software to get all of the tactics out there so that you can focus on growing your business.

Whether you’re marketing online or offline, make sure that your efforts are backed by solid research and tangible results. If you’re looking for ways to improve your marketing game, these are some interesting and effective strategies that you can use to get started.