There are a lot of ways to reach consumers today. The traditional methods, like commercials, seem to have lost their effect on most people. Now-a-days people DVR their favorite shows; they skip the commercials. A lot of companies are using social media to reach their consumers, which makes sense. A girl crying about cats on YouTube (which I believe to be fake) can get over 6 million views in 3 days. A kid named Keenan Cahill (look him up) has over 200 million upload views for lip syncing today’s newest songs. I understand why people would want to take their brand to where the people are but that still doesn’t mean they are having an impact on these viewers.
Marketers will always find new ways to “reach” their consumers; however, there is a difference between reaching a consumer and having an impact on them. How do you get the consumer to think about your product when they walk into the store? What impact will your idea have? Face to face marketing or street teams will always have the upper hand in regards to impact in my opinion.
There’s not a better strategy in the marketing industry than putting your consumers directly in contact your brand ambassadors and allowing them to generate the excitement your brand is after. It allows you to get to know your consumer. I have been a brand ambassador and I witnessed firsthand the importance of that interaction. It means a lot when you as a consumer can ask questions and get immediate answers. On top of that, when you hire the right people, your consumers should leave the interaction with an excitement that you can’t get from a commercial. You now have taken your message and humanized it by allowing real people to distribute it. The next time your consumer goes to the store and looks on the shelf, they will see your product, think about the face to face interaction they had with your street team brand ambassador, and if all went as planned they will buy your product.
The whole idea of street team marketing is to influence new customers and maintain current ones. Your brand is your reputation. Face to face marketing is an incredible tool. It is a tool that can have a greater impact on everyone affected by it, good or bad, than media can. Hire the right people, create excitement about your product, and generate some personality for your product or service.