Creative, low-cost ideas are the way of the future, and they work just as well (and sometimes better) as some of the most expensive methods of marketing
Despite what you may have heard from expensive marketing companies, it doesn’t take a lot of money to get your customers to engage. As long as you know what you’re doing, you can keep costs low and still facilitate a high level of engagement.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur in a small company, a freelancer, or a member of a big marketing team at a large company, it pays to save money where you can in your advertising techniques. Creative, low-cost ideas are the way of the future, and they work just as well (and sometimes better) as some of the most expensive methods of marketing.
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One of the newest tools in digital marketing, messenger applications present a great opportunity for brands to boost their open rates, enhance their visibility, and build a great relationship with customers
Messaging applications are online communication channels that facilitate free, instant messaging between individuals or within groups. Some popular examples include Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and WeChat in China. In recent years, companies have started to use these apps to privately share relevant content with customers.
So, are messaging apps the next big thing in customer communications?
As of 2015, mobile messaging app usage surpassed social media usage for the first time and has continued to grow since. As such, messaging apps have become an essential marketing and communications tool for businesses. Many marketers in 2019 are drawn to messenger apps by their impressive open rate, which is far higher than that of traditional B2C communication methods such as email.
The stats on messaging app…
Reducing customer churn is a powerful strategy. An HBR study found that positive customer experiences are associated with big increases in future revenue. But how do companies stop customer churn?
Customer churn is an expensive problem for businesses. Acquiring a new customer costs at least five times as much as retaining a current one. Meanwhile, existing customers are 60%-70% more likely to make a purchase than new customers. Chasing prospects costs businesses marketing dollars and sales.
Companies are better off spending their money trying to reduce churn by improving customer retention. Many businesses use tools like loyalty programs, customized email responses, or personalized thank you notes to make customers feel valued and important. A recent study by Motista showed that when customers have an emotional connection to a company, they have a…
Customer listening is now essential
Ever talked with someone who doesn’t seem to listen to you or let you get a word in edgewise? Pretty annoying, right?
The same is true in digital marketing. In order for you to market and, ultimately sell better, you need to listen as much as you talk. Only then can you capture the critical customer feedback you need to inform the tactical tweaks and strategic transformations you need to make to take your business to the next level. The best way to do this is by listening – at first manually if that’s all you can afford to do – but eventually in a deep, analytics-based way. This is the realm of customer listening (CL) platforms.
What’s a Customer Listening Platform?
A customer listening (or CL) platform is a SAAS-based app that allows you to listen to all the streams of customer data you have available so you…
How Coca-Cola could have foreseen the 'New Coke' crash
It's 1985. For the past 15 years, the Coca-Cola Company has seen market share decline for its flagship product.
After conducting blind taste tests with more than 200,000 consumers, the soft drink brand discovers that consumers prefer a new formula to Pepsi and even to the old Coke. That summer, Coca-Cola rolls out 'New Coke' with an all-star ad campaign.
The product bombs. Badly. Consumers clamor for the classic formula, which Coca-Cola quickly brings back.
How could Coca-Cola, which decidedly did its homework in terms of tasting, fail so spectacularly? The issue is that Coke consumers slurp the soda down for more than taste. Coca-Cola forgot that every time someone pops the top, they're drinking from a well of emotion.
Asking the Right Questions
Since 1985, the power and prevalence of market research has only grown. In 2017, U.S. companies are slated to spend about $16 billion on market…
Disney is moving it's digital brands to Google Ads, Facebook is testing 'Today In', Uber receives data breach fine, Australia's SVoD subscriptions are due to outstrip Pay-TV and TfL has banned junk food advertisements
The last week has seen some interesting announcements, not least the fact that Disney will now be using Google Ads as its only ad-technology platform, meaning Google is replacing Comcast's FreeWheel.
Facebook is testing yet another new feature, this time aimed at bringing local communities together by keeping them more informed. But what does 'Today In' mean for the platform's attempts to police fake news?
On top of these big stories, this week has seen Uber get fined again for its 2016 data breach, the rise of subscription video on demand in Australia and junk food advertising being banned on any part of London's public transport system.
Find out more about five big digital and marketing stories this week.
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Chart of the Day: Work-related customers are rarely having their questions answered
84% of B2B customers don’t expect to hear back from companies when they have a purchase-related question.
Not a third. Not half. 84%.
This research has been revealed by intelligent appointment scheduling company TimeTrade, who polled B2B buyers about the purchases they make for work. When asked how frequently they don’t hear back from a company after asking a purchase-related question, 59% replied “frequently” and 25% said it was “all the time”.
It’s ludicrous that companies are so often missing a golden opportunity to communicate with prospects who are likely close to converting. Your sales teams can spend weeks or months nurturing leads until they convert, so why not give that same attention to the people actively getting in touch with you?
Defining your lead generation strategies and…
Predictive Analytics is the future of marketing
Okay, so that title might be a tad misleading. Especially when you consider my knowledge of football is on a par with my knowledge of forensic mineralogy (a rock is a rock, right?). But I do know about predictions. The hyperbole about Predictive Analytics and its potential power to affect marketing has really ramped up in the last few months. Current industry commentary places Predictive Analytics, in terms of power and effectiveness on the far side of miracles, and in terms of its complexity, on a par with Stephen Hawking’s ‘A brief history of time’.
So, I agree with the general thrust of one of those.
The results. The results are phenomenal. They really are startling – to the extent that I’m looking at our client’s results and going back to our Head of Insight because there’s clearly a mis-type here (there isn’t). But if we…
Consistent connection matters, regardless of the season
Communicating with your customers isn't about waiting for the right moment. It's about reaching them during times of need, times of plenty, and everywhere in between.
Take educators, for example. Although most schools make spending decisions in March and April, our "Digital Marketing Trends in the Education Market" report found that educators are actually most engaged during the month of July — when 97 percent of K-12 schools are out of session.
If marketers only spoke to educators during the spring purchase period, they'd miss a critical time when educators are ready to consume content. Not only do educators have less time to read and share content during the height of the spring semester, but they also often use the summer months to plan lessons for the coming fall. Without a year-round approach, marketers couldn't truly call themselves educators' partners.
Just like educators, other audiences have slower and busier seasons. They go in and…
CXJM is essential to help you lay down your plan of attack and start realizing the opportunities for delivering against customer experience objectives
It's no secret that most marketers are on the same trajectory and curve when it comes to Customer Experience. Although some are further along the journey than others, almost all are heading towards the common goal of achieving a single customer view. Therefore, most will have also had some exposure to Customer Experience Journey Mapping (CXJM) in some way, shape or form.
As an approach, CXJM is essential to help you lay down your plan of attack and start realizing the opportunities for delivering against customer experience objectives.
When conducted properly, the process will give you a better understanding of what the experiences of your customers really are and how you can start to plan effective communications around them.
Part of my role is now leading the entire Journey Mapping process…
