Offline in an Online world - making DM work
DM is certainly not dead. Research amongst cross-channel marketers undertaken by the DMA and sponsored by Ricoh UK shows that over 70% of respondents are using mail as it's proving to be effective and giving ROI.
According to Gareth Parker, Strategic Marketing Manager at Ricoh UK, 'In order to create cost effective DM campaigns that will engage target audiences, marketeers need to look to create direct mail packages. Effective campaigns encompass digital and print - and when print comes in to play, so do things like paper stock and image quality. With testing now part of the psyche of every marketeer, and KPIs a major concern, technologies such as Clickable Paper can help demonstrate ROI on the print segment and generate a fast return.'
Their Infographic publishes some of the findings from this research and the…
How to use digital to boost revenue from your franchise
A franchise business is like a tree – the tree trunk is the parent company, and each branch coming out from the tree is a franchised location. Each franchise is unique, and just like the branches of a tree all have the ability to absorb enough sunlight without competing with each other, each branch of the company is in a unique position to market their location without competing with the other locations.
Because search engines like Google favor local businesses in terms of providing relevant results to users based on their zip code (thanks to personalized search), it’s much easier for franchise owners to reach their local market without having to compete with their corporate parent.
Why own a franchise?
Owning a franchise can be a great path to financial independence for those who want to start a business, and the benefits are…
Chart of the day: Businesses are either fairly responsive or it simply depends on the channel or situation.
Research by CMO Council has found that 45% of businesses are fairly responsive to customer feedback and customer needs, whilst 36% say it depends on the channel or situation, though they do try to respond quickly. Speed is essential and businesses are focusing on responding as quickly as possible.
The research also found that over 4 in 10 (43%) respond to complaints about marketing within 1 day and most (36%0 intend to make changes within 90 days based on customer feedback.
Key takeaways:
Businesses are responding as quickly as they can
They are trying to make physical changes and marketing campaign changes as quickly as possible but will always be restricted by cost of doing so
Businesses are actively making changes to their business, products and services…
Social Media Essentials: Snapchats Power Editor, Instagram hit a milestone and Facebook launch Watch
To finish your working week off here are 6 updates we saw happen this week that could help inform your social media strategy and keep you up-to-date with what's happened in the world of social media.
Spotlight Story: Snapchat look to attract more advertisers with their new ad platform 'Advanced Mode'
Snapchat have announced an update very similar to Facebooks Power Editor, 'Advanced Mode'. This feature has been designed for Snapchat advertisers within its Ads Manager. The new platform allows advertisers to efficiently target, test and update their ad campaigns. With the aim of encouraging advertisers to spend more money. It should also help give them a competitive edge against Facebook and Instagram. Find out whats new and how it will change how you advertise on Snapchat.
Instagram…
Chart of the Day: Growing SEO and organic presence are higher priorities than product videos and webinars - part 2 of 10
For my next instalment in my Marketing and Sales 2017 statistics breakdown series, I am focusing on inbound marketing priorities and its challenges.
Over 70% of respondents worldwide stated that they primarily conduct inbound marketing. This shows a strong focus on inbound marketing across the globe, yet Asia showing the lowest percentage of inbound marketing priorities at 64%.
Thinking specifically about inbound marketing projects, what are your company's top priorities?
SEO and organic search presence are a higher priority, across all 5 geo-demographics surveyed, for inbound marketing projects (61%). Secondly, importance was placed on blog content creation (53%) and content distribution (47%).
It seems that companies are prioritizing SEO and content marketing in their inbound marketing projects and pushing freemium trails (6%), webinars (19%) and…
Some easy inbound marketing strategies to make you rethink your content
Just as the printing press opened the mind to the imagination of the world’s greatest literary story tellers, so the early days of Hollywood introduced the world to some of the world’s most ingenious visual storytellers. Amongst the greatest was Buster Keaton.
Every Keaton gesture and scene explained all an audience needed to know. Whereas the average silent movie featured over 240 captions (or subtitles) Keaton never used more than 56.
Appealing to both logic and emotions, Keaton’s perfect balance of understated and conspicuous actions caught the eye and then enthralled audiences through empathy… pathos…heroism… as well as every shade of human attachment in between.
Whilst other screen icons went through just the mechanics of a well-rehearsed process, Keaton treated each tumble, grimace, smile, climb, leap, forlorn gaze, and even collision as a unique opportunity to explore creativity.
Beyond a great screen actor, he…
Chart of the day: length of time for results is the biggest challenge for account-based marketing, according to those in the field
Research by #flipmyfunnel amongst account-based marketers has found that length of time for results to show is the biggest challenge. Getting started and content marketing related to ABM are also big challenges.
The study also found that:
8 in 10 (80%) engage one on one via email outreach to engage with clients and prospects, with just over 7 in 10 (71%) using the phone.
Almost 6 in 10 (57%) say their marketing and sales teams are fully aligned.
45% say that revenue generation is the main goal of their account-based marketing approach.
More than 8 in 10 (83%) plan to expand their marketing stack for account-based marketing purposes in the next year.
Source: #flipmyfunnel Account-Based Marketing Survey
Sample: 250 B2B marketers
Recommended resource: …
Amazon has launched Amazon Spark, a new feature aimed at improving product discovery. The idea behind the platform is to bring some of the social buzz that goes on beyond the website into the Amazon app. But here's the catch - it's only available to Amazon Prime members.
Many have said the platform was inspired by Instagram and its use of shoppable photos. Users are able to post stories, ideas, and images of products they like, which others can react to with comments and like.
To access Amazon Spark, you have to use the Amazon mobile app. When you join spark you tell it your 5 top interests so Amazon can create a customized feed for you. There are also a number of niche categories you can select to further define your personal interests.
…
7 Secrets Of Remote Team Collaboration
The ultimate goal of every small marketing business or a large corporation is to build a team culture where productivity will thrive and where all people are tied to the belief that “none of us is as good as all of us.” If you are sharing an office with a couple of people, with your mind set on one thing only, you become a part of a flow and the culture naturally happens.
However, if you are miles away from your marketing team, building a culture and becoming a part of it doesn’t just magically happen. While there’s no doubt that remote working is a growing trend, the question still lingers:
How to build trust and leverage the way marketers work together no matter where they are or what time zone they belong to?
Here, we’ve…
Chart of the day: Only 25% of data is being used for real-time customer engagement
According to a recent study, 25% of businesses are adjusting their marketing communications daily based on customer data they have collected. It was also reported was that only 16% of UK businesses adjust their marketing communication in real-time based on customer behavior and data collection.
Many businesses are yet to make a case for real-time marketing, saying they need to prove ROI before implementing. This is due to the lack of stakeholder buy-in.
What does this mean for marketers? By adjusting your marketing communications you can develop a more personal approach to reach your audience. Businesses that are putting themselves in a position to act in real time are more likely to meet their customer's demands.
Source: SAS
Sample Size: 350 heads of marketing
Recommended Resources: Social Media Marketing Toolkit
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