How data, technology and changing consumer expectations are shaping the marketing mix
The advancement of so many transformative new technologies over the last five to ten years is shaking up the modern marketing world. From the emergence of wearable technology, to chatbots and mobile payment apps, disruption is taking place nearly everywhere we look.
All of these technologies have the potential to give marketers new opportunities to meet and surpass consumer expectations. However, this is only possible if marketers can keep their skill-sets up to date and look at ways to integrate new ways of working into existing processes, for example through an effective digital transformation agenda.
The technological advancement we’re seeing is not linear. Instead, it is occurring rapidly in the form of major leaps, with consumers and pioneering tech companies leading the change:
Many businesses are struggling to keep up and it’s…
Facebook's new analytics tool for Chatbots signals its desire to make bots a key part of Messenger's attractiveness to brands
Chatbots are the hot new trend that's got marketers excited this year. Their success comes from the confluence of two separate trends - the massive growth in the popularity of chat apps (which is in turn driven by the rise of mobile & social), and the development of ever more powerful AI technologies. Since Facebook announced it would support Chatbots on its Messenger app in April 2016, over 34,000 Messenger bots have been created. Whether it's Taco Bell's bot giving menu recommendations, being able to order an Uber via tapping a car icon in Facebook messenger or getting a rundown of the day's news from CNN's chatbot sent straight to you, brands have been quick to seize the potential afforded by building Chatbots within the Messenger platform.
It easy to see why…
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16 Nov 2016
Smart Insights and Adestra report on customer engagement 2018
Engagement is one of digital’s most prickly talking points. Increasingly Digital Natives expect brands to understand needs deeply and then deliver answers promptly. Thanks to technology, professional, personalized automated Marcoms programmes help ensure that such responses are not simply addressed, they exceed average expectations.
We live in a society where all generations see the world through the lens of technology. Engaging with Digital Natives calls for deeper insights into their lifecycles. Fortified by such knowledge, brands can provide accessible services that are easy to act upon via unified frictionless experiences that cross all divides and devices.
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According to a recent report from Smart Insights and Adestra around 41% of marketers take advantage of a single welcome email. Inactive subscribers are contacted by 34% of marketers. Behaviour-based triggers (such as abandoned carts) trigger around 30% response.
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Time changes all things - Especially SEO!
You need not cast your mind back far to reminisce about a time when the principles of SEO were little more than a rhythmic check list, putting everything in its place to best support the client at hand.
Now, times are changing, not only has the landscape been forever altered by Penguin 4.0, but we now have a new concept on the rise in interest and popularity: Semantic SEO.
Saying Semantic SEO is going to change everything is inaccurate, yes, it is a different approach to SEO but not entirely unrecognizable. The most common current SEO tactic is to filter out a target phrase, use it throughout the URL and, with fortunes’ grace, rank for the phrase chosen. With semantic SEO, you target a topic, not just a phrase. This is due to Google being much more competent at understanding the intentions of the user and…
Chart of the Day: What are the reasons for abandoning cart during checkout?
In our latest Chart of the Day, we look into why customers abandon at checkout.
Abandonment is a big issue for marketers and ecommerce professionals, but in addition to putting in place techniques to decrease cart abandonment it's important to understand why customers abandon carts in the first place.
The study found that most 61% abandon because the shipping or extra costs are too high.
35% abandoned because they were required to create an account and 27% abandoned due to a complicated checkout process.
Cart abandonment is a global concern, as shown by the chart below.
Source: InboxArmy
Sample: 1044 survey responses
Recommended resource: Visit our Ecommerce toolkit for the latest resources to help you with your Ecommerce marketing.
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Grow your e-commerce sales using RFM analysis - an undervalued online retail marketing technique
We can all agree that conversion rate optimization is one of the most creative and efficient marketing techniques for designing an on-site experience that will amaze customers. Yet even though CRO will help you rectify your approach as you work to align marketing goals with customer’s needs, there is one important aspect to consider: conversion rate optimization is often used in the wrong way.
As a marketer or e-commerce website owner, your main goal shouldn’t be only to improve key metrics such as conversion rate, bounce rate, average order value, revenue, etc. These represent a direct consequence, the effects of how you treat your customers and how you communicate with them.
You should also optimize to create long-term relationships with customers that have chosen your products and services from the crowded e-commerce market. The…
Don't fall foul of these common but expensive SEO mistakes
Google’s engineers have said there are at least 200 ‘ranking signals’ which affect whether you can rank above your competitors or not. To make SEO even more challenging, many of them change frequently in Google’s algorithm updates.
So, it can be really tough knowing what matters in SEO and what doesn’t. To help give you focus, here we show some really common mistakes we have seen again and again as we have worked on SEO consulting and training projects.
We think SEO isn’t just for SEO specialists, all ‘hands-on’ marketers need to understand the main factors so they can ask the tough questions of SEO specialists and agencies. Here we're giving you five of the top 10 most costly SEO mistakes. If you're interested to discover more common SEO mistakes you can sign up for free to download the guide to the top 10…
Chart of the Day: South Korea, Singapore and the Netherlands lead the world in Digital Adoption
This is a first for us - a non-digital chart of the day! It comes (courtesy of a scanner) from the brand spanking new 2017 edition of The Economist's World in Figures, and has not yet been released digitally. Which is somewhat ironic, given it's subject!
The Economist measured the adoption of digital technologies across business, government and among consumers. It found South Korea, Singapore and the Netherlands were leading the world when it comes to the adoption of digital technologies. It's interesting how global this list is. Rather than being concentrated entirely in Europe and North America, this list features countries from North East Asia, South East Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, as well as the more expected Western Europe and America. The digital revolution is creating a more connected world - one…
Ingredients to increase your Ecommerce conversions
Let’s take a moment and think about your favourite shoe brand – Is it really a brand or is it an Ecommerce store just like any other? How did it became your favourite? Well, the answer is straightforward. Of the online brands that initially spring up as an Ecommerce store, their evolution into an effective brand depends on what kinds of products and services they provide, and more importantly what they do to make their customers feel happy and satisfied. Then, a brand becomes more of a feeling that drives customers to your store.
Fundamentals of E-Commerce branding
Before you decide on a successful brand strategy, you must have a sound understanding of your own business. Start by brainstorming on following issues to discover what makes your brand stand out.
Does your online business have a goal?
Does your product solve any problems?
What…
The growing deluge of content means you'll need a plan to cut through the noise in 2017
In digital marketing, you've probably come across the statement "content is king" several times. Make no mistake that content is the lifeblood of every essential online marketing activity. Be it social media marketing, email marketing, SEO, or paid advertising - none of these departments will succeed without the development of quality content.
A study by Demand Metric reveals that 78% of CMOs believe that custom content is the future of digital marketing.
However, successful content marketing is an intricate process that requires a lot of research and planning. Below are the crucial steps you need to prepare your content marketing strategy for 2017:
1. Specify Your Business Objectives
In every business endeavor, you need to set specific goals and objectives that will guide your day-to-day activities and ensure you're right on track. First off, make sure you…
