The Search for Social Media Insights

It may be time to recognize that data collected from social media will not so easily reveal its immediate impact on a company’s sales (as we’ve said before, it’s proven to be a bit slippery). But this doesn’t mean the baby should be thrown out with the bathwater. In finding ways to prove its value, social media marketers are changing the conversation away from a cause/effect relationship between a company’s marketing and its ROI to a deeper understanding of social data’s value. And as it turns out what it offers is way more valuable- the unprecedented parse-able social insights of a population.

In a recent post, we explained that the number one problem facing social media marketers today is tying social data to an increase in the bottom line (or the sales of a product or service). The challenge of “proof,” in turn, was making it harder to make a case for additional investment in social media marketing.

We said, “Demonstrating the value of the social programs within the company was, in fact, the top challenge noted (60%) by survey participants consisting of 600 media marketing professionals.”

 The State of Social Marketing 2015 report by Simply Measured states, “Companies of all sizes and maturity levels are struggling to prove the value of their social programs. Social media activities can be difficult to quantify, and marketers are trapped between readily available “vanity metrics,” such as Likes and followers, and difficult-to-measure objectives such as brand awareness.”

We went on to suggest that unless there’s a collapse of the capitalist system, better tools will surely arise to address the challenge. But we also noted, of equal, if not greater importance, would be the ongoing discovery of more creative and accurate ways to query the data.

As marketers hone in on methods to extract the gold nuggets of consumer intel out of the mountain of information, they’re hitting upon the true capital of social media- the most comprehensive picture of consumer behavior, sentiment and decision-making process they’ve ever been blessed to lay hands on. This might not be the smoking gun that ties directly to a sale, but, in fact, presents many more gifts in the long run as John Donnelly III, SVP of global sales and marketing at Crimson Hexagon, points out.    

 “One of the most effective ways to glean consumer insights is by analyzing social media conversation… sales teams are realizing that social media is rife with information about what their prospects care about, how they consume media and what motivates their decision-making,” said Donnelly.

Based on Donnelly’s presentation and other insights, here are some ideas to consider when taking the dive into social data.  

Get granular. Almost any question a marketer has regarding brand perception, market competition and the general sentiment of people discussing a product or brand can be found through social media analytics, so ask away.

Getting granular also let's marketers zero in on microsegments of the population that either are or can be Word-of-Mouth advocates for a brand or product.

Word of Mouth is the golden standard for all marketers. The ability to target Word-of-Mouth advocates on social media can be the difference between success and failure. Writing for convice&convert, Devon Wijesinghe discusses the importance of Word of Mouth and how it can be used.

“This rich source of information comes in handy when you’re looking to generate Word of Mouth about your brand. Tapping into the “right” market segments—segments whose interests and values are aligned with your brand—can be the catalyst your campaign needs,” Wijesinghe said.

Layer trending topics on top of a hyper-targeted market segment (both bits of information available through social media data analysis) and a marketer has made a happy marketing marriage.  

Focus groups may be passe according to some, but testing is still very much a part of the marketing strategy. From a product standpoint, social media insights can reflect the strengths and weaknesses of a product’s lifecycle as well as the effectiveness of current marketing efforts. Filling the role of the modern-day focus group, social media insights are also valuable for taking the temperature of the public on an idea such as a logo or slogan, a product or service. Testing the social media world’s tastes and perceptions allows for adjustment before launching, saving money and perhaps even preventing a catastrophic mistake.  

Social media data is virtually limitless (pun optional) and social media marketers are stepping up and learning how to use it best. We expect to be reading many more social media data “hacks” in the future. Stay tuned.

Visit smstudy.com/articles for additional articles on sales and marketing. 

Sources:

"How to Sell Smarter Using Social Insights," Devon Wijesinghem http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-measurement/social-insights/

"Supercharge Your Selling Strategy: The Power of Social Data," John Donnelly, https://inbound.org/discuss/john-donnelly-forget-the-focus-group-how-social-insights-can-help-you-sell-smarter-at-inbound15

The State of Social Marketing- 2015, Simply Measured, http://simplymeasured.com/#sm.0001gymsunkgqdcepli19xtqnlo4p

How to Ensure your Campaign is Noticed with SMstudy

Last year 540 million dollars was spent on marketing globally. 90 percent of that marketing went unnoticed. This number does not represent the percentage of marketing that was liked or disliked, instead it includes the billboards that fade into the background of a city skyline or a print ad that was flipped past while searching for a story about some sort of celebrity gossip.

Marketing managers often ask their teams, “How should we brand our product?” Or “What will make a consumer want to buy a product?” But maybe they should be asking, “How do we get noticed?” Because if you can’t get noticed, then why even bother?

In order to get your marketing noticed, we need to reinvent the wheel a bit. Marketing automation is just as necessary to marketers as QuickBooks is to accountants. According to Tim Asimos vice president & director of Digital Innovation, “Marketing automation provides marketers a powerful and easy way to integrate all the components of their online marketing program into one system, helping to more intelligently manage the customer experience across online channels. And over the last several years, the software has seen enormous growth, fueled by the likes of Act-On, Pardot, Marketo and Hubspot among others.”

Not only does marketing automation save time and improve efficiency, but it also gives marketers the ability to focus their attention on creativity and innovation rather than worrying about the nitty gritty aspects of a campaign. Asimos notes, “As today’s buyers (B2B and B2C) have become increasingly sophisticated and research oriented, marketing and sales simply have to change their approach. Customers are in control and want to make informed decisions. And they seek out information that is educational, insightful and helpful, not the in-your-face sales messages that dominated marketing of the past.”

So how you produce this sort of material? It’s quite simple, really. Companies can perform surveys to gather the necessary data to target their decided consumer base.

As stated in Marketing Strategy, book 1 of the SMsutdy Guide®, “Surveys typically gather quantitative and qualitative data. They are conducted to help companies understand how their brands are viewed in the market and to identify the brand attributes that are preferred by customers. Surveys also help to determine how customers view the company’s products or services relative to competing products. Customers may associate positive attributes with a company such as reliable, innovative, fast, secure, and friendly, or they may perceive a company or a product in a negative fashion and provide attributes such as inconsistent, frustrating, slow, or mediocre when describing their perceptions.”

Leveraging marketing automation software can provide your online marketing program a much-needed boost. It saves you time and increases reach and engagement by sending relevant and timely content to prospects. It also allows for marketers to focus their energy on creating the magical content that’ll get a campaign noticed.

To learn more about improving your marketing efforts, visit www.SMstudy.com/articles today.

Innovative Internet-Enabled Business Models

In this digital age, businesses that fail to operate online risk going offline for good.

The growing popularity of smartphones, tablets and digital media provides opportunities for a company not only to use fragmented new-age marketing effectively to promote existing products, but also to come up with innovative business models where product demo, customer acquisition and order fulfillment can take place online.

Innovative business models might include the following:

Online Marketplaces—Several e-commerce companies have created global online marketplaces for selling books, consumer goods and other products. In such business models, customer acquisition is usually initiated through the company’s website. The company coordinates with its multiple suppliers to source products; samples, demos and product reviews are provided on the website; customers make their purchases online; and items are shipped directly to customers.

Here is an example of Online Marketplaces:

• Book publishing and retail businesses, which historically gained much success using traditional business models, have been significantly affected by the advent of online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Alibaba and Flipkart.

Online Services—Online services have significantly impacted many traditional product and service industries by transforming existing business models and creating new ways to conduct business.

Here are examples of Online Services:

• Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and online maps have made physical maps redundant.
• Online learning tools have gained popularity and, at times, can complement or even replace physical classroom training.

Online Networking—The Internet has made the world a smaller place. People can now access their networks at all times. These changes have significantly impacted the way in which people communicate with each other and, in turn, have created new possibilities for innovative business models.

Here is an example of Online Networking:

• Social media channels such as LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook and Google+ have significantly changed the way in which people communicate with each other.

Business Models Using Smartphones and Tablets—Smartphones and tablets are Internet-enabled devices that allow people to have an ongoing connection to the Internet. Since individuals usually carry their smartphones and tablets with them, mobile apps are becoming increasingly popular. Innovative business models based on the use of mobile devices can disrupt several existing business models—more so in industries that rely on other forms of communications and networking. 

Here are examples of Business Models Using Smartphones and Tablets:

• Social media channels such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn provide mobile apps that enable users to easily share photos and updates or chat with friends.
• Some mobile apps allow users to locate nearby restaurants, read reviews and also post reviews about their experiences.

In terms of business, the popularity of the Internet has fueled the “adapt or die” landscape more than ever. Business models that integrate online marketplaces, online services and online networking, and that allow for compatibility with smartphones and tablets, offer businesses excellent opportunities for sustained success.

Five Exceptional Examples of Product Placement in Hollywood Movies

The European Union defines product placement as "any form of audiovisual commercial communication consisting of the inclusion of or reference to a product, a service or the trademark thereof so that it is featured within a program." Product placement is one of the most effective methods of advertising because it has a viewing audience of nearly 100 percent. While TV advertisers lose many viewers who take breaks during commercials, movie viewers pay attention to product advertisements because they are engrossed in the film. The growth of product placement in movies has been phenomenal over the past decade. The U.S. is the largest and fastest growing paid product placement market. It generated revenues of $1.5 billion in 2005, $2.9 billion in 2007, and $3.7 billion in 2008.

Lets look at five exceptional examples of product placement in Hollywood movies that stood out in terms of seamless integration with the storyline and benefit to the brands.

1. Wilson (Movie: Castaway) - "Castaway" took the concept of product placement to another level by using a brand name for a character. When Chuck (Tom Hanks) gets stranded on an island, he finds a Wilson volleyball from one of the boxes that was in the plane. He paints the ball and turns it into a friend and companion named "Wilson." One of the original volleyballs used in the movie was auctioned for $18,500 to the ex-CEO of FedEx Office, Ken May. Wilson launched a joint promotion at the time of the films release boasting the fact that one of its products was co-starring Tom Hanks.

2. Sears (Movie: Man of Steel) - The 2013 blockbuster "Man of Steel" holds the record for the most occurrences of product placement in a movie. Apparently, the producers signed around 100 deals with promotional partners. One prominent example of product placement in the movie is a Sears store. Supermans father uses Craftsman tools and works at Sears. One scene includes a Sears store being blown up. Sears used this opportunity to create a Guinness World Record for the largest number of people assembled in one place dressed as Superman by gathering 566 employees in Superman costumes at the companys headquarters.

3. McDonalds (Movie: Pulp Fiction) - The 1994, Quentin Tarantino movie "Pulp Fiction" is arguably one of the best movies ever made. One bit of iconic dialogue centers on McDonalds. While discussing cultural differences among nations, Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) reference the Quarter Pounder and Big Mac.

4. Omega (Movie: Casino Royale) - Product placement in James Bond movies isnt new. Omega is one brand with a long history of association with the Bond films. It started in 1995 with "GoldenEye," in which Pierce Brosnan wore an Omega Seamster Quartz Professional watch. The trend followed as Brosnan flaunted different models of Seamster in later films. Daniel Craig, the current 007, has also worn the Omega Seamster in all of his Bond movies and even mentions the brand name Omega in "Casino Royale."

5. Starbucks (Movie: Youve Got Mail) - The 1998 romantic comedy "Youve Got Mail" famously placed two brands in the storyline--AOL and Starbucks. In the movie, Tom Hanks is shown drinking coffee at Starbucks and even makes a reference to the coffee giant in the dialogue: "The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who dont know what the hell they are doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino."

Customer Business Outcome Evaluation

Evaluation of business outcomes is not easy. For a corporate customer, products are purchased to deliver positive business outcomes. So it is very important for the selling company to come up with a product that significantly and quantifiably brings positive business outcomes for its customer or their business. It is therefore necessary to identify quantifiable, positive business outcomes that the product can provide, to develop the sales value proposition.

A quantifiable outcome represents the tangible value of the offering to the customer. This value is typically expressed in numbers, percentages, and timeframes. In addition to this, there are also intangible outcomes. E.g. Opportunity Cost. Opportunity cost is the loss that is incurred when one option is chosen over the other. It is something that must be identified and considered in establishing the sales value proposition.

The information that the company gathers after evaluation helps it to understand the desired attributes of the offerings according to market segments. The customer business outcome evaluation documents business outcomes based on these attributes.

Another way of doing customer business outcome evaluation is by interviewing existing customers. Customers being the user of the product validate the evaluation process by their practical experience. Interviews can be conducted across different areas and positions in the customer organization to determine the impact of the offering. New, desired, business outcomes may emerge and existing business outcomes can be validated.

Internal analysis is another way to do customer evaluation. The collective sapience combined with experience of the company holds a broad overview of business outcomes from a customer’s perspective. However internal analysis must be validated by customers to escape the risk factors associated in it. Direct input provided by the customers is typically more valuable and reliable input when determining customers’ business outcomes.

Strategists evaluate investments and actions in terms of likely cost and benefit outcomes. The product offering must draw substantial improvements in client’s business in terms of customer satisfaction, service delivery etc. The seller must narrow down its focus and align sales and marketing activities around its customer. The segment specific sales attempt combined with customized offering helps develop sales value proposition.

"To learn more about Customer Business Outcome Evaluation and related analytics, visit “SMstudy.com”.

Eye-to-Eye on IT Value, Marketing and SMstudy

When designing a marketing strategy should you start where you want to be, or where you are?

If you’re a motivational speaker, you’re probably saying, “Start where you want to be.” If you’re a process engineer, you’re likely to say, “Start where you are.” If you’re a marketing strategist, you’re probably saying, “Yes.”

“But it’s an ‘either/or’ question!” they might remind you.

“True, but the answer is still ‘Yes,’” you would answer.

In sales and marketing, there must be a strong focus on goals and objectives, the “where you want to be”bit. “The Corporate Marketing Strategy is defined at a corporate level. It defines the overall marketing goals for the company. These general marketing goals drive more specific marketing strategies for each of the company’s business units or geographies,” saysMarketing Strategy, book one of the SMstudy™ Guide.

Can the company meet these goals? The answer to this lies in the “where you are.” “The strengths and weaknesses of a company determine its internal capabilities to compete in a market and to fulfill customer expectations,” says the SMstudy™Guide. “Strengths provide the company with a competitive advantage and weaknesses place the company at a disadvantage.”

“Start where you are” is one of the “Practitioner 9 Guiding Principles” identified by Axelos, the people responsible for publications coming from the Information Technology and Infrastructure Library (ITIL) of the British Home Office. These principles are designed to help IT practitioners succeed in an increasingly customer- and market-oriented service environment.  

One of the key “Practitioner Guiding Principles” is “focus on value.” This is something marketing professionals know very well: their product’s or service’s value proposition. “All successful products or brands need well-planned marketing strategies in place to ensure that they satisfy the goals set by the corresponding Business Unit or Geographic level, and in turn the overall Corporate Marketing Strategy. Marketing Strategy is therefore one of the most crucial Aspects of Sales and Marketing. It defines a product or brand’s unique value proposition, target markets, and the specific strategies to be used to connect with defined audiences,” according to the SMstudy™ Guide.

Arriving at a value proposition involves identifying the target market segment: what are the people that make up this group like? What do they do for a living? For recreation? How do they spend their money? These are very similar to questions that IT developers ask and answer when creating personas for their end users and customers. How will they use this service? When will they most likely access it? What will it do for them? How much is this worth to them? The confluence of service development and marketing is becoming greater and greater.

With the decreasing time between product development and its “hitting the shelves,” it seems inevitable that marketing interests and elements would enter product lifecycles earlier. Which ties in well with “Practitioner Guiding Principle” number 8: collaborate. The real value that developers put into a product after conferring with marketing and management becomes the real value that the sales and marketing people communicate to the customers, who buy that value, take it home and cherish it. Everyone is working together and the world’s a happier place.

For more informative articles on Sales and Marketing, visit SMstudy.com/articles.

Begin at the Beginning: A Well-founded Marketing Strategy

A well-planned, comprehensive marketing strategy for a product or brand is essential to its success. The marketing strategy determines the specific resource allocation and activities involved with all other aspects of marketing. The effects of a well-positioned marketing strategy reverberate throughout the entire spectrum of marketing options and therefore should not be treated lightly or given short shrift.

The SMstudy® Guide notes, “marketing strategy defines a product or brand’s unique value proposition, target markets, and the specific strategies to be used to connect with defined audiences. It also specifies the pricing and distribution strategies for a product or brand and outlines the specific metrics, objectives and budgets for all its marketing activities.”

So, what are the basics of creating a comprehensive marketing strategy?

In essence, there are four main areas of research and analysis that should be addressed during the creation of any marketing strategy. They include:

1. An analysis of market opportunity– this includes a look at both the internal capabilities of a company as well as external factors that may impact a business.
2. Defining the competition, targeting and position– exploring the current competition, understanding industry trends and creating future competitive scenarios helps in selecting target market segments.
3. Determining pricing and distribution strategies– assessing the value of the product based on its features, analyzing the features and price of competitive products and understanding the mindset of the consumer lays the groundwork for a successful distribution strategy, one that ensures that products and services are delivered and sold in the most efficient manner.
4. Determining metrics, objectives, marketing aspects and budget allocation– this includes the selection of metrics such as customer reach, brand perception, product availability and sales and profitability as well as details setting targets and allocating budgets.

The chosen marketing strategy has far-reaching impact on all other aspects of marketing. In addition, other aspects of marketing work synergistically with the marketing strategy. Consider the following:

Digital Marketing

Marketing strategy elements such as product features, target segments, and distribution strategy are key determining factors for a robust digital marketing campaign. Product category and product features determine how suitable a product is to be marketed online. Some products or services are more conducive to online marketing than others. Given that digital marketing activities can be integral to a number of other elements of the marketing strategy, the impact of the marketing strategy may be far greater on digital marketing activities depending on the specific product-market combination.

Marketing Research

Marketing research provides valuable insights on the performance of a marketing strategy and is helpful when companies need to take steps to resolve issues. Many of the research activities carried out for one process in marketing strategy may also be used by other marketing aspects. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind all the processes of marketing strategy while designing a research project to ensure that additional relevant information is also collected if the incremental cost of collecting that information is acceptable.

Corporate Sales

Product features and target markets determine how suitable a product is to be sold through business-to-business channels, and how budget and resources are allocated accordingly for corporate sales efforts. Marketing strategy also provides the corporate sales team with market intelligence related to competitors and industry trends, which helps the company to position itself strategically for each business opportunity.

Branding and Advertising

Branding and advertising build awareness of a product with customers and then ideally transitions them to loyal customers. This evolution of trust is made possible by understanding customers’ needs and ensuring that the company’s marketing activities are oriented towards meeting those needs in the best way possible. Customer profiling is a part of the marketing strategy.

Retail Marketing

Target market segments and product features determine how suitable a product is to be sold through retail channels, thereby determining the budget and resources to be allocated to retail sales. Within retail sales, a company needs to further decide whether to sell directly to the end customer or to use intermediaries such as wholesalers, distributors, and retailers. With the global rise in e-commerce, this decision is generally a complex one and needs to be made in alignment with the marketing strategy where target segments and a distribution strategy have been clearly defined. 

For more details on the processes of marketing strategy, visit http://www.smstudy.com/articles.

Plan B: Assessing Social Marketing Future Scenarios

No one likes to contemplate a worst-case scenario, but it is wise to have a plan B. Any digital marketing strategy should think optimistically, but preparation for future scenarios that may look very different from today’s digital marketing landscape is vital to a brand’s survival.

“Anticipated future scenarios” is an output of the Evaluate Digital Marketing Channels process and is described by SMstudy®Guide, Digital Marketing as the analysis of the most likely future changes to take place in each digital marketing channel; analysis of the potential impact of defined changes; and proposed actions. 

Assessing possible changes in future digital channels that could affect revenue, production, access to resources and so on is primary. But a thorough analysis should also take into consideration the way technologies come together to create a brand new scenario, even though most changes occur incrementally, according to Andrew Frank, analysts with Gartner for Marketing Leaders.

“When this happens, brands that anticipate these transformational scenarios will thrive; incrementalists will lose out,” Frank said.

As Frank points out, it may be tempting to want to keep a set digital marketing channel strategy, but agility and open-mindedness will benefit today’s marketing strategists. Staying on top of trends and recognizing where they converge with a company’s product or brand is also a component of future scenario assessments.

With that in mind, here are the top 2016 digital marketing trends noted by Adam Fridman, founder of MeetAdvisors, published on Inc. Dec. 1, 2015:

Data, data, data. Learn to love it.

"In short, data is behavior. Learning from this behavior drives creative messaging and strategic campaigns. Tracking behavior and tapping into the emotional connection through messaging, ads, social, and design makes all the difference in the digital space.” 

Forget the funnel. The funnel is flawed.

“There's little opportunity to share the research and buying experience which is crucial for interacting with fans and getting more people into your funnel, or ecosystem. too much work on consumers and consumers hate doing too much work.”

Test with laser-like focus. Technology now allows for deep research on target audiences. Even detailed aspects of an ad can now be picked apart and analyzed for demographic appeal.

“Targeting is a crucial aspect of any marketing strategy and by marketing directly to your ideal audience, you're effectively and efficiently spending only what's ”

Social engagement. This isn’t new, but it’s definitely continuing.

Two things to know: 1. Encourage audience participation through creative engaging campaigns and 2. Spare them the mediocre content.

"Each social channel, blog post, e-mail, web link must have a purpose and drive towards something. Never post simply to post. Without engagement or traffic, those posts are a waste of time and money.”

Expand the team. Start to think about a marketing team as more than just the marketers for a company or brand. Every “share” received through social media channels is an endorsement, each person “reposting” is an ambassador. 

“Single marketing voices only reach the people already in their networks. To break through, companies and causes will increasingly need to partner with suppliers, brand and others to reach more people, more often.”

For more interesting articles on sales and marketing, visit smstudy.com.

Photo provided courtesy of  Anoop Kumar, Flickr. Image has been cropped. https://www.flickr.com/photos/anoopkumar/

Sources:

SMstudy® Guide, Digital Marketing, pg. 63-64.

“Agenda Overview for Emerging Marketing Technology and Trends, 2015,” Andrew Frank, Dec. 18, 2014. https://www.gartner.com/imagesrv/digital marketing/pdfs/Emerging_Marketing_Technology_and_Trends.pdf

“The Future of Digital Marketing- How It’s Changing in 2016,“ Andrew Fridman, Dec. 1, 2015. http://www.inc.com/adam-fridman/the-future-of-digital-marketing-how-it-s-changing-in-2016.html

All About Decision Tree Analysis

Decision Tree Analysis is used to evaluate the best option from a number of mutually exclusive options when an organization is faced with an investment decision. The finance team can use this tool while evaluating a number of potential options, such as which product or plant to invest in, or whether or not to invest in a new initiative.

The Decision Tree schematic is tree-shaped diagram which is used to understand a statistical probability or a course of action. Each branch of the decision tree signifies a possibility or occurrence. The structure of the tree depicts how one choice leads to another.

Advantages of Decision Tree Analysis

• This tool allows the team to clearly lay out and consider all available options, including a “Do Nothing” option, which is often ignored although it may sometimes be the best option.
• It is relatively easy to visualize the costs, benefits, and probabilities linked to all options to help facilitate focused decision making.
• Additional options can be added without impacting the evaluation of the other branches throughout the tree.

Disadvantages of Decision Tree Analysis

• In situations where there are many options to consider and each option has multiple possible outcomes, creating decision trees becomes a complex process and may require the use of software, rendering it a less-than-useful tool for strategic discussions.
• In some trees, even a small variation in an expected outcome or probability can completely change the results of the analysis. Therefore, obtaining accurate information is critical to the usefulness of this tool.
• This tool sometimes requires complex preparation, as well as extra time and effort to determine the various possible outcomes for each option, and to explicitly delineate each decision node and possible outcomes and options from those nodes.

Content Marketing Pt.1: Marketings New Weapon of Choice

It’s official! Traditional “interruptive” advertising (both online and television) isn’t so hot nowadays. On the other hand, content marketing is emerging as the weapon of choice for brands who are in it to win it. Over a series of posts, we will explore the ins-and-outs of smart story-driven marketing, what it looks like when it’s done right and its importance in the social media landscape.

First, let’s mull some basic statistics that will illustrate how bad it really is for interruptive advertising. For television, the prospects are grim: one third of millennials already report not watching broadcast TV (originally reported by the New York Times in October 2013) with the numbers of people willing to break up with television at an astonishing high rate of 16 percent year over year (YOY).

And then there’s digital. Recent data show that online (and mobile) advertising isn’t on fire, either. According to the Contently Playbook, banner ad click- through rates (CTR) come in between .10 and .04 percent, some of which most likely represents some bot activity. They also state that ad recall (banner ads specifically) is abysmal with 86 percent of consumers unable to recall the last ad they saw. 

To drive the sorry state of digital ads home, Contently states, “You're more likely to survive a plane crash or join the Navy SEALs than click on a banner ad.”

Ouch. So much for the bad news.

Ready for the good news? Content marketing is a very attractive alternative to interruptive advertising and recent findings offers the numbers to back up its current lofty status in the marketing community. Business2Community reported content marketing driving traffic with 68% of consumers. In addition, they noted that “up to 55% of consumers are not only attracted to custom content but most would buy the products or services of the content provider.”

If these numbers persist, the future of content marketing looks quite rosy, indeed. There are, however, a few things to be aware of when venturing into a content marketing strategy.

One important issue with content marketing is the emergence of Peak Content, a phenomenon we reported on in February. At the time, we quoted author Kevin Anderson’s 2014 definition: “Peak Content is ‘the point at which this glut of things to read, watch and listen to becomes completely unsustainable.’” As of March 2016, we are still noting the trend.

The unprecedented rate at which people are posting content online is one quick example of Peak Content. Taken from the infographic, 24 Hours on the Internet, it’s reported (and this was in 2012) that 2 million blog posts are published every day. That’s 720,000,000 blog posts a year. With numbers like these we quickly see why quality is paramount to rise to the top of the content pile.

Additional evidence comes from the marketing data company TrackMaven that reported social media channels are suffering from lower engagement. They acknowledge low quality content is contributing to the decline.

The report states, “Most content fails at the content creation stage. Smart content can overcome bad distribution, but smart distribution cannot save bad content.”

Marketers either already know, or are catching on quickly, that high-quality content is the way to achieving greater engagement, including increased CTR, sales and all the other good stuff a company or brand likes to see.

In a nutshell, all signs point to the need to bring your A game when embarking on content marketing. 

Now that we know it’s working, how is it being done? More to the point, how is it being done well? In regards to content creation, options vary. A company may decide to use experts in a given field, hire freelancers, create an in-house team or create a unique cocktail of creation options that work with the brand’s needs and resources.

In our next post we’ll explore the growing “virtual newsroom” where content marketing is “beat” based and provides the space and structure for the highest-quality journalism-style content marketing…and the growing relationship between journalists and content marketing.

Stay tuned…

For more articles on sales and marketing, visit smstudy.com/articles.

Photo courtesy of Florian Klauer, Unsplash.

Sources:

“Third of Millennials Watch Mostly Online Video or no Broadcast TV” Andrew Beaujon, Oct. 10, 2013, Poynter. http://www.poynter.org/2013/third-of-millennials-watch-no-broadcast-tv/225528/

“24 Hours on the Internet,” digtalbuzz blog, March 13, 2012 http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/infographic-24-hours-on-the-internet/

“Marketers Are Creating More Content, but They’re Not Sure Why,” Natalie Burg, March 8, 2016, Contently https://contently.com/strategist/2016/03/08/marketers-creating-more-content-not-sure-why/

“The Ultimate Content Strategist Playbook No. 1: Evangelizing Content and Setting Yourself Up for Success,” Contently, https://contently.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/150303_Playbook.pdf

“Your Social Content is Failing. So now what?” Kara Burney, Feb. 5, 2015. http://trackmaven.com/blog/2015/02/data-backed-proof-that-social-media-content-is-failing-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/

“8 Hard-to-Ignore Content Marketing Benefits (Infographic),” Jomer Gregorio, Oct. 20, 2014, Business 2 Community. http://www.business2community.com/infographics/8-hard-ignore-content-marketing-benefits-infographic

There is Always Room for Improvement

When faced with a difficult task, do you instinctively fight or flight? If you lean toward fighting, you are considered to be a member of the population with a “Growth Mind-set,” a term coined by Carol Dwerk in her 2014 TED Talk, The Power of Believing You Can Improve.

Dwerk defines the “Growth Mind-set” as people who see an error and attempt to fix it. People that believe “abilities can be developed, they engage deeply and process the error, learn from it and correct it.”

Sales professionals are constantly facing new challenges  In order to address them, they must tackle them head on, and at the same time, learn from the process, whether the outcome is a success or failure.

Training is a key element of Corporate Sales. It is essential for the corporate sales team to be thoroughly trained in their job function and be very knowledgeable about the products or services they are selling. This is required in order to capitalize on sales opportunities, capture the maximum value for sales, and maintain positive relationships with customers. Corporate selling relies heavily on person-to-person relationships, and well-trained sales personnel are better equipped to initiate opportunities, communicate the value of a product or service and close sales.

In order to be considered a sales professional, there are two styles of training that must be mastered: Sales and Negotiation Training and Product Training.

The focus of sales training is to generate gains in individual sales. Sales training covers the entire range of processes, tools, and skills required—from prospecting to closure. Negotiation training helps the sales teams understand the dynamics of the negotiation process, minimize conflicts, and arrive at mutually beneficial outcomes. Effective negotiation can promote lasting relationships between a company and its customers.

Product training is equally important for the corporate sales team. Product training equips the team with the skills to effectively address customers’ technical concerns, communicate the value proposition, assess needs and answer questions. Product training transforms the corporate sales team from simply sales representatives to solution providers or consultants for the customer.

The two styles of training are defined as:

Sales and Negotiation Training- In this form of training process, the sales team is trained in the sales process, from prospecting to closure of the sale. The team is also equipped with the necessary skills to negotiate the sale to arrive at mutually beneficial outcomes.

Product Training- In this form of training process, the sales team is trained on the various products and services of the company in order to effectively communicate the value proposition, answer customer inquiries, and provide ongoing support to customers.

Training is important for existing corporate sales team members as well as new recruits. However, it is particularly important for every new member of the corporate sales team to undergo thorough training before being fully inducted into the sales team. 

Just because you have yet to learn the skills needed to excel in the professional world of corporate sales does not mean it’s time to engage your flight response. Keep your focus on the word “Yet.” You are not there yet. But with the help of SMstudy, you can learn how to process an issue, learn from it, and correct it. It’s all about the fight.

To read more articles about sales and marketing, visit http://www.smstudy.com/articles

Sources:

Carol Dwerk, “The Power of Believing you can Improve,” 2014. https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve?language=en#t-338450

Jet Streamlining: Southwest Style

Early in the life of Southwest Airlines key success factors were identified that propelled the startup airline to become the number one domestic carrier in the United States.

For Southwest, key success factors were a commitment to efficiency in all aspects of the company and the fastest turnaround time of any airline. This allowed Southwest to log more flight time which meant more profit compared to other airlines that maintained longer ground time.

Over time Southwest has managed to keep to these simple key success factors and has seen sustained growth over its 45-year history. A true success story considering the airline industry is notoriously dicey and many run afoul and end up taking major losses or worse, bankruptcy.

Discussed in Marketing Strategy, the first book of the six-book SMstudy Guide, key success factors are one of the six components to be considered when conducting a market analysis.

The book states: Identifying key success factors helps an organization focus on existing strengths that have contributed to success and seize opportunities that can give it a competitive advantage. Such factors might include accessibility to essential resources, distribution channels, patents, operational efficiencies, technological superiority, and so on.

The other five components include: assessing distribution channels; cost structure analysis; understanding future growth rate; market trends and knowing the market size.

A thorough analysis of the airline industry allowed Southwest Airlines founder Herb Kelleher and team to clearly identify what they were up against in regards to the industry's pros and cons and where efficiencies could be incorporated to the benefit of both the company and its customers.

The Search for Social Media Insights

It may be time to recognize that data collected from social media will not so easily reveal its immediate impact on a company’s sales (as we’ve said before, it’s proven to be a bit slippery). But this doesn’t mean the baby should be thrown out with the bathwater. In finding ways to prove its value, social media marketers are changing the conversation away from a cause/effect relationship between a company’s marketing and its ROI to a deeper understanding of social data’s value. And as it turns out what it offers is way more valuable- the unprecedented parse-able social insights of a population.

In a recent post, we explained that the number one problem facing social media marketers today is tying social data to an increase in the bottom line (or the sales of a product or service). The challenge of “proof,” in turn, was making it harder to make a case for additional investment in social media marketing.

We said, “Demonstrating the value of the social programs within the company was, in fact, the top challenge noted (60%) by survey participants consisting of 600 media marketing professionals.”

 The State of Social Marketing 2015 report by Simply Measured states, “Companies of all sizes and maturity levels are struggling to prove the value of their social programs. Social media activities can be difficult to quantify, and marketers are trapped between readily available “vanity metrics,” such as Likes and followers, and difficult-to-measure objectives such as brand awareness.”

We went on to suggest that unless there’s a collapse of the capitalist system, better tools will surely arise to address the challenge. But we also noted, of equal, if not greater importance, would be the ongoing discovery of more creative and accurate ways to query the data.

As marketers hone in on methods to extract the gold nuggets of consumer intel out of the mountain of information, they’re hitting upon the true capital of social media- the most comprehensive picture of consumer behavior, sentiment and decision-making process they’ve ever been blessed to lay hands on. This might not be the smoking gun that ties directly to a sale, but, in fact, presents many more gifts in the long run as John Donnelly III, SVP of global sales and marketing at Crimson Hexagon, points out.    

 “One of the most effective ways to glean consumer insights is by analyzing social media conversation… sales teams are realizing that social media is rife with information about what their prospects care about, how they consume media and what motivates their decision-making,” said Donnelly.

Based on Donnelly’s presentation and other insights, here are some ideas to consider when taking the dive into social data.  

Get granular. Almost any question a marketer has regarding brand perception, market competition and the general sentiment of people discussing a product or brand can be found through social media analytics, so ask away.

Getting granular also let's marketers zero in on microsegments of the population that either are or can be Word-of-Mouth advocates for a brand or product.

Word of Mouth is the golden standard for all marketers. The ability to target Word-of-Mouth advocates on social media can be the difference between success and failure. Writing for convice&convert, Devon Wijesinghe discusses the importance of Word of Mouth and how it can be used.

“This rich source of information comes in handy when you’re looking to generate Word of Mouth about your brand. Tapping into the “right” market segments—segments whose interests and values are aligned with your brand—can be the catalyst your campaign needs,” Wijesinghe said.

Layer trending topics on top of a hyper-targeted market segment (both bits of information available through social media data analysis) and a marketer has made a happy marketing marriage.  

Focus groups may be passe according to some, but testing is still very much a part of the marketing strategy. From a product standpoint, social media insights can reflect the strengths and weaknesses of a product’s lifecycle as well as the effectiveness of current marketing efforts. Filling the role of the modern-day focus group, social media insights are also valuable for taking the temperature of the public on an idea such as a logo or slogan, a product or service. Testing the social media world’s tastes and perceptions allows for adjustment before launching, saving money and perhaps even preventing a catastrophic mistake.  

Social media data is virtually limitless (pun optional) and social media marketers are stepping up and learning how to use it best. We expect to be reading many more social media data “hacks” in the future. Stay tuned.

Visit smstudy.com for additional articles on sales and marketing. 

Sources:

"How to Sell Smarter Using Social Insights," Devon Wijesinghem http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-measurement/social-insights/

"Supercharge Your Selling Strategy: The Power of Social Data," John Donnelly, https://inbound.org/discuss/john-donnelly-forget-the-focus-group-how-social-insights-can-help-you-sell-smarter-at-inbound15

The State of Social Marketing- 2015, Simply Measured, http://simplymeasured.com/#sm.0001gymsunkgqdcepli19xtqnlo4p