According to recent reports* the growth of the Sports Nutrition market is predominantly driven by an increased awareness of sports nutrition products among consumers. For any health/sports nutrition supplement brand, it is extremely important to build trust with your customer base. One brand that is leading the way is USN (Ultimate Sports Nutrition). Through their Increased use of marketing tools, they have created awareness among consumers, boosting their penetration of sports nutrition market.
Here are a few marketing tools that USN are using effectively:
Blogging
The modern consumer is more aware and health conscious. They not only want clarity on bothingredients and the nutritional content of products, but are now looking for further information on topics such as workouts, motivation, general well being, the best usage of supplements and how to maximise the use of these supplements, to name a few. USN has created a blog covering range of topics to appeal to their wide audience. The more regularly they produce content, the more potential customers looking for valuable information will return again, seeking answers to their questions. From this they are likely to share that information with their social circle, which in turn helps build a following around the USN brand. This not only does this position USN as an expert in their industry and a trusted source but also helps bolster their Google organic rankings every time blogs are indexed.
Emailing A Mixture Of Content
Having a targeted marketing list can help you identify potential customers that you can segment and send targeted campaigns. Remember not all emails have to be sales based; you can send out emails or newsletters highlighting a blog post or educating customers about your sourcing, ingredients, new training routines etc. Sharing this information on a regular basis will communicate thought leadership and build trust. USN regularly sends out a variety of emails, helping to keep them at the forefront of the recipient’s mind. When it comes to sales offers, sending special promotions and discounts on “pay day” is a great technique, especially given the customers have been being educated and motivated prior to this.
Videos
In today’s digital age, you need to consider that not every customer will want to digest information in the same way, YouTube is an example of one of the popular ways through which customer prefer information conveyed. It is reported that over 6 Billion hours of video on YouTube are watched every month**, so creating videos should be a no-brainer. By creating videos you again have the opportunity to offer customers and prospects valuable and useful information. USN does this well through their range of brand ambassadors/athletes, covering topics ranging from supplement reviews and cooking tips to workout techniques and more. This encourages customer interaction – they can offer feedback, leave comments and actually see if what is stated in the videos is accurate i.e. does it really work? When potential customers have a choice between USN-branded supplements and alternatives they know nothing about, they are likely to trust USN and remain loyal to their entire product line because they made the buying decision easy, establishing themselves as a brand synonymous with quality and reliability.
Social Media
It is reported that Consumers are 71% more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals***. Social Media is a powerful marketing tool as it is how many consumers choose to engage with brands. When your customers know they can reach out to your company via social media, they feel more like a part of your brand. This is a fantastic opportunity to provide a great service in front of a large audience. USN have done this in abundance with their range of campaigns including #FLEXFRIDAY #CHALLENGEYOURSELF to name a few. Their regular interaction with their large audience shows they are a brand who are aware, alert and who care -this is key as a recent stat showed that 83% of consumers said they liked or loved hearing from the company via social media****. USN understand how key interaction is with customers on social platforms and have responded by sharing a range of content that adds value in a fun and creative way, utilising apps, videos, competitions, giveaways, info graphics, general positive motivation and keeping customers up to date with their activities. The opportunities are essentially endless with social media.
Brand Ambassadors/Athletes
Consumers are more health conscious and are making more of an effort to live a healthy lifestyle. The perception of gym-goers has changed vastly in recent times and now we are seeing a much wider audience and number of people keeping fit and training for various sports. USN has a great range of brand ambassadors/athletes, from footballers, fitness professionals, strongmen, rugby players, triathlete to pro golfers and beyond. As you can see, with such a diverse range of ambassadors, consumers will undoubtedly be able to relate to one and follow their journey. For example, one of USN’s ambassadors is a young businesswoman: Emily Lingard is a business professional who set out on her own fitness journey, achieving an amazing transformation. Her story illustrates perfectly that anyone can achieve their goals, regardless of genetic predispositions: you just need determination, patience and guidance. Now who can’t relate that?
Message
When you’re communicating with your audience, you don’t to bombard them with sales messages. Yes, you will incorporate this into communications, but you also want to position yourself as an expert in your industry and this should be reflected in the content you post. Beyond this, however, consider the message you want to send out about your brand – think positive!
USN sends out great messages about positivity, strength and motivation that actively their audience to live a happy, healthy and positive lifestyle. USN promote this positivity through their all their brand communications, from #challengeyourself tweets to posts suggesting walking into the gym with your USN shaker.
USN states ”here at USN we pride ourselves in offering only the best sports supplementation and expert advice. Aimed at fuelling the ambition of any fitness enthusiast across the globe, our ambition is to help any individual that has a goal or objective to reach higher and push harder.”
I think they are doing a damn good job of it.
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Sources
* http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/xl4sc2/global_sports
** http://www.reelseo.com/youtube-facts-stats-2014/
*** http://www.montagecomms.com/just-how-does-social-media-influence-purchasing-decisions/
**** http://www.newmediaandmarketing.com/96-of-marketers-feel-social-media-lifts-brands/