How to Provide Customer Engagement by Providing a Unique Experience

Certain methods exist to ensure greater customer engagement through unique experience. If the workforce is empowered, chances are that the passion derived will be reflected during sales pitches and customer dealings. Sound management training is best way to ensure this. Webinars hosted from company computers help generate customer interaction which may further be converted to leads. Associating a story with a brand helps generate touch-points enabling end users to keep a mental track on the same. This even benefits personalization. Creating public figures as advocates also works as they direct traffic from public forums or their own blogs / websites.

The Rise of Creativity Propels Open Data Forward

Traditionally, creativity has been seen as more of inspiration than perspiration, occurring randomly to select individuals. Now the process of developing creativity has been democratized and large proportion of people have access to the ‘art’. Thus open data has soared in usage. Sitting in a small town in India, one can access websites of global organizations or think tanks. From a farm in South America one can access online memberships of most resourceful libraries across oceans. This has propelled a unique ecosystem where projects are shared online. This access generates greater data using business analytics which then further fuels open sources. Weather reports can be cited as example where just two hundred years back, data used to be collected at random intervals and not even daily. Now number of government bodies and private players including startups have based their entire business model on weather reports alone.

Disrupt or Die: A Forecast of our Digital Landscape in 2020

While majority of firms are now quite active in the field of digital marketing, yet there remain chief executives whose plans are getting disrupted due to this change in landscape. This disruption is higher in developed, more digitally connected countries like Australia and many firms are dying out due to competition from more savvy competitors. The cloud computing platforms, changing workforce, mobile savvy consumers and technology driven supply chain have created this panic and by 2020 further changes are afoot. The IoT (Internet of Things) will further heighten the divide by integrating data, machines and people. As per market research, more than two-fifths of existing jobs in Australia will be under threat of survival by 2020. Also privacy compliances, big data and IPR will become greater issues. Thus digitization will need to be simplified for all to use and accelerate the process of integration. The greater nimbleness thus derived will lead to enhanced business optimization.

These are the Traits of your Future Employees

Market research has been conducted to gauge the future of management jobs and the profile of potential employees. Almost 90% are prepared to move countries for improving job prospects but nearly half of them are worried that the same may be difficult due to global financial crisis. About three-fifths are worried that another global financial meltdown will seriously disrupt their careers. The respondents are majorly concerned about ethical dimensions as 92% wish to work with organizations which contribute positively to society and a similar number are concerned about the natural environment. 44 and 23% of the students look to pursue careers in professional services or finance post their MBA,BBA or other courses studied. Job loyalty though is not a top priority for this generation as less than a fourth feel they will remain at the same job for entire careers.

5 Ways Leaders Can be More Likeable on Social Media

There are certain ways in which leaders can possess greater popularity on social media. They must have some beliefs and work towards them and this must reflect on their digital posts. Integrity is essential and one must not create a make-believe social persona.Business research on the case of Ms. Sheryl Sandberg’s Facebook profile post her husband’s demise, shows that putting up an honest human persona of being vulnerable to grief boosts leader’s social media popularity. One has to manage this personal side with the fact that anything leaders post online reverberate across the world as company speech. Thus one must voice one’s opinions yet must respect others’ rights to have theirs. Location ‘check-ins’ on Foursquare and fitness trackers however must be avoided at all costs.   

The Operating System of the Digital Age

The Operating System (OS) of the digital era has got to be varied from earlier times to keep up with the challenges. It must be agile so products can be delivered faster but at lower costs. They must be adaptable to deal with possible mergers and acquisitions. They must also be aligned with the needs of different stakeholders such as customers, shareholders and the society at large. These steps must be ensured to gain advantage over competitors and not just grab a meager slice of the market.

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91% of Retail Brands Use two or more Social Media Channels

In the present scenario of the business world, social media forms an integral part linking the brand with a portion of customers. And like individuals, even firms use multiple social media channels to connect. According to a study conducted by Pew, more than 90% of selected brands are using multiple social media outlets. The figure rises to 100% when one closely studies the home goods category while the apparel sector is best connected with maximum percentage using all 5 social media channels studied. Facebook tops the usage chart while Instagram has largest follower base. Some learnings emerge out of this study. With promotion across forums, costs can be well scaled. Two-way communication increases due to social media connect. Target audience can be better mapped. Content to be posted must be pertinent and trending. One must gauge which channel is being best used for particular aspects.

Top Mobile Apps for Enhancing Business Processes

Some mobile phone app categories exist which are sure to boost running of business operations. Twitter is one app that has revolutionized customer interaction, especially for SMEs. Receipt Bank &Debtor Daddy enable speedy extraction of financial data and payment due status respectively. WordPress has provided firms with a cost effective marketing tool. Evernote allows users to manage text on the move and thus accelerating productivity. Tunnel Bear meanwhile is one app which enables professionals to connect to office network using their personal phones or tablets irrespective of location thus ensuring time and space sharing. 

Map Your Digital Marketing Playbook to your Company’s Stage of Growth

The digital marketing playbook involves the aspects any firm wishes to incorporate in its digital strategy. However, the playbook differs from one firm to another depending on the stage of growth it finds itself in. For an ‘early stage company’, the focus is on earned media which are not paid but where one can gain exposure and cognizance through press releases, SEO, content marketing etc. The separation between marketing and sales at this stage is miniscule and free trial packages are usually fruitful. At ‘high growth companies’, there is a recognized product fit. At this phase international growth is common. Deeper technical skills will now be needed in lieu of more all-round skills at earlier stage. The ‘market leader’ on the other hand, will involve frequent sales development reports. Brand and demand fuel each other. The HR plays a very crucial role at this stage.             

Digital Marketing Tip: One Page you need to get Right

There are a number of websites which run over hundreds, maybe thousands of pages. Yet it is a few crucial pages which make or break majority of deals for the firms. It could be frequently the ‘about us’ or ‘contact us’ pages. Even when internet traffic is diverted, certain landing pages are specially created or assigned from existing ones. There are four types of landing pages based on how they are used. There is the basic landing page which redirects traffic usually to the home page. Then as the name suggests, there are video landing pages. There is the webinar landing page which lands on particular webinar company wants to broadcast. Finally the most common one is the sales landing page which directly takes viewer to the catalogue and information centre.

8 Features You Absolutely Need in a Mobile CRM

There are some features which every mobile CRM must possess. It must include an integrated analytics and marketing package. Then there must be an acquisition tracking package. Real time analytics using the right metrics must be tapped into. User segmentation must be easy to be put to use. There must include an application which can collect data from within and outside on areas such as interest categories, static data plus channel attributes. An app oriented messaging service plus e-mail is essential. Automation is necessary in order to schedule targeted marketing without continuous manual intervention. The overall process must be implementable without too much fuss. Thus there must exist a constantdrive towards innovation. 

Recover from Bad PR with Digital Marketing in 5 Steps

While all firms make PR bloopers, these days due to the digitalization, bad news travels rather swiftly. There are however, some steps if followed can recover the firm’s positioning. The negative link must not be clicked even if curiosity lingers, as more clicks will automatically trend it greater on Google. Digital press releases across search engines always provide positive PR organically. Social media profiles must always be optimized to provide positive energy from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google Plus and YouTube. Blogging has become a must-have for all big and medium scale businesses today which seek positive online response. A convergence factor must be enabled where viewers see series of pictures, videos, articles or short posts on various forums. This is critical for brand recall value. 

3 Refreshing Ways to Look at Marketing Analytics

While increasingly more number of firms are studying marketing analytics, there exist some fresher approaches towards analyzing the same. Every aspect in analytics must not be taken too seriously as gaps exist and analytics do not explain causes for everything. Analytics must not be restricted to quantitative fields but the scope must keep expanding. Click-tracking, live chat transcripts, ratings / reviews, reports in analytics package, email click through rates and talking to customer support or sales people are other innovative practices which must be considered under broad umbrella of analytics. Donning the garb of data detective within one’s firm can save a lot of extra efforts as internal studies too are crucial. A truly successful digital analyst is like a scavenger on a hunt.

8 Absolutely Brilliant Content Marketing Innovations from the World’s Best Brands

From the number of content marketing innovations that have taken place recently, eight of them stick out for being truly brilliant and originating from some of the world’s top brands. IBM has created content in the fields of software, communications, impacts and citizen rights to uphold its status as one of the premier firms providing authoritative and technical expertise. Hootsuite has carved a niche for itself as a social media aggregator, however its popularity exploded when they created a video inspired by the extremely popular TV showGame of Thrones. Buffer operates on a similar business model to Hootsuite, yet it is their blog section which has truly created rippled for some time now averaging maximum views, comments and shares for a year. Microsoft struck a chord with end users by developing stories around their software products. McDonald’s did something similar by creating stories and videos on some of its food acquiring processes to rubbish claims about the brand promoting an unhealthy diet. Disney has managed to associate its brand with the word magic to stake a claim in viewers’ imagination. Hubspot meanwhile has called its business model as the inbound methodology, the term itself pulling viewers to their products. Go-Pro has not only created content but incredible visuals which have pulled itself away from competitors. Info-graphics have helped the firm develop great content for social media.

Digital Marketing Metrics the Experts Measure

There are certain metrics related to the field of digital marketing which experts tap into. They can similarly be used by marketers to respond positively to business changes. Overall conversion percentage tells us about the macro picture but campaign level metrics inform us better about each component of the plan, what worked or not. Cost per acquisition is similarly crucial. Conversion rates at stages of the campaign tell us about demographics and the firm’s ability to accurately forecast. Growth in the channel’s ROI breaks down data into sales figures and financials plus their links to number of leads. Digital marketing metrics provide immense data and it is crucial to identify the ones which really identify trends for the business. 

Increasingly Mobile Workforce top 5 Workplace Trend

While time and space sharing has been in existence for decades now, newer trends are emerging due to the growing mobile workforce. Firms are creating talent maps to help identify employees aspiring to overseas placements and core roles where they can be assigned to. For certain roles requiring unique expertise, organizations are scouring the international talent pool. However, the legal parameters must be well understood before venturing into cross-border recruitments. Suitable incentives must be offered to workers who create value. Mobility must be expressed as career progress.

Most Innovation is becoming Business Model Innovation

While most organizations worldwide are trying to innovate, a lot of efforts are not being implemented beyond the confines of the White Paper. There are some ways in which sincere efforts can be put to bridge the gap. The scope of the term innovation must be allowed to get broader as it does not have to be a new product but simply a newer method of executing an existing one. While the eventual outcome may be altered, the original intent must not be regarded as failure if innovation is eventually achieved. The business model here becomes key driver of innovation, not necessarily core product or service. Thus businesses are facing severe reversals. They must realize that even basic innovations are leading to alterations in operations, internal systems, channels and packaging. Whether planned or not, the change has to be incorporated by the management. The relationships between innovation, change and business models means top innovators will develop business plans difficult to replicate.

Giving Digital the Human Touch

Science fiction has long grappled with the idea of computers being able to speak to or pass off as humans. In real however, this concept has not quite taken off though there are signs of a near future where some of this may happen. NASA has already successfully paired astronauts and robots together in the toughest of assignments. Now a number of digital firms have taken approaches to bridge this gap between human and machine. Job profiles are getting reorganized. The role of leadership is taking on new definition in this amalgamation. It has become much more horizontal in nature now. Further changes are impending. Hierarchies are constantly getting flattened. Firms are encouraging employees to use more of digital applications and tools. Talented employees are now being constantly pushed to add on to their skill sets. Thus the human part must not be divorced from human capital. Instead digital must seamlessly complement the human presence. 

10 Social Media Stats you Should Know as a Marketer

There are certain essential statistics without which no marketer must make decisions on the social media campaigns. 80% of respondents have ticked positive when asked about impact of social media on website traffic. Among various media, Instagram has the highest engagement rate at 4.2%. More than half of Americans tend to be more loyal when they follow brands on digital media. 33% of professionals worldwide use LinkedIn. Of them, more than one-thirds are below 30 years of age. Tweets with pictures are re-tweeted 150% more. Tweets must not exceed 110 characters as that is the optimum figure allowing for 17% boost in engagement. Also Tweets must never exceed 3 in a day as then brand engagement reduces. Nearly 90% of engagement on Facebook is on posts with pictures in them. Even Google+ has around 300 million users per month.

10 Social Media Metrics Actually Worth Tracking

There are some metrics which if tracked will provide reliable feedback. There is the concept of Brand Mention Volume which tracks the number of times the brand was mentioned on social media during a period of time. Then there is Share of Voice (SOV) which measures advertisements on social media and the click rate across. There is also Referral Traffic which is about social media directing traffic directly towards website. Conversion Rates imply the rate of potential customers contacting firm post the call to action. Brand Connotation maps everything spoken about brand online including negative ones. Klout score is way to measure organizations ratings across different social media platforms. Inbound links meanwhile direct traffic from public forums. Audience reach tracks the geographical and demographic spread of brand on social media. Audience engagement keeps tabs on shares, likes and comments by audience. Social activity profits connection does anRoI on investment versus returns on social media engagement.

7 Seriously Bad Ideas That Rule Higher Education

There are certain ideas that are prevalent in higher education, yet have been proven to be bad. Faculty costs must never be considered expense but as investment. The principle of functioning at bare costs will never lead to quality education. Technology does make life easier, yet it must never be promoted at the cost of nuts & bolts educational rigour. Faculty members have often been at the forefront of innovation in education and do not usually cause obstacles. A greater staff-to-faculty ratio is not necessarily a negative step. Public disinvestment in education is not a positive step or inevitable. This is a long term investment for the economy as a whole. While there are higher education systems more efficient, the American system is certainly not one that is facing a crisis or which needs a complete overhaul.