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| Noelle Nelson speaks to business owners Tuesday at a marketing seminar. |
KU School of Business
Assistant Professor Noelle Nelson spoke to a group of 65 local business owners in
Lawrence today as part of a seminar about marketing.
The seminar, “Top
Marketing Ideas for 2014,” was sponsored by Jay Wachs, president of BriarCliff Group, and Dee Bisel, Owner of Minuteman Press.
Nelson, who researches
marketing and consumer behavior, shared advice on how big data can aid small business
owners, as well as what consumers have come to expect from marketing.
For their marketing
plan to succeed, Nelson said, business owners need to know who their customers
are and who they want their customers to be. That’s where big data, such as a
customer’s address or purchase history, can help them learn what that customer
expects from their business.
By using big data, a business
owner learns more about their customers’ needs, thereby creating a stronger
relationship between buyer and seller, Noelle explained.
Since social media has
become a major form of communication between customers and businesses, Nelson said,
it’s even more important for businesses to focus on online interactions. What business
owners need to understand, she added, is that it’s not enough just to be on
Facebook or Twitter anymore.
“What’s impressive is
that you use those tools to address (customers’) problems,” she said.
