Marketing Strategies
2020 has been a benchmark year in many ways, and it’s as good a time as any to take stock of where your company is now and where it’s headed. It’s a particularly tricky era for oil and gas, with the industry outlook from Deloitte identifying key trends that are sure to shape the future of the industry. In particular, despite increasing demand for oil and gas products, trade disputes and the economic slowdown could cause uncertainty for the fuel market. In order to counteract this, it may be well past time for the industry to update its marketing plan and overall approach. This can impact every aspect of the industry, down to constructing a gas station. Here are a few tips how.
Make Use of Digital Tools
Within the last couple of decades, digital has become an undeniably essential aspect of every company’s marketing strategy. With how quickly digital marketing trends come and go, it’s essential that oil and gas companies update their strategies to include relevant and timely techniques. Our previous article on ‘Oil and Gas’ Most Effective Digital Marketing Strategy’ touches on some of these methods, with a particular focus on marketing assets such as images and videos.
Tools like YouTube and easy-to-digest infographics can go a long way in bringing your company to the attention of procurement specialists and engineers. Another tip goes into budget allocation. Digital marketing has become especially important during the smartphone era, so it may be time to shift a larger percentage of the budget onto external digital communications. Make use of social media sites to create networks and generate leads, as well as engage with stakeholders and the general public.
Strengthen Your B2B
B2B companies unfortunately trail behind B2C when it comes to adoption of new strategies and digital techniques. It’s high time that changed. Switching to more contemporary digital practices help B2B companies create long-term value and relevancy. Mapping out this strategy can be difficult without the right guidelines. So to help companies Triadex Services has mapped them out via a few key steps.
These steps include defining your buyer persona, developing a vision and overall plan, determining effective marketing channels, setting attainable goals, and analyzing results for further improvement. B2B strategies can include email marketing, direct mail marketing, geofencing, and direct mail retargeting as part of a full suite of techniques that are all geared towards addressing buyer needs and cultivating a stronger, healthier network and relationship.
Cultivate Your Brand Image
Lastly, one of the most important things you’ll need to do in order to boost marketing is to cultivate a positive brand image. This is something that the industry admittedly struggles with, but it’s not impossible. Our Great Minds reports on the Journal of General Management’s article on the brand likeability effect, identifying seven characteristics that can boost a company’s likeability. These include credibility, expertise, trustworthiness, fairness, and more. By determining which of these characteristics are part of your brand and mobilizing them into a brand persona, you can create conditions for a more favorable public perception.
