What are the benefits and risks from web content planning for international brands?

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The website is usually the first point of contact for consumers to browse product range, make secure transactions or to contact customer services for returning customers, with consumers making a judgement on the brand based on their initial online digital experience. Creating a tailored, appropriate and suitable experience for your customers is an essential aspect of surviving online so the content on the website should be regularly updated to suit your audience (Frick, 2010). Valuable opportunities can arise from content planning which include higher engagement, frequent site visits from existing customers and driven online sales. Considering, marketers need to carefully consider the content on the website, so it is designed appropriately and so it is engaging for different users. Therefore, this blog post will consider areas of importance, and a starting point for content planning/marketing, tips and potential risks.

Digital content marketing is defined as “the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably” (Rowley, 2008) through the use of words, images and graphics. There are some areas to consider when content planning for the brand website which are as follows:

  • What is our aim?

For example:

The aim for an international e-retailer : website customisation and development integrating a digital content plan will ensure that the website is suitable for different users, with the main aim to encourage engagement from new geographic users.

  • Consider a content management system

In order to offer suitable promotional offers online to consumers in different countries at various times of the year, creating a content calendar with dates, holidays and celebrations for different geographic markets/users is key for an international brand to gain interest and engagement from their customers. For example, in Spain March 15-19 is the “Las Fallas de Valencia” celebration so brands could encourage Spanish users to purchase with a 20% off discount between those dates. Whereas, in Greece on the 28th October Greek citizens celebrate “Ochi Day”. Similarly, such celebrations are an opportunity for international brands to tailor content, with a result of increased traffic and online sales.

However, there a number of security issues and vulnerabilities with using content management systems and similar platforms. According IBM (2015), hackers target such platforms as it an efficient way to perform mass-scale attacks. Research 70% of word press attacks were targeted at retailers, so it is increasingly important for firms to consider security weaknesses and the potential threat of cyber-attacks.

  • “What are the key factors of online service quality and site design that will help our goals of customer acquisition and retention?” (Chaffey and Chadwick, 2015).

Focusing on the website, it is common for brands to re-design and re-launch their website as customer needs and expectations considerably change over time, so brands need to act and respond to those changes. Therefore, website development and content marketing should be a continuous approach, with marketers following a step by step procedure. With consideration to the table produced by Chaffey and Chadwick (2015), the initial process starts when a set of marketing objectives and aims are developed.

Risks

According to Baack and Singh (2007), consumers prefer culturally adapted websites and as a result, consumers have a positive attitude towards culturally adapted content. However, it can be challenging for international brands to produce content that is suitable and engaging to all audiences, in different geographic locations, as consumers with different set of cultural values and beliefs which shape their online purchasing behaviour. Below are some risks that a brand should consider, in general: 

Relevance:

Marketers understand the key to engagement is the creation of relevant content, however many do not consider the risks of irrelevant content. Relevancy requires close attention to your audience, their interest and needs at each stage of the customer’s journey and buyer’s cycle. As a result, content should be relevant to the marketing objectives in order to achieve the right things (Search Engine Journal, 2015). Furthermore, marketers should consider the impact of culturally determined content and the positive affects it will have on the user, by being sensitive to different audiences (Ergos, 2016). It should be relevant to the audience and revised to keep up with trends/patterns of behaviour. Trying new and different things will help understand the likes and dislikes of your audience.

https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/08/11/five-ways-to-quantify-relevance-in-content-marketing/

Consistency:  

Producing content in a limited time and at the right times throughout the year to engage your audience is the number one challenge for marketers. As it a continuous approach and must be consistent, a lot of time needs to be dedicated to this area. For smaller brands, with a lack of resources (time, labour force, finances) will find it challenging to regularly develop content consistently.

 

References:

Baack,.D. and Singh, N., (2007). Culture and web communications. Journal of Business Research. Vol 60 (3) Pg 181-188.

Chaffey,.D. and Ellis-Chadwick,F. (2015). Digital marketing: strategy, implementation and practice. Fifth Ed. Harlow: Pearson Education

Daisyme,.P (2015). The risks of content marketing. Search Engine Journal. [Blog] Jan 24. Available at: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/risks-content-marketing/122201/. (Accessed: 28/02/2019).

Frick.,T. (2010). Return on Engagement: content, strategy, design techniques for digital marketing.  Burlington: Local Press.

IBM, (2015). Understanding the risks of content management systems. IBM X-Force Research Report. New York: IBM Security.

Rowley,.J. (2008) Understanding digital content marketing. Journal of Marketing Management. Vol 24 (5-6).

 

 

 

 

Public Desire: the Website

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The layout is simplistic, but easy to navigate as for the headings and search option. The website is convenient, customised to the target market, and accessible on either desktop or mobile users.

Public Desire is an international online footwear company, which sells a range of unique styles. In a competitive online playing field, fashion e-retailers such as Missguided and Prettylittlething had successfully built an online brand reputation; with loyal customers and a competitive advantage against new entrants, there would be high barriers to entry for new firms to enter the market, with a similar target audience. However, Public desire, established in 2014, discovered a potential gap in the market. There were few online retailers that sold affordable, stylish footwear (Sutherland, 2018) for the price conscious consumer.

The Website

 

Chaffey and Ellis Chadwick, 2016.

Public desire has a transactional website, as the banner “up to 50% Off Everything” on the landing page encourages users to explore the different categories and convert from a user to a customer by securely purchasing the footwear. Both, Public Desire and Missguided have a display of different promotional offers, which are attractive to the target market, with a 10% discount for students via UNIDAYS.

However, EGO shoes offer 15% student discount and 10% to email subscribed users. As for the large selection of the same product for a lower price, consumers are likely to search the web for the best price, and promotional offers that suit their needs. According to Punj (2011), it is important for marketers to understand how “beliefs and consumption values influence purchase behaviour” so online retailers can add value to the consumer through web customisation.

All three websites have links to their social media platforms. Different digital channels can be used to attract different audiences and allows marketers to manage and generate leads. Social media has given e-customers a platform to communicate their interests and concerns, so it is important for marketers to monitor and respond to online communications faster than competition (Chaffey and Smith, 2010).

Ideal Personas:

Public desire’s target market is females, age 18-30. The styles are designed for e-customers who favour online shopping and make impulse purchases following new trends/styles. The audience are seeking value for money, discounted products. Below are two ideal personas associated with the brand:

Touch-points:

Once Sarah has searched for the website on Google, the website visibility on the search engine (SEO) means it is easy to discover. According to SimilarWeb (2018), 53.6% of users find the website through online search, in comparison to EGO shoes which is discovered by 41.82% of users by search (See appendix 1). Once she adds the desired item into the basket, she securely makes a payment and purchases the item. Sarah decides to follow the company on Instagram and subscribes to their marketing emails for post-sale interaction.

Moreover, after discovery of the brand through online advertising, Lisa reads online reviews of the brand on her desktop (see appendix 2) as her purchasing behaviour is greatly influenced by electronic word of mouth. As for the positive reviews, she adds the shoes to her basket and purchases the footwear. After the payment is secured, she agrees to create an online account which means she can track her order, easily return unwanted items and make faster transactions on return.

Appendix 1:

Appendix 2:

 

References:

Chaffey, D. and Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2016). Digital Marketing. 6th ed. Harlow: Pearson.

Chaffey, D. and Smith, P.R. (2013). E-customers in e-marketing excellence: planning and optimizing your digital marketing. 4th Ed. Abingdon: Routledge

Punj, G. (2011). Effects of Consumer Beliefs on Online Purchase Behaviour: The Influence of Demographic Characteristics and Consumption Values. Journal of Interactive Marketing. 25(3). Pages 134-144.

SimilarWeb (2018). Traffic Sources on Desktop. (online). Available at: https://www.similarweb.com/website/publicdesire.com?competitors=ego.co.uk. (Accessed: 01/12/2018).

Sutherland, E. (2018). Public Desire debuts clothing range. Drapers. (online) 22 October. Available at: https://www.drapersonline.com/news/public-desire-debuts-clothing-range/7032601.article. (Accessed: 13/12/2018)

 

 

Ikea: Understanding their Consumers Through Social Media

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Ikea

Ikea is a multi-national retailer, that design and produce furniture and home décor at an affordable price. With stores in around 45 countries, it is important that they understand their consumers in a global market and respond to consumer trends in different regions. In order to provide a unique but tailored experience for their customers, Ikea should use their social media platform as a valuable opportunity to build relationships.

The Problem

With a shift away from traditional marketing techniques, Ikea have been inconsistent at monitoring their social media communications. As a result, vital data on their consumers and online opinions shared in real-time failed to be transferred between departments. In order to engage more successfully with consumers on a global scale, Ikea had to find a solution to tackle the internal communication barrier.

 

The Solution

Different technologies were considered before Ikea established the Listening Hub, by Brandwatch, which is a platform to “create a real space for detecting, sharing and distributing insights” across different departments within the organisation (Ikea, and The Socializers, 2014).  Brandwatch gives companies the ability to see what customers share online about their brand. Ikea found that consumers, in different regions perceived the brand differently and also, used alternative social media platforms to express their opinions. By using Brandwatch, information can be directed to the right department in order for the right employees to resolve new problems.

How does Brandwatch help?

  • Ikea can analyse and interpret the data collected on social media, in order to predict future consumer behaviour.
  • Use different social media platforms to target their consumers in different countries. For example, 36.5% of customers in the U.S used Facebook to complain about the brand in 2014 (Brandwatch..2014).
  • Brandwatch can provide Ikea with a competitive advantage, by responding more rapidly to trends than competitors.

Summary

Data collected on social media is a key indicator on what consumers think about a brand, which can help organisations find solutions to new problems as they happen.