Business research conducted by LinkedIn suggests that employees value firm’s reputation and brand more than just the financial compensation. Business analytics revealed in the report, says more than half of respondents would refuse jobs from firms without job security or able leadership at corporate strategy level. Thus firms which do not invest in corporate training of employees are potentially losing more money in fresh recruitment than training costs. Flexible work arrangements and sound work-life balance are critical.

In order to be successful in the present business scenario it is crucial to incorporate disruption within thecorporate strategy. Few firms have successfully disrupted the existing business models with Uber being the chief success. The biggest reason often cited for Uber’s success is the business research they put in to generate feedback and using it once generated. Some learnings can be derived from Uber’s methodology. After every interaction with user, they generate feedback. They only pose questions whose possible answers can be executed which they end up doing anyway. Feedback is one of the most important metrics they track usingbusiness analytics. For most businesses, a Net Promoted Score or NPS can be great method for peer to peer sharing with Survey Monkey being among the top success stories.         

Digital marketing used to be the niche activity which was being performed by a few firms until very recently. Now the rise of the Chief Marketing Technology Officer (CMTO) is further proof that marketing research is not complete without data and business analytics. In fact, meaningful data is now the ultimate gold all firms are chasing. Majority of marketers today are now emerging from technology based backgrounds such as engineering or coding. Canadian firm Shopify exemplifies this new culture as they have tied up with Facebook and Pinterest for a new form of digital marketing where they have issued buttons which can be bought and during this process further data is generated. 

The concept of volunteer tourism has generated numerous travel jobs spawning a sub industry in itself. The intentions are positive as tourists mainly from the developed world travel to developing countries to engage in activities which seek to help local people in different ways. Unscrupulous middlemen are getting involved in fleecing foreigners while engaging in illicit trade in the regions. This has alerted tourism authorities who feel a proper regulatory body is required to monitor the activities. Management training will then be provided to the firms operating in this sphere so they can manage professionally while at the same time help in what ought to be a noble task.

Within the world of digital marketing, debate rages on the status of SEO and whether it belongs to marketing, journalism or PR. In truth it is a combination and in fact journalism is now getting infiltrated by marketers conscious about keywords. As per business research conducted by LinkedIn, SEO is now a much more prominent feature of job descriptions rather than titles. SEO remains relevant till Google keeps altering its search algorithm. SEO is now no longer the preserve of the technical team of web experts, instead it is an integral part of marketing and even PR. The SEO people need to be more social and interact with bloggers on regular basis. Thus firms offering these services are offering bundle of SEO with PPC and PR.

Tourism firms and boards are increasingly making use of social media for the purpose of digital marketing. Social media is enabling real time sharing of tourism activities and in some ways travel has become a narcissistic preoccupation, taking advantage of which these channels are acting as outlets for travelers to tell their stories to others. Business research suggests that Instagram is the most popular channel and is especially convenient as it can be easily synced with both Facebook and Twitter. Special hash tags are being created per tourism event. Social media also helps travelers stay connected with restaurants, souvenir shops and other utilities thus generating good number of travel jobs.

To execute a digital marketingstrategy best, certain components are essential. The website must align with the brand, be mobile friendly and incorporate specific landing pages to generate leads. Business research has found email to be the most efficient proponent of this field. The content must educate and inform the potential users. SEO must be incorporated at corporate strategy level. It must have a positive footprint on social media. However, paid ads cannot be ignored and they have to be run simultaneously. A good part of the marketing process must be automated else duplication of work is common. Webinars must be frequently held to engage customers. Videos work best on smartphones and for the youth. Business analytics must be gauged to understand overall picture. Leads must be managed as appropriate for every segment. Finally the sales tools must be sound including brochures, presentations, mobile applications and crucially management training of sales personnel.