Is it front of mind or top of mind?

Top-of-mind awareness [TOMA] is the first brand, product or service that comes to mind in a specific category or niche.

Phone? Apple.
Coffee? Starbucks.
Email? Gmail.
Movies? Netflix.
Tissue? Kleenex.

To attract leads, get referrals and retain loyal customers, businesses need to build awareness and rank top of mind. They need to be the most remembered or risk losing to the competition.

What can you do to keep your business top of mind? Implement new tactics.

In this post, Im going to share 15 marketing tactics to keep your business top of mind.

1. Stand Out

Being visible is key to being top of mind. Whether its the pink T-Mobile signage, McDonalds Golden Arches or the dealership license plate frames that reveal where drivers bought their car they all stand out.

Action Step

Ensure your brand stands out in the places your audience congregates offline and online.

Ensure your brand stands out in the places your audience congregates online. To learn how to build brand awareness, read my posts below:

2. Connect Emotionally

Audiences want to be inspired and emotionally connect with brands and their offers. When a brands message resonates, top-of-mind awareness is amplified. This is one of the reasons Simon Sineks How Great Leaders Inspire Action became the 3rd most popular TED Talk of all time and his book Start With Why made businesses rethink their why.

Action Step

Instead of merely telling your audience I produce or provide, connect with them on a higher level by telling them why you do what you do.

3. Build an Email List

The inbox is still the most direct way to connect with audiences online and help keep brands top of mind as long as emails are consistent and packed with value.

Action Step

Use MailerLite [first 1,000 subscribers are free] to build your email list, send newsletters, free downloads and special offers. Segment broadcasts to avoid spamming your audience with content theyre not interested in reading.

4. Be Consistent

Brands that struggle with consistency often have irregular content posting schedules, irregular newsletters, disappearing offers and high employee turnover. Consistency builds trust. Inconsistency breaks that trust.

Action Step

Use a task manager like Things and project management software like Asana to stay organized, manage projects and remain consistent.

5. Use a Tag Line or Slogan

A short, memorable slogan that reminds the audience why a business is a go-to choice can be a powerful way to remain top of mind. Dunkin perfectly accomplishes this with the slogan, America runs on Dunkin.

Action Step

Create an effective tag line or slogan that embodies your brand and post it everywhere website, social media channels, newsletters, business cards, stationery, etc.

6. Share Industry News

Sharing industry news can position a business as an authority while keeping its audience informed and the business top of mind. For example, an executive chef could post about how to read food labels and eat healthier or a brewmaster could send newsletters about seasonal beer trends. What industry news can you share?

Action Step

Use Medium or an RSS app like Reeder to collect and save industry news to share with your audience in a post, newsletter or podcast.

7. Use Loyalty Cards & Gift Cards

Many brands encourage return visits with loyalty cards and gift cards. Members of Starbucks Rewards, experience this by receiving a free drink on their birthday. That free drink keeps Starbucks top of mind on the most important day of a customers year.

Action Step

Streamline purchases with loyalty cards, gift cards and anything else you can personalize. However, be mindful of your audiences privacy and transparent with the information youre collecting.

8. Advertise Online

While on-page SEO [search engine optimization] can take several months to rank in search engines, ads are like jumping to the front of the line. They create instant awareness and help businesses remain top of mind.

For example, Coca-Cola spent 5.8 billion on global advertising in 2018 compared to the $2 billion PepsiCo spent. Even though everyone knows Coca-Cola, they keep their ad spend extremely high to remain top of mind.

Action Step

Use Google Ads or create sponsored posts on the social media channels where your audience congregates online. For help writing calls to action, read my posts below:

9. Retarget or Remarket

Retargeting is when a user arrives on a product page and a cookie is added to their browser [if a site uses retargeting]. If the user leaves the site without making a purchase, the cookie relays a message to the retargeting software to place ads of the previously-viewed product on any subsequent site the user visits as long as its in the advertising network.

While it sounds creepy to be frequently reminded of a product that you mightve spent mere seconds browsing, retargeting keeps that product top of mind and, ideally, converts browsers into buyers.

Unlike retargeting, remarketing relies on email instead of cookies. Remarketing occurs after a business has collected information about its potential buyer, then uses that information to send personalized emails for shopping cart abandonment, upselling and cross-selling.

Action Step

Use the Google Display Network to retarget. Use an eCommerce store like Squarespace Commerce to remarket. Use MailerLite to send personalized emails, upsell and cross-sell.

10. Sponsor Events

According to ZipSprout, Wells Fargo is the top corporate sponsor in the US for local events. What financial services company are you going to think of when youre spending money at a local event? Wells Fargo, of course. Your business can do the same to promote your brand at local events. A restaurant could sponsor a festival. A brewery could sponsor an art fair. An athletic apparel company could sponsor a marathon. What can you sponsor?

Action Step

Sponsor local, regional or national events that connect with your niche. If possible, give away branded samples, bumper stickers, tote bags, pens, mugs, etc. Increased visibility is increased brand awareness.

11. Host Meet-Ups

Meet-ups can be a fun way to build a community, generate buzz and, of course, keep your brand top of mind. For example, a vegan restaurant could host a weekly healthy cooking webinar or in-person cooking class. What kind of meet-up can you offer?

Action Step

Host an offline meetup or an online meetup with Zoom. If possible, invite industry experts that can provide your audience with proven results.

12. Refresh Your Offers

When Apple refreshes its iPhone with Product[RED] versions, that mid-cycle iPhone becomes top of mind again until the fall when the next version is released. Refreshing products or services with a minor cosmetic change, improvement or cost reduction is an effective way to keep your business top of mind.

Action Step

Consider how you can refresh your products/services and promote them with social media, newsletters or press release software like PR Web.

13. Create Freebies

People love freebies free samples at the grocery store, free trials, free apps, free estimates, free downloads, free advice, etc. A freebie is a starting point to determine if a potential buyer likes and trusts a business. What can you give away for free?

Action Step

Use MailerLite or Squarespace Campaigns to build your email list and give away a webinar, appetizer, course, etc.

14. Hold Contests

Consumers look forward to annual, seasonal and holiday contests. The more valuable the prize, the more exciting the contest. Everyone loves the chance to win something of value and tell their friends where they won it keeping a business top of mind.

Action Step

First, select a valuable product or service for the prize. Then, ask your audience to share a link to your prize with their followers on social media to be entered in the drawing. After that, select a random winner when the contest ends.

15. Follow-Up

Whenever I take my car to the dealership for service, they call me two days later to ensure Im satisfied with their work. I like that! Theyre reaching out to me not me reaching out to them. Dont make your audience work too hard. You should be the one working for them to remain top of mind.

Action Step

Ask customers for their feedback before in-person or use a solution like Square Customer Engagement tools.

Final Thoughts

You just learned 15 marketing tactics to keep your business top of mind. Try implementing some of these tactics, then track the results with Google Analytics and surveys. Start today, so youll be top of mind when it matters most.