When pandemic restrictions around the country started occurring in March 2020, few imagined that many would still be in place—or start up again—as the year drew to an end. As I write this, in mid-November, cases are rising across the country, and new restrictions are emerging. Through it all, organizations of various kinds have had to adjust and adapt to the new normal—whatever that is. As businesses plan for 2021, none can ignore the potential for COVID-19 to continue disrupting their operations and impacting consumer decisions. (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘marketing strategy’
COVID-19’s Impact on 2021 Content Marketing Strategy
Monday, March 29th, 2021What You Need to Know About Changes in SEO Strategy
Monday, March 22nd, 2021
SEO has long been the holy grail for internet marketers—and content creators—of all kinds. Attracting eyeballs, and website visitors, was job number one. While that’s still the case to a large degree, SEO has become less of a numbers game and more of a driver for creating high-quality, relevant content. This is because of the ongoing algorithmic changes that Google and other search engines make to deliver a positive search experience for users. (more…)
Marketers: Here’s How You Can Get That Seat at The Table
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021
I’ve worked in marketing for a number of years, and I know that it can be a thankless role at times. After all, the marketing department is a cost center, not a revenue center. It’s a function that is often highly scrutinized in terms of how dollars are being spent and what results are being achieved from those expenditures. Marketing staff is sometimes viewed as “squishy creative types” who don’t really understand business issues but like to throw money at bright, shiny things and the latest social media craze. (more…)
Use Digital Platforms to Drive In-Store Traffic, and Vice Versa
Tuesday, January 19th, 2021
In the modern retail landscape, digital is no longer a threat to the in-store shopping experience. In fact, smart retailers have come to see e-commerce as a tool to boost in-store foot traffic. This represents a new phenomenon called ROPO (research online, purchase offline), where consumers start their shopping journeys online but complete them in-store.
This is a strategy used by 82 percent of consumers, according to Retail Customer Experience. Because of this, experts stress how important it is for retailers to have a strong presence in both physical and digital environments. (more…)
Creating Customer Journey Maps
Saturday, August 29th, 2020
Marketers often speak of the “customer journey.” It’s a concept that describes the various decisions customer make and the interactions they have with a company from the point where they’ve identified a need until the point when they make a purchase—and beyond. A customer journey map is important because it helps marketers visually depict the customer journey and identify areas that may represent barriers or risks of loss. It provides a documented, explicit vision of how customers will interact with your company and is a good tool for sharing with employees to help them understand the journey and the role that they play in engaging and retaining customers. (more…)
Marketing During, and After, the Pandemic
Friday, June 19th, 2020
As businesses slowly begin to open back up, many find themselves doing business far differently than they may have before the pandemic. Safety is top of mind. Not all customers feel comfortable at this point, interacting in person with the businesses they may have frequented without fear in the past. That means for many companies, a combination of in-store/in-person and online or socially distanced interactions. Many are operating on the fly, figuring things out as they go. But now may be an excellent time to take a step back and update, or create, a marketing plan to help you move forward more strategically.
Here’s some advice for doing just that: (more…)
Does Your Business Really Need a Mobile App?
Wednesday, September 18th, 2019Have you ever pulled up a company webpage on a smartphone and immediately been asked if you’d rather load the content on the company’s app? It seems like businesses of all sizes have gone app crazy over the last several years. Google Play currently hosts 2.6 million apps and the App Store is not far behind with 2.1 million.
Many small businesses may fear falling behind on this ubiquitous form of customer interaction, but does your company really need to have an app? In an article for Entrepreneur, Thomas Smale discusses several factors to consider when deciding whether or not to spend the time and money to develop a mobile app. (more…)
Keeping Your Awareness and Engagement Efforts Focused
Tuesday, August 13th, 2019
We’ve written before about the sales funnel—the process through which potential customers become aware of, engage with and, hopefully, ultimately become actual customers of your company. The first part of this funnel is typically referred to as “awareness.” This is the stage at which the market—as you’ve defined it—becomes aware of your product or service. They may never be interested in making a purchase or even learning more about you, but they are aware you exist and have entered this first section of your funnel.
At the heart of the sales process is the drive to move potential customers through the funnel from awareness to action—i.e., making a purchase. A lot of resources are put into measuring the losses at each stage of the funnel and figuring out the sources of that attrition and how to reduce it. Unfortunately, a lot of these resources may be wasted. (more…)
That’s Irrational! The Weird Ways Consumers Behave and Why
Thursday, August 1st, 2019
Economic theory has some fundamental assumptions underpinning it. One of the most important is that people behave rationally. In other words, that the decisions we make are designed to fulfill our best interests.
But we know this is not always the case. (more…)
Goby the Trash Fish and Nudge Marketing
Thursday, July 11th, 2019
Behavioral economics is the study of how and why consumers do not always act rationally —rational behavior is one of the fundamental assumptions underlying classical economics. Behavioral economics helps explain things like why consumers make impulse purchases and incorrectly value goods and services. Two of my favorite behavioral economists are Dan Ariely and Steven D. Levitt, authors of Predictably Irrational and Freakonomics, respectively–two books I highly recommend.
Nudge marketing is a key form of behavioral economics. It involves providing subtle “nudges” to guide human behavior in ways that serve marketers’ needs. Here we take a look at some interesting examples of how elements of behavioral economics can be put to work in the field of marketing.
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