Update 8/25/21: We wanted to revisit one of our most popular articles from last year, because, let’s face it, the world has changed and marketing changes right along with it! Take a moment to enjoy this updated take on our take of the 3 Types of Marketing (and why we’re all probably using them wrong!).

Marketing is a tricky thing and it isn't easy to ensure you are using the right type on the right people. This article will go over how to use each type correctly so that your marketing efforts have the best chance at success.

Call-to-action is a message that compels immediate engagement, top-of-mind awareness uses consistent messaging with repetition for increased visibility and point-of-purchase focuses on the time and location of the customer purchase. These three types are used in varying degrees by businesses large and small.

There's only three types of marketing, and we're not using them right.

The concept of marketing has grown to be complicated over time; it has significantly branched out into various subcategories. From inbound marketing to outbound, and from door-to-door marketing to digital marketing, there are so many different ways for businesses to approach their marketing strategies.

However, marketing doesn’t need to be this complex of a concept. It can simply be broken down into three types. That’s right, just three, and every tactical component within the marketing framework falls into these categories. What are they, you ask? They are:

● Call-to-action (CTA)

● Top-of-mind awareness (TOMA)

● Point-of-purchase (POP)

Call-to-Action: Getting Your Audience to Act

Chances are, even if you’re not a marketer, you know what Call-to-Action is, or CTA for short. It’s the act of asking the audience to do something.

“Sign up for a free trial!”
“Buy now and get 20% off today!”

You’ve seen it everywhere: companies are always trying to get you to complete an action for them. It could be anything, click a link, call a number, use a coupon code, etc. The key differentiator in these is that the marketer asks for an action to be taken, using verbiage, language, anything that says 'do this now'. The ultimate goal is to incentivize a potential customer to complete an action in hopes of starting their buyer’s journey for your product or service.

How to Write Call-To-Actions that work!

It all depends on your business model: if you’re selling a tangible product, offer a discount or free shipping on a special product. Have a subscription-based model? Offer free trials so the audience can test the waters. Do you want to inform your audience about what you do? Ask them to visit your website to learn more.

But it’s not enough just telling them what to do. It has to be worth their while. You want to be simple, yet clever with your CTA. Take Netflix, for example.

Netflix entices you by encouraging you to “see what’s next”, referring to the next episode of a show. They also provide a brief message of what their services offer, which include being able to watch on any platform while being able to cancel the service at any time. Netflix makes it easy for their audience to try their service with as little risk as possible.

Top-of-Mind Awareness: Being the First Brand That Comes To Mind

Top-of-Mind Awareness, or TOMA, is a drastically different marketing strategy when compared to CTA marketing. Instead of trying to get someone to act, you’re trying to get someone to think of your brand over others. For example, name the first fast-food restaurant that comes to mind.

You most likely thought of McDonald’s, as it is the most popular fast-food chain in the world. But how is this possible?

It’s because they invest a significant amount of their efforts trying to be in the top of your mind. Of course, they do this through various forms of advertising, whether it’d be through billboards and flyers, or commercials reinforcing their catchy yet iconic slogan, “I’m lovin’ it”.

But it doesn’t end there. They try to locate themselves in as many locations as possible. There are over 14000 McDonald’s locations in the United States. If you were to drive to the grocery store, you are likely to spot at least 3 or more McDoanld’s restaurants. The fact that McDonalds are located everywhere, paired with their iconic logo, makes it very easy for people to be aware of the McDonald’s brand.

TOMA is all about ranking high in your audience’s mind. Maintaining strong brand awareness is crucial for any business, as you want customers to come to you first over your competitors. However, in today’s world, people are more distracted than ever, and it’s becoming harder to capture their attention. That’s why it’s important to know how to utilize TOMA marketing.

Top of mind awareness in marketing.

To successfully utilize TOMA marketing, you need to follow these three steps:

● Discover your value proposition and be the best at it

● Be recognizable as a brand

● Be memorable with your messages

Discover your value proposition

It’s highly important to find what your company is special at and be the best at what you do. This doesn’t necessarily mean having a better product or service, but excelling in a different area, such as time, convenience, etc.

For example, recall the McDonalds example mentioned earlier; McDonalds doesn’t have the best quality food when compared to competing restaurants. What they do have over their competitors, however, is affordable prices and convenience. They’re the best at getting inexpensive food to their customers in the shortest amount of time possible.

Be recognizable

When building your brand, you should have a name and logo that’s very distinct and catches the eye and ear. Your message, along with what you, should be distinguishable so people can easily recall your brand.

When you see that green lady with the crown and curly hair, you know it’s Starbucks. When you hear the name Samsung, you know to attribute that to a top tech company. These brands have qualities that make them recognizable, making it easier for them to attract your attention.

Be memorable

You have to make your brand and message stick in the minds of your audience. The more memorable you are, the more likely you will pop up in the minds of the audience when they need your product or service.

Point of Purchase (PoP): The Time and Place of a Sale

Last, but not least, Point-of-Purchase is the third category of marketing, and this method is all about where and how we buy stuff. Point-of-purchase marketing engages customers with offers, discounts, or incentives for making purchases when they come into contact with your product or service. A grocery store is a great example, there are advertisements placed all over the store when you walk in. This can vary between attractive signs and discounts. What’s special about this type of marketing is that you invoke interest within proximity.

Depending on the product, you can get someone to make an impulse purchase. This is why there are candy and magazines at the cash register; brands want you to buy their product on an itch. Because the product or service is closer to you, you’re more likely to observe it and purchase it. Timing is also crucial with point of purchase. People have different wants and needs during different times of the day.

How to use point of purchase in marketing.

Marketing research on when and where your customer buys your product will give you the edge with PoP marketing. If you’re selling a product at a brick and mortar store, utilize market research surveys for your customers at the stores, as they will give you valuable insights so you can better appeal to them.

Placement of your product in obvious and convenient places will lead to more sales. If you own a store, the atmosphere should also be of focus, as the inside has the power to influence your customer’s purchase. Being conscious of time and location of the customer’s purchase will help you in this area of marketing as well.

So There You Have It! The Three Types of Marketing

CTA, TOMA, and PoP. These are the types of marketing that are essential to any successful business. Think about every marketing piece you've ever done or seen - an ad, a campaign, a media pitch, a social post, a booth at a convention - all of these efforts utilize at least one of the three types of marketing. CTA, TOMA, and PoP are constantly used, and the people who use them may not even know it.

When using these types of marketing, consider which boxes are the most important. Put more accurately, which type matters most to your end goals (be it sales, conversions, leads, active social followers, etc.). They don't all convert at the same rate, so always be sure to tailor your marketing strategy accordingly, so it can reach its fullest potential!

How Market Research Can Help Improve The Three Types of Marketing

As marketers, it’s important to remember that the only way we get into the minds of our audiences is to spend time actually learning about how our customers flow through their buyer’s journey. Sure, this comes down to marketing research, but more importantly, it comes down to being strategic.

Remember, the difference between strategy and skill is knowledge.

Whether it's B2B or B2C, whether it's F&B or DTF, whatever you're selling, the marketing process needs to take better advantage of each of the three types of marketing - CTA, TOMA and PoP - to maximize their value in the process.

If you’re looking for a market research partner, we can assist you improve your CTA, TOMA, and POP marketing. At S2 Research, we conduct field surveys, focus groups, and more to determine which type of marketing best suits you. We provide market research for agencies, regardless of industry.

Want to learn more about the insights from a market research partner can do for your marketing team’s results? Schedule a complimentary consultation with me anytime by clicking the button below!

Let's Schedule a Call!

Read the original article from Dec. 2019

I had an idea yesterday, a thought about marketing, and it ended up turning into an article on LinkedIn. I decided to give it a retool below as I fleshed it out more. Take a look at the original article by clicking here.

There's only three types of marketing, and we're not using them right.

I had an epiphany yesterday: there's only three types of marketing. That’s right, just three, and every tactical component within the marketing framework falls into those categories. So, without further ado, the three types of marketing are:

Call to Action (CTA)
Top of Mind Awareness (TOMA)
Point of Purchase (PoP)

Why is this important? Because, after considering this thought, I realized that we’re not using the three categories correctly.

CTA called out.

CTA is any piece of marketing that asks the audience to do something. It could be anything, click a link, call a number, use a coupon code, etc. The key differentiator in these is that the marketer asks for an action to be taken, using verbage, language, anything that says 'do this now'.

TOMA told like it is.

TOMA is the majority of what we see in the marketplace. It's about getting a message out there, and making that message as sticky as possible. The goal here is simple: eventually, my audience will need my product or service, and when they do, that message is going to pop into their brains and they'll come to me. Note: I want to make sure to point out that I'm referring to all marketing here with TOMA, not just advertising.

PoP presented right.

PoP I didn't actually think of right away. I'd settled on CTA and TOMA, but while driving yesterday, I started to look at signage around shopping centers. I noticed a coffee shop, one I'd never been to actually, and they had a big beautiful sign above their door. Unfortunately for them, I already had coffee in cupholder, and the sign wasn't enough to make me convert. That's when I realized this third option existed. This wasn't a TOMA sign, it was a different thing that was actively asking me to do something right then and there - go inside the coffee shop. It required proximity and interest, and even though I was on the street driving, it was no different than a sign for a Snickers at the checkout line of the grocery store (a more traditional example of PoP marketing).

It all fits.

So, there you have it, my three-piece framework of marketing. Think about every marketing piece you've ever done - an ad, a campaign, a media pitch, a social post, a booth at a convention - and you see how everything can fit into one of these boxes.

Consider which boxes are the most important. Put more accurately, which boxes matter most to your end goals (be it sales, conversions, leads, active social followers, etc.). They don't all convert at the same rate, not nearly.

TOMA no longer converts.

What I’m seeing now in the marketplace, and many marketers I’ve spoken to attested to this, is that TOMA doesn’t convert anymore. That’s a problem, when TOMA is where most marketers spend their time,and effort.

TOMA gets the lion's share of the attention, because it fits the classic Madison Ave. Ad Agency model. Great awareness campaigns are great, and they're exactly why I got into this industry.

We don't acknowledge enough that it's loud out there, and there's a lot of Madison Ave. Ad Agency models out there too. TOMA only works if people aren't distracted, and unfortunately, audiences are very distracted right now. TOMAs also struggle when there's other TOMAs in the room.

Where TOMA still excels is in sharing messages. Maybe it doesn't convert, but it definitely helps to build awareness and an impression. Which makes conversion easier in other capacities.

Marketing must be strategic.

Remember, it’s all about strategy. As marketers, it's our job to bring buyers and sellers together - create a market.

When you spend too much time on TOMA marketing, it’s because we’re thinking about what we want our audience to do. This is different from what they’ll actually do.

The solution to better marketing.

Marketers need to consider the value of CTA and PoP more if they want their marketing to become truly strategic.

Maybe it's in revising language or in turning ads into offers. Maybe it's in revisiting the outside world and the landscape of the Internet. Either way, we need to consider that there's still a buyer's journey, a classic story from awareness to purchase that requires our help along the way.

We get there with research.

As marketers, it’s important to remember that the only way we get into the minds of our audiences is to spend time actually learning about how our customers flow through their buyer’s journey. Sure, this comes down to research, but more importantly, it comes down to being strategic.

Remember, the difference between strategy and skill is knowledge.