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Back in the old days of marketing – the 2000s – businesses pushed out a lot of messages to customers, clients and prospects. That approach doesn’t work as well anymore.

While you still need to push out information to introduce yourself and feed the marketplace as well as the search engines, it’s the conversations in the communities of your customers and clients that help people trust in your business. The community dynamic is something you need to understand and embrace as part of your Continuous Improvement Process.

Technology has always played a major role in how businesses communicate, starting with newspapers and magazines. But readers had to take the word of reporters and editors that they printed as the truth. By the 1950s, TV had become commonplace in most homes, and people could say: “I know it’s true because I saw it on TV.”

The Internet opened more direct communications channels for businesses to reach customers. You could publish websites, blogs, newsletters and even news releases. You don’t have an editor from a news outlet as a gatekeeper. You could start Facebook pages and invite friends (who may or may not be customers or clients) to “like” your business.

The common denominator is that you, the business, pushed out all of this information (and opinion) to your market. People sarcastically started to say: “I know it’s true because I saw it on the Internet.”

The problems with past tactics are:

• Lack of trust of the message
• Lack of trust of the messenger
• Not what I need or care about
• Can’t find your message among the clutter and noise

Today, it’s about communities that build trust in your business and its brand – everything you stand for. In 2014, communities are built on people who know and trust you and your business:

• Brand advocates
• Influencers
• Community members

One way to tap into a community is through LinkedIn groups, where your claims are subject to comment among the group. When people without a stake in your business comment favorably about it or about your message, it gives you credibility. That leads to trust.

Because technology evolves at breakneck speed, your Continuous Improvement Process requires close, regular attention to new developments.

That’s where we come in. Yes, this is about pushing out a message to your company advocates and your community.  When you have the need for marketing solutions but not the time to design and implement them, Niche Labs can your trusted advisor. We are a full-service agency for businesses that don’t have a CMO or VP of Marketing or don’t have enough website development and digital/ direct marketing resources (people or time).

We can work with you to:

• Conduct a marketing assessment of your company and its market.
• Find new customers by increasing website traffic through communities
• Strengthen your online presence with a new, high quality e-Commerce website or by improving an existing website
• Engage your new and existing customers with community-building activities

For more tips and insights about digital marketing advancements, connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter or subscribe to our monthly newsletter to read summaries of our weekly posts.

To speak with our team, please Email us at sales@nichelabs.com, call (888) 978-9254.  Let’s build a community together.