Faced with continued uncertainty, where should retailers focus their tech investment?
The last 12 months have ushered in a new wave of uncertainty for retailers. Already grappling with challenges created by Amazon’s near relentless drive to dominate the consumer wallet, retailers find themselves faced with a new level of unpredictability at the hands of political forces including Brexit and Trump. In this climate where the only certainty is uncertainty, where should retailers focus?
At eCommera, we brought together three experts - economist Alex Hamilton of Retail Week, psychologist Kate Nightingale of Style Psychology, and futurologist Matt Gee of Isobar – to discuss this hot topic.
A key area of discussion was around whether – and where - brands and retailers should be investing in emerging technologies. Although all of the participants were quick to agree that 2017 will not be the year of virtual reality, despite myriad tech predictions…
Now mobile is the norm, marketers need to re-think how they approach a broad range of tactics
By the end of last year there were 2 billion mobile users worldwide. This amounts to 400% growth in just a decade and the figure is bound to have increased since this date. 80% of internet users access it via their mobile phones and this should be a huge warning signal to all businesses that their marketing, sales and communications strategies must all have a 'mobile-first' focus.
All business owners have had it drummed into them that their website must be responsive, it’s what customers expect, and whilst this is true , it can’t stop there. Your entire strategy needs to be based on the assumption that users could be viewing your online communications, emails, social posts and more from practically any device, and more than likely a smartphone or tablet. How is…
Is SMS is included in your marketing strategy?
It has been predicted that by the end of 2017 a massive 4.77 billion people globally will own a mobile phone! Now that is a staggering statistic. It has also been reported that 63% of smartphone owners keep their devices with them for all but one hour of their waking day (MarketingTech, 2016). Our phones are always glued to our hands and what better way to target mobile users than by texting them? So why is SMS so rarely utilised by so many marketers?
It’s underuse by businesses is quite staggering, with 64% of customers believing that companies should utilise text messaging more (SAP, 2015) and, provided permission has been sought, 83% don’t find SMS intrusive provided the message is relevant to them (SAP, 2015). Let’s be honest, SMS has had a difficult past which has tarnished its reputation. It wasn’t too long ago…
We are in the age of the smart customer
Customer experience is defined as the sum total of conscious events, as a coordinated series of interactions between a customer and a brand to accomplish anything. Above all words - a customer experience is defined by the customer, for the customer, at each touch-point, each time. — Esteban Kolsky, Gartner.
The Age of the Customer is not just a passing fad; it certainly isn’t just this year’s marketing buzzword. The phrase, coined by Forrester back in 2011, refers to the massive power shift since the digital revolution exploded into our lives, and refers to how technology, social media, and mobile information exchange are affecting customer service, product development and marketing. It alludes to the fact that 40% of customers have a high willingness and ability to shift their spend. In particular, it refers to this period now in which businesses will be…
How you can significantly increase the ROI of your marketing videos
“Did you see that video everyone is talking about?!” You probably hear this at least once a week. People these days are just as crazy about online video as they were about moving pictures in the days of the silent silver screen, and streaming video is only getting more popular. You still have time to get ahead of the curve — and your competitors — but you need a game plan.
If you aren’t sure whether online video content is a priority for your marketing needs, you should know that 64 percent of consumers are more likely to pull the trigger on a purchase after watching a video about the product. Video is already a vital piece of any digital marketing campaign, and yet many businesses focus on the wrong elements because they don’t have a video marketing strategy in…
Creating a Bigger and Better Blog for 2017
It’s no secret that the most, if not all, profitable niches in online marketing are already highly saturated. If you think you have an idea for a new blog topic, there are probably a thousand blogs that already published the same post. And in time, there'll be more content than humans can consume – resulting in “Content Shock."
Remember that the fundamental law of supply and demand affects everything. The price for any commodity falls when supply exceeds demand. But when it comes to content marketing, you end up paying your audience to consume your content because there’s no price for them to begin with.
In addition to time, thriving bloggers now need to invest in tools and resources that help with content creation. It’s also common for bloggers to bribe their audience into subscribing with free eBooks, discount coupons, and free trial periods.
Whether…
How brands can use a Digital Marketing Centre of Excellence to improve their results from digital
Since digital marketing is so complex and changes so fasts, many businesses can be left floundering in their use of digital marketing if they don't have the right investment in digital marketing skills and best practices. It's challenging since 'change is constant', audiences move to new channels, platforms change their algorithms and consumers start using ad-blocking tech or become 'banner blind'. Because of the pace of change, many brands lack experience in dealing with the kinds of problems posed by digital marketing in 2017.
This often leads to disappointing results from digital marketing, which can then create a suspicion of digital and a failure to properly invest in the new emerging technologies and channels which will be powering growth in the years ahead.
These challenges have led to many brands utilizing a Digital Center/Centre of Excellence in order to…
Take note of these 5 tips for keeping your campaigns relevant to newer generations
A lot has been said about millennials. You know who I mean, you’ll have seen the definition a million times: those born between 1985 and 2000, the youngest of whom will not know what the back of a stamp tastes like, the generation for whom everything is Google'able and for whom there’s no lack of answers for life’s mysteries, big and small.
What makes this generation particularly interesting for marketing professionals is that, thanks to social media and cookies, this generation is easier to read, understand and know than generations past and, not only that, but they’ve been shown to be a more loyal group than their ancestors but, what about millennials and email? Is email still relevant?
Millennials and email
At Benchmark Email, we are particularly interested in…
Don't let your digital marketing campaigns fall foul of these mistakes
The great thing about making a mess of a digital marketing campaign is that, with the benefit of hindsight, it becomes clear which actions were a mistake and which contributed to a winning campaign.
In this article we share some examples of 'epic fails' that we have seen, and yes, if truth were told, we might have just had an up close and personal experience of some of them.
1. Leaving it to the boss to decide your Digital Marketing Strategy, i.e. – Ego Marketing
The boss is not always right! Come on, repeat after me “the boss is not always right!
Their input is necessary and important, however, they aren’t the ones who are being held responsible for your Digital Marketing Strategies. You are the one that is supposed to know better in this regard, but sometimes the Boss just can’t help it ……
Take the test to see what stage your email marketing is at
Email is an amazing marketing channel, and is consistently quoted by reputable sources as one of the best performing marketing channels for return on investment. In their Marketer Email Tracking Study 2017, the DMA found that for every pound spent, the average ROI from email marketing was £30.01. Email marketing has more users than Facebook and Twitter combined and results show that customers actually prefer to view marketing communications via email. Radicati write that that there is predicted to be over 2.9 billion users of email by 2019, which is over one-third of the population. As the digital world is constantly evolving, email marketers need to make sure that they are using the most innovative ideas and embracing change in order to succeed.
Your audiences are changing and your customers are more savvy than they ever were. They…
