The Importance of Personal Messaging in Marketing

Developing a marketing strategy and sticking to it is essential to successfully market your business and reach key customers. The strategy you use can mean the difference between who decides to support your business and who doesn’t. Before developing your business strategy, think about what sets your company apart from others and what your end goal is as these can help guide your messaging.

Why Personal Messaging is Important

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. There are a lot of options in the pest control industry and they likely don’t have the knowledge to know what differentiates a great company from a bad one. What makes a company stand out from others can be how you communicate with them.

According to Epsilon, 80 percent of consumers are more likely to purchase a product or service from a brand who provides personalized experiences. With data being available on almost every marketing platform out there, customers are expecting you to know who they are. The sense of a personalized message will show them they are valued as a customer.

How to Create a Personal Experience

It can be difficult to find the balance between invasive and personal when communicating with your customers. Consider the following when developing your next marketing plan:

Invest in SMS and Social Media Marketing

Social media has become more than paid advertisements. It’s a way for businesses to connect with their audience in a way they never have before. Customers of all generations are using social media and, luckily for business owners, platforms allow you to gather data about your customers to use in your marketing efforts. According to Statista, 91.9 percent of U.S. marketers in companies larger than 100 employees were expected to use social media for marketing purposes in 2021. Whether it be to promote new products or connect quicker with customers via direct messages, companies are embracing this new tool to help them grow their business.

Choosing the right platform for your business will depend on your goals and what your company is capable of producing. Twitter is the easiest to manage, as it is mostly text-based messaging and requires only relevant hashtags to get eyes on your content. Facebook is great for sharing current events and video.

Nowadays, video content is king. TikTok rose in popularity over the last few years, becoming the most popular iPhone app downloaded in 2021 and resulting in an increase in demand for video content. As a result, Instagram now encourages creators to use Reels alongside in-feed posts. Instagram and TikTok users can also leverage hashtags to help connect with the right audience.

Another way to connect with customers on a personal level is using text messaging or SMS. Unlike social media, which can be busy and sometimes overwhelming, SMS doesn’t require competing for attention and is a good way to identify interested customers as they will have to opt in to receive your messages. According to Finances Online, among the channels preferred by consumers for receiving loyalty updates from brands, the top spot went to SMS, at 48 percent.

Consider Every Detail About Your Target Audience

Believe it or not, qualities such as location and age can greatly impact your tone and method of messaging. Companies need to modify their messages and their method of communication to ensure they are appropriate for that specific audience. Messaging will also depend on if you are reaching repeat, new or potential customers. Review your marketing lists and separate them into categories that make sense for your business to help you target your audience more effectively.

"Before developing your business strategy, think about what sets your company apart from others and what your end goal is as these can help guide your messaging."

Put a Face to Your Brand

In a digital world, your company can offer customers a more personal experience by putting its owner, CEO or president on marketing materials. Whether you’re sending an email blast featuring a letter from the owner or posting a graphic on social media that shares details about what you are working on behind the scenes, this level of personal messaging gives customers someone at your company to connect with, which in turn helps your brand resonate with customers as they have a face to recognize.

LinkedIn is a great way to leverage the messaging of your key employees, elevate thought leadership and make that connection between your business and who is running it. Offering this level of transparency is a great way to position your business as one of authority in the industry.

Keeping Up With Best Practices

Technology is changing every day. While you might not need to change your marketing plan as a result, it is important to keep up with what is happening in the industry to ensure you are reaching your customers in the most effective way. There are various websites and free newsletters that can keep you updated on new marketing tools and strategies.