Google's framework for multichannel success
I appreciate the headline might be a bit controversial, but it's a genuine question. It's a natural follow-up to my previous post reviewing McKinsey's New consumer Decision Journey. After all - Google are saying that their Zero Moment of Truth model represents the death of the sales funnel. Really? I don't think so…
Of course we already know that P&G first realised the idea of 'moments of truth' in 2005, they said that the first moment was "in front of the shelf," and that the "second moment of truth" was gained through product trial and experience. So compared with McKinsey's Consumer Decision Journey, what is ZMOT adding? The aim of ZMOT is to explain how the consumer's research and decision-making journey on the way to purchase is now fundamentally different, that there's a step prior to P&G's first moment of truth, called ZMOT.
ZMOT also explains that this…
Red Bull: A lesson in modern marketing?
I was debating writing this post, after all there's so much written about the Red Bull Stratos mission in the 2 days since it was finally completed. Yet I've not seen much written about how the event supports branding and marketing. I think there are certainly learnings for marketers like us, most of us who aren't multi-million pound brands.
So, what are the practical marketing ideas that we can really take from all of this? Here are our 4 lessons from the Stratos mission...
Success comes from committing to the hard work. Red Bull included, was this easy for them - no way. The Stratos project took 7 YEARS to plan and execute with ex-NASA engineers which means that Red Bull started doing the work seriously as early as 2005. We…
Presenting content based on sensory preferences in your email campaigns
We all have our preferred way of communicating: some people prefer to talk, some prefer to write, others prefer to touch or being hands-on. I remember when I was training to be a Primary Teacher, we learn't how young children learned by touch – hence all the tactile based exercises you did in your first few years at school.
Furthermore, I used to observe the children’s reactions when sitting down to read them a story, they would all clamber in close hoping to be able to touch the fabric on my dress or skirt. On the days that I wore silky soft fabric, I noted that I always received a lot more ‘you look beautiful today Miss’ comments from my lovely little six year olds. So, taking a note or two from the four main learning styles, which are used by presenters,…
Practical tips for pre-show event marketing
Exhibitions are a great way to get your company noticed in both business and consumer markets. Being able to meet and interact with dozens of potential new customers is a thrill in itself, never mind the long-term benefits of forging new business links in your sector. Generating interest in your company before a trade show is vital if you want to hit the ground running and gain new clients. Which means that your marketing team needs to be working like a well-oiled machine in the build up to the event.
You might be sceptical about the glitz and glamour of exhibitions, but there is real value to attending a trade show.
Face to face interaction is the best way to ensure that potential clients experience your company performing under pressure in a fast-paced environment. It is also a…
Getting campaign timing right to boost your email open and clickthrough rates
GetResponse analysed over 21 million email messages sent by US companies in the 1st quarter of 2012, and the results clearly demonstrated the optimum times for open and click-through rates for email campaigns. The infographic below provides clear evidence of when to schedule your email campaigns to improve engagement:
One of the most important conclusions is that sending newsletters during readers’ top engagement times of 8 a.m. – 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. can increase their average open rates and CTR by 6%
Be careful! You also need to consider time zone differences, subscribers daily routines and other best practices for email marketing.
Highlights of the research:
Emails have the best results within the 1st hour after delivery. This…
This infographic from Return Path is a reminder of how the popularity of smartphones and tablets means we have to carefully test our Emails on these devices and think about the changing context of use for email. Apple devices are particularly important accounting for 85% of all email mobile opens.
If you look at the trends it seems mobile could exceed both mobile email client access could exceed both desktop and webmail access to email.
The infographic is based on one billion emails sent by 500 corporate Return Path clients comparing 2012 to 2011.…
Research and examples show what gamification needs to succeed
Making its debut onto the Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies just a year ago, gamification continued to reach the peak of inflated expectations this year alongside other technologies such as Big Data, crowdsourcing and HTML5.
Applying gaming concepts, such as challenges rewarded by points and badges is thought to influence purchase behaviour, create incentives and help companies receive feedback about the customer‘s experience.
In 2011, Gartner Analyst Brian Burke predicted that by 2014, more than 70% of Global 2,000 organisations will have at least one “gamified” application with gamification potentially becoming “as important as Facebook, eBay or Amazon.” This is supported by our love of video games playing. According to research from the IAB, nearly 33m people in the UK of all ages, gender and social groups…
Assessing an ESP should be based on more than functionality
There is a bewildering range of email marketing solutions platforms to choose from. While it's common to select a solution based on its features, it's also important to consider the level of local support for the system you will have in your country. Since most email services are cloud-based and you can access them from anywhere, deciding on whether you have adequate support in your country is an important issue in selecting a system.
In this post, Andrew Mann of UK-based ESP Smart Messages shares his thoughts on why it's important to have local support from an email supplier.
Four reasons why local vendor support is best
1. Time zone
Personal contact remains a fundamental part of business even in the digital world. If you need help, it’s better to have a supplier in your own…
An example of a test using Facebook's new paid offers
Facebook Offers was launched earlier this year, allowing retailers to send deals to their Facebook fans' newsfeeds. Until recently it's been a free service. I wasn't even aware of it until I saw an ad for the new paid-for service in my newsfeed this week and decided to give it a go. Here is what I discovered.
The ad is pretty self explanatory. Users claim the offers by clicking on the ad in their News Feeds and redeem the vouchers to get discounts.
How to create a Facebook Offer
Creating the ad is really simple. As well as the option to update your status or post a photo/video, you now have the option to post an Offer or Event (or various other content such as a poll). You can choose to set up a…
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24 Sep 2012
Why do social media continue to damage big brands?
In February, Mcdonalds made what I thought was a massive social media gaffe with its #McDStories campaign. As I said at the time, it really should have brought home to CEOs and their CMOs that social media is too important to be entrusted to the inexperienced (both in clients and their agencies). I'm sure you remember this...
This wasn't the first ill-advised campaign of the "tell us what you think...finish this sentence" type and won't be the last.
Now in September in the UK we have a very similar social campaign mistake. Again, widely reported in the mainstream media where the main damage occurs, at least this one is humorous. Supermarket Waitrose challenged shoppers to "finish the sentence: 'I shop at Waitrose because …' #WaitroseReasons". Here are some typical responses, our favourites:
"I shop at Waitrose because it…
