What Is Field Marketing & How Can It Drive Results?

Many marketing strategies center around search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, and other digital tactics. While digital marketing is undoubtedly the best way to connect with consumers, your organization should still invest in in-person marketing strategies. According to a 2021 study, 48% of respondents still prefer to shop at brick-and-mortar stores.

How can you connect with prospective leads as they run errands or hop from shop to shop? The answer is field marketing. Let’s take a closer look at exactly what this type of marketing is and how it can drive results for your business.

Field Marketing Definition

Field marketing is connecting with prospective consumers “in the field,” which means putting your products directly in front of buyers so that they can interact with them or see them in action. You can engage in field marketing virtually anywhere your target audience gathers, but some common examples include:

• Public events
• College campuses
• Retail hubs (i.e., malls or shopping centers)
• Other businesses
• Residences

As with any outreach strategy, the objectives of your field marketing campaign can be adjusted based on organizational needs. For instance, you can use field marketing to raise awareness about a product before taking it to market or leverage field marketing to increase sales among specific communities, boost consumer engagement, enhance brand awareness, or gather feedback from specific demographics.

Field Marketing vs. Digital Marketing

Now that we have recapped the field marketing definition let’s see how this approach compares to everyone’s favorite method of connecting with customers, digital marketing.

As its name suggests, digital marketing is a form of marketing that involves acquiring customers through blogs, paid ads, video content, landing pages, and images. In other words, any sort of marketing activities that you engage in online fall under the umbrella of digital marketing, while, conversely, field marketing includes any and all marketing activities that put products directly in front of customers.

Digital marketing and field marketing can, though, be used in conjunction with one another. A more holistic approach can boost the efficacy of each type of campaign. For instance, you could generate buzz around an upcoming, in-the-field event by advertising and promoting it on your social media pages and website.

Why Do Sales and Marketing Teams Love Field Marketing?

Sales and marketing teams love field marketing because the strategy allows them to interact directly with their prospective and pre-existing customer base. They can show off new products, discuss their brand’s services, and drive user engagement via face-to-face interactions.

During a field event, your sales and marketing staff can also gather real-time feedback from attendees by monitoring engagement levels, answering customer questions, and showcasing the capabilities of your flagship products.

They can leverage various tactics to maximize engagement and attract more attention. A few tried-and-true methods include:

• Passing out “swag” (branded items, vouchers, etc.)
• Networking
• Promoting the use of event hashtags on social media
• Hosting Q&A sessions
• Conducting polls
• Gamifying the event
• Bringing in guest speakers or entertainment
• Performing demonstrations

Often, sales and marketing pros will use a combination of each of these strategies to keep consumers fixated on what is going on at their event.

Benefits of Leveraging Field Marketing Strategies

Proper field marketing strategies can help your brand:

Navigate Customer Cynicism

Some customers are often highly skeptical when new products hit the market and may even be downright cynical when presented with digital marketing content. Field marketing is a particularly effective tool for overcoming customer cynicism, as it allows your sales team to answer questions, address consumer concerns, and demonstrate the value of your products in real time.

A well-designed field marketing strategy can wear down even the most cynical customers and transform them from skeptics into brand advocates.

Strengthen Brand Image

When executed correctly, effective field marketing strategies can be extremely powerful tools for strengthening your brand’s image. You can interact directly with your ideal audience, share your values, and demonstrate how your product stands apart from the competition. Ultimately, this will cultivate feelings of loyalty toward your brand and help you draw prospective customers deeper into the sales funnel.

Supplement Digital Marketing Efforts

Standing out in the now-saturated digital marketplace is an incredible challenge, especially when competing with brands that already have a substantial foothold in the market or industry you’re aiming for.

Fortunately, you can gain traction in new markets by successfully integrating field marketing strategies. For instance, getting out there and connecting with consumers at shops, parks, or college campuses is an excellent way of supplementing your digital marketing efforts. You can use these in-person events to raise brand awareness and drive high-quality leads to your site.

Generate a Strong Return on Investment (ROI)

Tracking the ROI of your field events is relatively easy, especially when you create unique event codes or links. You can pair those event-specific codes with robust field marketing software to precisely track your ROI, measure the efficacy of your campaign, and pinpoint what sort of outreach efforts made the most significant impact on your customers.

Most Common Field Marketing Activities

There are numerous field marketing activities that you can incorporate into your overarching strategy, with some of the most common field marketing activities including:

• Setting up a booth at expos
• Visiting college campuses
• Hosting virtual events
• Arranging product demonstrations in business parks
• Distributing samples inside a big box retailer
• Booking experiential events

The most effective field marketing campaigns use various activities to maximize their reach, but as always, your field marketing strategies should be tailored to the unique needs of your brand and its consumers’ shopping habits. For instance, if you sell products geared toward college-aged students, visiting college campuses is likely the best way to boost sales.

How MarcomCentral Can Help You Embrace Field Marketing

Field marketing strategies can be highly effective, provided you have a streamlined means of disseminating collateral to your field teams. Using old-school collateral distribution methods can be costly, tedious, and inefficient. Conversely, implementing MarcomCentral’s digital delivery tools provides your teams with immediate access to approved files.

If you want to keep your collateral agile and make the most of your field marketing campaigns, connect with MarcomCentral today. We can provide you with a custom quote or offer additional insights about our collateral sharing and distribution platform.