Chart of the day: Poor quality data is the reason for bad digital marketing campaign planning
Over 4 in 10 (43%) respondents to a survey by ExchangeWire Research and Xaxis said lack of quality data was the main reason for not using audience data when campaign planning for digital media.
Time was also a major obstacle, whilst small data sets, narrowing campaign audience too much and a lack of there being a central data repository were all big factors. Marketers are finding that too much targeting is narrowing the audience down too much. Privacy concerns were not a major issue when it comes to data use for digital campaigns.
Source: ExchangeWire Research/ Xaxis
Sample: 616 digital marketing professionals across Europe; data collected from November 2016 to January 2017
Recommended Resource: Marketing Campaign Planning Toolkit
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The emerging trends you need to integrate into your 2018 plan
We are through Q1, and top companies have the habit of starting to plan for the next year right from Q2. If you have initiated planning your marketing strategy and budget for 2018, be prepared to face questions regarding tactics you are opting to use that would go best with most of your customers. And most importantly, which tactics can result in the most efficient conversion.
[Editor's note: For an update on the latest trends, see this in-depth article covering 2018 Digital marketing trends by Dr Dave Chaffey, co-founder of Smart Insights or download our free guide to 9 megatrends which are relevant to all businesses.]
[si_guide_block id="81859" title="Download free member resource – Digital Marketing Megatrends 2018" description="Learn how to get an edge in 2018 by deploying the latest marketing techniques that businesses of all types need to consider to stay competitive."/]
To plan…
3 critical areas you will need to invest in to have a successful 2017
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Albert Einstein
Well there were plenty of difficulties for digital marketers in 2016, so let’s start 2017 by focusing on opportunities; i.e. good things which are available to those who recognise the challenges and tackle them with a positive attitude…
So here are my 3 big opportunities of 2017:
1. Finding and buying great Creative ideas
Some marketers seem to believe (digital) marketing is all about the technology but no…it’s (still) mainly about creative. Brands connecting with people. Entertaining, informing, providing value in return for their time, attention and money. Words, pictures, videos, IDEAS which resonate. Desired reactions would include:
“Yeah!”
“That’s so true.”
“Exactly!”
“100%!”
“I know what they mean.”
“Yes - same!”
“Funny!”
“Oh, that’s interesting…”
“Hello. He’s fit.”
“Wow - that’s useful…”
(or just quietly watching, listening, engaged…).
Check out this case history:
The Next Rembrandt by Dutch Bank ING Group and Microsoft (Cannes Cybers Lions…
3 actions to kickstart Digital Transformation
Take a deep breath, you’ve managed to get the senior team to commit to a digital project and your digital transformation journey has started. The next stage requires a sprint! A big leap forward to catch up with or leapfrog the competitors. Here are three actions you can take now:
1. Benchmark against the competitors
2. Listen to your customers
3. Build a team
1. Benchmark your business against the competitors
Benchmarking will identify the biggest gaps and generate a priority action list. There are many tools available to enable you to benchmark your digital marketing capabilities as part of strategy development.
Strategic Benchmarking Tool
One of my favourites is this strategic benchmarking tool. It doesn’t require a lot of effort, so it’s painless, although the questions are thought-provoking. You could ask several team members to complete and then compare results. Simply select your answer from a drop down box…
Learn to love The Logic Sandwich
To successfully take people through a whole buying decision, you need to find the right balance between satisfying their emotional and logical needs. The human brain has two halves: the left side of the brain is rational, considered and thoughtful, the right is creative, intuitive and spontaneous. To really get someone on board with your brand, you need to appeal to both sides of their nature. In short, you need messages that tick their emotional and logical boxes.
[caption id="attachment_35506" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Are you serving up a Logic Sandwich?[/caption]
Whatever you’re selling and whomever you’re selling it to (in the vast majority of cases), you are selling to a person: a human being. And, real people are primarily driven by their emotions. Even when what they articulate is a logical motivation for a purchase, there will be…
A checklist of the 13 most common touchpoint leaks
Over nearly two decades in marketing, and across well over 200 businesses – from as large as Microsoft and as micro as the back bedroom – I have yet to find a single one that isn’t leaking potential profit somewhere in their marketing operation. And, even those that have it pretty tight can usually notch it up with a few judicious tweaks.
Categorising marketing profit leaks
In pulling all this together, I found that profit leaks fall into two clear categories. The first, and most obvious, are those that relate to how you interact with the outside world. That is, the touchpoints with customers, potential customers, or anyone else who might encounter your business. Of these, I have defined thirteen typical ways that most businesses lose money in their marketing.
The second category is what I call the Foundation Leaks, and they are far more…
Marketing planning can be a long process. With the different steps involved, one area can often hold up another. This template is a quick way to get started as we know that companies that have a plan succeed better and faster than those without a plan.
And here’s a thing not many people know! It doesn’t matter whether it’s a marketing plan, business plan, company plan or HR plan. The key is having a plan.
A marketing plan is a little like a route map for a business. It shows where you’re headed and gives you a greater chance of achieving goals as there are built in mechanisms to measure progress.
The template laid out in this post shows you how to create your marketing plan in 7 steps. For full details on what's involved at each stage see my guide to…
