According to world leading consultancy McKinsey, most companies are still using traditional techniques to “woo” customers during the “consideration phase”.

McKinsey notes that consumers are increasingly keen to connect with brands. “Whether by receiving marketing e-mails, searching for products and services online, or using mobile devices to find retail coupons, customers today continually interact with brands as they move closer to making purchasing decisions.”

If your techniques are outdated, look at what others are doing…

Social media, user-generated reviews and price comparison services are empowering buyers, who want to engage brands in conversations.

Compare The Market is one company that have very successfully engaged with their audience. Not once have they ever said “want a good deal on your car insurance?”, “want the best deals around?” or “for more choice than Willy Wonker’s sweetie shop…”.

In the past, cult marketing campaigns have achieved connections with the audience and followings, but always with detrimental affects to sales figures, but times have changed. Aleksandr Orlov captured consumers’ hearts and achieved a connection.

Hitwise last year reported a 75 per cent increase in traffic market share for Compare The Market.

Aleksandr’s Facebook profile has over 635,000 fans.

The word “Simples”, the catch-phrase of Orlov, is now so popular it could be accepted into the Oxford English Dictionary!

In comparison, during the same period, their competitors took a hit. MoneySupermarket.com visitors fell by 25.2 per cent, Confused.com dropped 5 per cent and GoCompare.com fell 31.8 per cent.

But Compare The Market’s campaign success hasn’t been borne out of luck, rather the company understood the new rules of marketing:

• Create a personality that resonates with the target market – people no longer wish to do business with faceless organisations.
• Use a multi-channeled communication approach – everyone is different a ‘one size fits all’ strategy won’t work.
• Make sure your message is consistent – consistency breeds familiarity, which breeds confidence, which breeds trust, which leads to sales.
• Invest in your campaign – marketing is not a miracle worker or a magic formula. It is rarely an instant gratifier; stick with your plan and give it time to develop.