The old way of marketing is one that is driven by the business. This means that the marketing strategy is decided by the company. Often, a business-driven marketing strategy is dependent on the technical capacity of the business and its available resources. More often than not, these two factors hinder an effective business marketing strategy.

Businesses that are still in this mode of marketing strategy, most have the notion that all they have to do is to sell the product or service. Their campaign is focused on the idea that if you advertise, people will get to know the product and eventually act on this knowledge. Print flyers, for instance, commonly show the product or service with the contact details of the business providing the service or the product. For the longest time, this has been how businesses sell their products or services.

Although this strategy may have worked before, it is limiting in a sense that the communication is one way. A newer strategy in marketing involves the customers. Businesses should speak to customers to get them into the groove - as the young people would say. Before, the only way to get customers involved in the conversation is if they bought the product. This exchange is the only form of 'conversation' that could be heard in the traditional way of marketing products. The only measure of customer engagement then is if customers will take to their wallet. If they don't then the strategy didn't work at all.

This view evolved when businesses started getting the customer's opinion on what they thought of their products. Businesses started to get out of their ivory towers and descend upon customers to get to know how they viewed the product or how they felt going through the process of buying. They did these through interviews, focus group discussions and surveys. These companies did not only learn so much, they also got insights on how they should design their marketing strategies.

From the start to the end of the process, businesses should care to listen to the voice of the customer. The old paradigm about the voice of the boss may not stand up to scrutiny. The results of these dialogues with customers should in turn be used to design your flyer printing or brochure printing.

This is what most businesses should aspire for: a genuine conversation between the brand and the customers. This is the only way of ensuring a successful marketing strategy.