Category: A View from The Top

Don’t Push Messages, Build Relationships

Trends in content marketing have lead to the development of all types content, both by format and by subject matter. Depending on the goal of your content marketing you could develop one type of content, but depending on your customer you may very well develop another.

“Surprisingly,” says, Firebrand Founder Jeremy Goldman, “most organizations don’t have a plan. We know we have to build content that is relevant, and we have to know how much manpower is being spent on filling the funnel.”

IBM Program Director of Strategy and Solutions Michelle Killebrew recommends, “Keep you eye on the headlines – understand what your audience is engaging with, and what your competition is talking about. Understand not only personas, but where someone has an affinity for your product. Perfecting those content mines for those audience roles is a process.”

Jeremy agrees. “It’s an iterative process, and that’s okay. Learning from the results can help make better content. For CMO’s, we hypothesize about what content CMO’s want – like SnapChat and geotags – then we learn and make it better once we get the data.”

Michelle added, “Understand the buyer stage of the customer journey to better interact. As customers become more familiar, and assume deeper level content – when they are ready to get into feature / function info – you can understand they are now ready to share user info, or complete lead gen, or sign-up for demos.”

“If you want to get a head of your competition, don’t put out crap,” cautions Jeremy. “Quality over quantity. You can’t always be reactive to the content – you have to develop content that people engage with.”

Download A View From The Top: The Evolution of Marketing and the Customer Journey by author Kevin Popović.

Based on Incite Summit West, this book examines current thinking from marketing leadership from some of the largest brands. The contributors were senior level and accomplished, but most importantly, that they are all very active in the development and delivery of the work on behalf of their organizations. These speakers are not sitting in the ivory tower, they are leading their troops into battle – and they are winning.

Target And Tailor Your Messages With Data-Driven Insight

Like all marketers, you use demographics, psychographics – even location – to shape and segment your marketing. We all want to learn more about our customer, but have you ever stopped to consider which aspects of your customer journey are explained by customer data?

In a conversation exploring data driven insights, San Francisco AMA PresidentGurcharan Wadhwa started by acknowledging, “There are all types of data, and all types of data segmentation. The question becomes, what does your company do with all that data?”

Paul Walsh, Vice-President of Weather Analytics at The Weather Company thinks about data (in the forms of the weather) and how it affects his customers, wherever they may be. “The impact of data on people is most felt locally. Different data generates different reactions based on how it affects them. We want to serve up a message that transcends advertising, so it’s no longer an ad, and that’s helpful advice (information).”

What if you’re Home Depot?’ asks Patrick Henshaw, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer for Strap. “If you know where your customer lives, and it’s not going to rain you can speak to them about how this could effect their garden. We know it’s going to be nice, we know the customer is active (from their FitBit data) so we can suggest they work in their garden – we can be right on target.”

Jesse Nichols from Google Analytics suggests further understanding. “Over a life cycle of a customer, the most interesting thing is segmentation: from interest to purchase to active and engaged. What can I take away from where I know they are, and how can I get them to the next step on their customer journey? For instance, remarketing is a smart use of data. We know you were interested enough to look at the site – what else do you need to keep going?”

But there is a tipping point, one way or the other. We have to be careful with the data we can see and access. We have to ask, are we really creating value in what we’re offering? Then, when we have considered everything, we have to move forward.

Download A View From The Top: The Evolution of Marketing and the Customer Journey from author Kevin Popović.

Based on Incite Summit West, this book examines current thinking from marketing leadership from some of the largest brands. The contributors were senior level and accomplished, but most importantly, that they are all very active in the development and delivery of the work on behalf of their organizations. These speakers are not sitting in the ivory tower, they are leading their troops into battle – and they are winning.

Automation Is No Substitute For Strategy

Advances in digital technology, auction-based media, analytics, and big data have leveled the playing field for challenger brands and the marketing middle class. But marketing automation will only get you so far.

Companies need an airtight plan to best leverage marketing automation to create points of genuine engagement and meet real customer needs. If David wants to compete with Goliath in today’s marketplace, small business needs to be tactical with resources, and must send out a message that’s just as loud as—and even more relevant than—your competitor’s.

Digital marketing veteran and author Kevin Ryan and CMO Chris Moloneyshared their thoughts of how David can beat Goliath in today’s digital customer experience.

They both believe it’s all coming together under an umbrella called “marketing automation.” How you look at the customer journey – from prospecting, to purchase to support – and the complete life stage of a customer are at the roots of automation and customer relationship management. Those that take full advantage of the newest technologies with a holistic approach to marketing channels will gain a distinct advantage.

Mark Ryan explains, “Marketing automation is enabling technology that allows us to remove people so we can communicate with people better. The money business saves in automation can be reinvested in serving customers better, through support and services.”

“Challenger brands have a chance to level the playing field – just look for areas to do it better,” explains Chris Moloney. But be careful. We have marketing automation robots to identify marketing automation robots – so what could go wrong? Plenty. “Overly engineered marketing will fail.”

Chris suggests to “map the customer journey, not the technology.” We need to know if we’re talking to a customer, and does it make sense? We need to know where is the customer today, and where do they need to go?

Read more from A View From The Top: The Evolution of Marketing and the Customer Journey by author Kevin Popović.

Based on Incite Summit West, this book examines current thinking from marketing leadership from some of the largest brands. The contributors were senior level and accomplished, but most importantly, that they are all very active in the development and delivery of the work on behalf of their organizations. These speakers are not sitting in the ivory tower, they are leading their troops into battle – and they are winning.

How To Drive Authenticity, Relevance, And Transparency

Whatever your business, the top priority today has to be to improve the customer experience. Customers’ expectations are changing with access to more information, and they’re getting used to having a louder voice in your marketplace. If you can’t give them a reason to stay then they will find a business that can.

So, what does this mean for the future of your marketing?

It means you better understand your customer’s journey from prospect to advocate. From “I want to learn more” to “will you be mine,” think about what your company can do to help your customer become a customer.

“It starts with trust,” says Chief Customer Experience Officer Donna Peoples. “Think about the journey you went on with the companies you have a relationship with today. Think about your brand, your brand promise and what it will take to deliver on these promises you’ve made.”

“It starts with recognizing those trigger points in the customer journey – we develop great content for the people who are kicking tires, and checking us out, and we want them to understand about what they’re getting into before they make a big decision,” says Arra Yerganian, Chief Marketing Officer for One Medical. “It’s a balance between being top of mind with your customer, and the one hour they take to make a decision on their options and who they will choose.”

Braintree Chief Marketing Officer Greg Fisher suggests, “Put your target at the center of everything you’re doing. There are so many messages going out, and it’s easy to get distracted and reactionary. Your target doesn’t know who you are because you stand for everything, but in the end, nothing they’re looking for. Stand for one big thing, and stay there.”

Download A View From The Top: The Evolution of Marketing and the Customer Journey by author Kevin Popović.

Based on Incite Summit West, this book examines current thinking from marketing leadership from some of the largest brands. The contributors were senior level and accomplished, but most importantly, that they are all very active in the development and delivery of the work on behalf of their organizations. These speakers are not sitting in the ivory tower, they are leading their troops into battle – and they are winning.