Big data is really just a buzzword, it is said to mean a collection of data sets, including structured and unstructured data, too large to process by conventional methods. The quantity of data being generated is growing almost exponentially and is expected to have increased by 4400% between 2009 and 2020[1]. The type of data is changing too, particularly with regard to the ‘internet of things’ emerging. This can be utilised to provide detailed insights for businesses.

The advent of big data is provoking a huge change in marketing, previously advertising was dreamt up by experts who had ideas of what would work and deals were made on relationships. Nowadays everything can be analysed and tweaked to ensure the most effective campaign for the most people, adverts can be personalised and everything is more precise and formal.This article offers a good view on how big data is changing marketing.

One obvious way in which there is more data available to businesses is through social media. With over 2.4 billion internet users making millions of posts every minute, a business may use this to find insights into their customers. A business may monitor posts directly relating to them, or posts from known customers to attempt to understand their customer base better. There is a wealth of information available which may help a business market more effectively. I have talked in more detail about social media and marketing here.

Arguably the most important aspect of this increase in data is the ability to better manage customer relationships, (CRM). For smaller businesses, the personal touch of being seen to understand customers can be a huge advantage. By analysing the data now available to it, a business is able to communicate with each customer in the most effective manner. From ensuring the use of the best communication channels, to deep personalisation, a business may improve the relationship it has with its customers.

This diagram, below, shows the applicability of big data into CRM. CRM comes from data and without it would be purse speculation, much like now outdated marketing techniques. This offers a useful insight into the process of CRM and how it works, including it’s cyclical, sempiternal, nature.

[4]

A key element of CRM is to listen to the customers. If the customers find fault with some aspect of your business, try and fix it. Not only will this benefit other customers, but it may win back the dissatisfied customers; customers who feel listened to are more likely to stay loyal and endorse the business to others.

This infographic details 10 reasons, with examples, of why CRM systems are popular with salespeople.

There is some academic study into CRM, identifying the different stages of an internet based system. This can be used to understand how businesses may begin to use CRM to retain customers and improve the service they offer. The below diagram shows the cyclical nature of CRM and how it may be used effectively. This shows the continued importance of each area of CRM, along with its cyclical nature ensuring it continues.[6]

This article offers a useful list of positive aspects of CRM. As evidenced, there are many positive aspects to the use of CRM. The biggest advantage is surely that of efficiency, a good CRM system will point employees toward the (potential) customers most worth spending time on. Conversely, a CRM system offers a fall-back position where all customer relationships are monitored, to ensure no customers are forgotten. In short, a good CRM system goes a long way to ensuring better customer service for all customers, whatever their needs. Customers are happier and more likely to spend more and employee’s time is spent more effectively.

 

However, it is worth noting some downfalls of CRM. Most importantly, it may be costly to implement; a CRM system will need to be integrated with other company software, such as email and accountancy software, if the systems do not integrate well, it may prove very costly and time consuming. Secondly, CRM software is not generally intuitive to use, this leads to further cost of training and time spent learning to use the software. However, CRM may well be able to make up for these outlays with improved customer relationships.

 

References:

Chaffey, D. (2012) E-Business & E-Commerce Management, Pearson. [6]

https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/mjf16/2016/04/11/the-power-of-social-media-and-word-of-mouth-how-to-spread-the-word-of-your-brand/. [3]

http://www.csc.com/insights/flxwd/78931-big_data_universe_beginning_to_explode. [1]

http://www.inc.com/mick-hollison/5-ways-big-data-will-change-sales-and-marketing-in-2015.html. [2]

http://www.preact.co.uk/why-crm/how-businesses-benefit-from-crm. [7]

https://www.cloudswave.com/blog/infographic-10-top-reasons-why-crm-systems-are-popular-in-sales/#clode. [5]

Verhoef, P. C., Venkatesan, R., McAllister, L., Malthouse, E. C., Krafft, M., & Ganesan, S. (2010). CRM in data-rich multichannel retailing environments: a review and future research directions. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 24(2), 121-137. [4]

“Social networking is the process of connecting entities together based on their social bonds or ties”[1]. The internet seems these days to consist of near-infinite numbers of social networks. There are new ones appearing with startling regularity and older ones quietly being neglected somewhere else. Who can forget that social network in 2015 where you could only talk in emoji?

It is predicted that by 2018 there will be over 2.5 billion social network users worldwide[3]. The sheer power of these networks is evident, whether it be used for good or for evil. Facebook’s manipulation of their users’ emotions goes some way to showing the ability of the networks to spread more than just information[4]. If a network can be used to make someone happy or sad, it can certainly be used to promote a business.

The reach of social media cannot be underestimated. Modern social media shadows academic principles established decades previously. Most famous is Milgram’s Small World Phenomenon[5]. This study looked at the links between people and their respective connections, proposing that any two people on earth can be linked through no more than 6 people. Modern-day social networks show this on a vast, yet more obvious, scale.

Social media offers a business numerous ways to promote themselves, be it through encouraging electronic word-of-mouth (Ewom), through engagement with customers, through reviews, blogs, sharing of promotions and so forth.

In the past few years, the use of vloggers and bloggers to endorse products has skyrocketed. It is believed that 1 in 3 purchasers from the Body Shop will blog about the products. Vloggers have also become more popular for marketing; authenticity is crucial, vloggers are expected to be honest. Fans believe in vloggers and are highly loyal, if a vlogger supports your business, their fans will do too. This article provides a good summary of the benefits of vloggers in advertising.

It could be argued that blogging and vlogging is merely an extension of online reviewing. Reviews are a powerful tool which a business must be seen to respect. If a customer is dissatisfied, clearly respond to them and try to help.

Ewom itself is arguably the most important aspect of social media, with the most potential for a brand. This article evaluates well the value of ewom. Crucially it is from the customers, to the customers with no commercial content, per se. It is free and whilst it can’t be created by a business, it can be encouraged and motivated. Let’s take a moment to remember that restaurant where you could pay by posting a picture to Instagram with a hashtag[8], a masterpiece of social media. Vlogs/blogs, social networks, reviews and so forth may be categorised as Ewom, however it is worth discussion as a concept.

The principle of Ewom is customers spreading the word of their good experience with a brand. Other customers see these recommendations and are more likely to trust the brand. Critically, comments from other consumers are seen to be more credible and realistic; whilst a brand will always want to say good things about their products, a consumer is more likely to be honest.

There are many reasons for customers to talk about a brand, some internally motivated and some for external reasons. A customer may wish to warn others out of concern, they may wish for the social status of being seen to know, they may be promoting themselves. They may also act for economic benefits; referral schemes are the classic example of consumers recommending a brand for their own profit.

So what can a brand do?

The most important thing must be to treat customers well. Respect your customers and give them a good service, sell quality products, handle any complaints quickly and effectively, do the best you can for the customer.

Schemes which encourage the customer to spread the word of the brand will always be effectively, provided they are well executed.

Building a community is also beneficial to a brand, whether that’s a dedicated group on Facebook, or a following on Twitter, interaction with and between the consumers is key.

Another important principle is to stay aware, a brand must monitor the talk about them, this allows them to correct any issues and join in the conversation, creating more talk.

If there isn’t enough talk about your brand, create some. Undertake a viral marketing campaign of some form, be present and ready to interact. Put your brand out there and in front of as many customers as possible and encourage them to spread the word further.

Ewom provides huge potential to brands if they handle it well. Fittingly there are many helpful guides on the internet, such as this one, to encourage good marketing.

References:

[1] Russell J (2007), ‘Social Networking: Applications for Health Care Recruitment’, Nursing Economics, 25(5), pp.299.

[2] http://emoj.li/.

[3] http://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/

[4] Kramer, A. D., Guillory, J. E., & Hancock, J. T. (2014). Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(24), 8788-8790.

[5] Milgram, Stanley (May 1967). “The Small World Problem”. Psychology Today (Ziff-Davis Publishing Company.).

[6] http://activeinternetmarketing.co.uk/how-vloggers-are-changing-the-face-of-advertising-and-why-its-a-good-thing/.

[7] http://blog.loginradius.com/2014/07/social-word-of-mouth-marketing/.

[8] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2627144/Now-pay-dinner-using-INSTAGRAM-Pop-restaurant-lets-diners-settle-bill-uploading-photos.html.

[9] http://www.buzztalkmonitor.com/blog/bid/233669/Electronic-Word-Of-Mouth-presents-a-window-of-opportunity-for-businesses.

It’s common knowledge that the digital world has turned mobile. What was once a dream of the future has become reality and there are now more mobile phones in the world than people[1]. It’s obvious that a business should focus some of their energy into this mobile world, but how important really is it?

It’s obvious that mobile has become an integral part of marketing, but do people realise how important it is? Here are some statistics from this round up of 2015 marketing stats: 45% of email opening is on mobile; 80% of internet users own a smartphone; apps account for 89% of mobile media time, websites only account for 11%; over half of smartphone users grab their phone as soon as they wake up. These show how much of an integral part of our lives mobile devices have become.

It’s always a good idea for a business to invest both in mobile websites and in mobile applications; whilst a relatively small amount of time is spent on the mobile web, the median number of apps downloaded by American adult smartphone users is 0[3]; apps are used for their purpose and must be useful to a person, making their life better, to encourage downloads.

Mobile marketing has come to mean more than adverts on a phone; other tech such as smart watches and virtual reality are fast becoming prevalent, it’s interesting to hypothesise as to how businesses will adapt to this ever changing market. Will your smartwatch buzz with a personalised offer for every shop you walk past? There are already many concepts widely used today which wouldn’t have been expected in the past, such as geofencing, tracking and true personalisation, all of which can be utilised by a business to improve their marketing. There are also many benefits to the customer, such as the privacy, personalisation and security which are readily available on mobile. Good mobile marketing and good mobile websites benefit the business and the customer equally.

Advertising on mobile is rapidly expanding into an area with huge marketing potential. Studies have found that 87% of smartphone users notice adverts, this provides a huge reach for a business. If an advert catches the eye of a user and they decide to search the internet for more information, half of the battle is won. 53% of smartphone searchers go on to purchase the item they’re searching for[4].

In the 2015 Thanksgiving season in America, in-store sales fell by $1bn from 2014, whilst ecommerce adverts increased by over 800% with very high click-through rates. This interesting webinar offers some surprising statistics and a strong discussion from successful businesspeople.

Academics have recommended tips for a mobile site such as: user experience is fundamental, ensure content is easy to navigate; redirect to a site designed for the user’s handset to optimise their experience; use personalisation whenever possible; optimise checkouts when purchasing to minimise dropout; test and monitor every available variable[6].

A recently published study found that there was a gap in satisfaction between desktop and mobile retail. Between 2010 and 2012 this gap was found to have diminished from 5% less satisfaction on mobile to only 2%[7]. It can only be presumed that in the years since then, mobile satisfaction has risen further as businesses appreciate the importance of this, and as techniques are improved upon for mobile.

A great way to improve satisfaction is to offer consistency cross-platform. By utilising the data provided by a customer, a business should create a profile for each user to ensure they communicate with them consistently whether online, on mobile web, in-store or by email. This also make the customer feel more highly valued and likely to remain loyal.

With regard to design of a service, Chae, et al.[8] found evidence suggesting that information quality had significant impact on user satisfaction, which, in turn was shown to be related to customer loyalty. Whilst, Magura[9] found that the aesthetic of the service is given little regard by customers. This shows that a critical element of design for mobile should likely put functionality ahead of beauty. However, Cyr, et al.[10] found that aesthetic value had a significant impact; it seems more research must be done in this area to draw firm conclusions, however it seems likely that function should come before attractiveness.

It seems the best tip for successful use of the mobile platform is to make the content as easy to navigate as possible. A good interface and the removal of excess steps will encourage customers to browse more and make it easier for them to make purchases. With the prevalence of mobile apps, a customer won’t stick around to wait for a slow, clunky, app; they’ll give up and go somewhere else instead.

If a business dedicates sufficient resources to mobile it can be highly lucrative. Smartphone use is predicted to continue to balloon and thus businesses need to try and stay ahead of the curve, perfecting their mobile marketing and interactions before it’s too late. This article is one of many detailing tips and ideas for mobile marketing which are worth reading. This year mobile marketing is expected to pass $100bn, more than 50% of all digital spending. Make sure your money is spent wisely.

 

References:

[8] Chae, M., Kim, J., Kim, H., & Ryu, H. (2002). Information quality for mobile internet services: A theoretical model with empirical validation. Electronic Markets, 12(1), 38–46.

[6] Chaffey, D., Ellis-Chadwick, F., Mayer, R., & Johnston, K. (2009). Internet marketing: strategy, implementation and practice. Prentice Hall.

[10] Cyr, D., Head,M., & Ivanov, A. (2006). Design aesthetics leading to m-loyalty in mobile commerce. Information & Management, 43, 950–963.

[3], [5] http://venturebeat.com/2016/03/01/top-5-tips-to-rock-your-2016-mobile-marketing-strategy-webinar/.

[1] http://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2014/10/06/NY30877.

[11] http://www.business2community.com/mobile-apps/mobile-marketing-tips-2016-01464617#JMu73COrkfHuZvHh.97.

[7] http://www.foresee.com/research-white-papers/mobile-sat-index-2012-form-foresee.shtml.

[2] https://freely.net/marketing-statistics/.

[9] Magura, B. (2003). What hooks m-commerce customers? MIT Sloan Management Review, 44(3), 9–16.

[4] The Mobile Movement Study, Google/Ipsos OTX MediaCT, Apr 2011.

As we know[1], it’s crucial to appear at the top of search results; the top 5 results add up to 70% of all click-throughs[2]. Paid search, also known as Search Engine Marketing, is the process of paying to appear in search results. This differs from Search Engine Optimization which involves attempting to improve a website to ensure it appears at the top of search results. This list by Econsultancy provides a good selection of examples of both paid search and SEO campaigns to show how some big companies choose to undertake their search marketing.

(An example of paid Ads in Google search results)

Paid search works by a business bidding on a key word, the search term, for their advert to appear in the results for that term. The bid will include a price, usually a cost per click; an amount that is paid to the search engine every time someone interacts with the advert. There are numerous guides available online with a more in-depth explanation of how paid search works, such as this one from Econsultancy. Paid search is rapidly expanding and thus has huge potential for businesses. Academic studies have found its influence on the web to be larger than expected and continuing to grow[4].

The bidding system is detailed and allows a business to effectively target its advertising to the right consumers, in the right places, at the right time. To get the most from an advert,  a business must ensure it only appears to those they want it to. A woman’s fashion retailer in London is unlikely to make sales from appearing in search results in New York, because they bid on the word ‘clothes’ and someone searched for ‘mens clothes’.

There are many good practises that must be undertaken when paying to appear in search results, a badly executed advertising campaign will never be worth the money.

A key element of paid search is ensuring the advert is effective. There is a limited space to advertise, with generally only around 100 characters to encourage a consumer to visit a website. If this space isn’t properly utilised then any outlay to appear will be wasted as no consumer will want to visit the site. It is essential to appear relevant, enticing, transparent and of high quality.

Another useful undertaking is the creation of a dedicated landing page. An advert becomes useless if it claims to offer a discount and only leads the consumer to a site’s homepage; no one wants to navigate where they didn’t expect to need to. An advert must be linked directly to what it claims, if you’re a fashion retailer appearing in search results for shoes, the advert must take the consumer directly to a landing page relating to your selection of shoes

These elements have a dual purpose, sites such as Google will monitor the quality of your adverts, your landing page, your bidding and the interactions with your adverts. Things such as the click-through rate, bounce rate, location and device are monitored to ensure your adverts are of sufficient quality and suitably targeted. Academic research into this area has highlighted this as a crucial part of paid search advertising, finding that higher quality ads are more likely to be displayed higher, with the top four paid results offering much higher returns than others[5]. This shows the importance of quality adverts outside of simply appealing to consumers. This list of bad paid search results is a useful insight into what causes the downfall of some campaigns and some things to definitely avoid.

(No, really, it’s an ironic picture on a small blog)

Finally, the most important thing is to make the most of the resources available. Google allows a business to test their advert and make minor tweaks to it. This allows a business to improve and, attempt to, perfect their advert to get the most from it. Most elements of the advert can be tweaked in some way, with Google’s system measuring click-through, bounce rate, conversions and so on, to establish the effectiveness of modifications. Through this process a mediocre advertisement can be become highly effective as the business can see, with definitive results, exactly what works. This further provides education for future campaigns.

 

 

References:

https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/mjf16/2016/01/31/can-seo-really-improve-visitor-numbers-to-a-website/ [1] (accessed 07/04/2016).

http://searchengineland.com/bad-google-ads-what-were-they-thinking-62235 [7] (accessed 08/04/16).

https://econsultancy.com/blog/62270-six-examples-of-effective-ppc-and-seo-campaigns/ [3] (accessed 08/04/2016).

https://econsultancy.com/blog/63783-what-is-paid-search-ppc-and-why-do-you-need-it/ [4] (accessed 08/04/16).

https://moz.com/blog/google-organic-click-through-rates-in-2014 [2] (accessed 08/04/16).

Jansen, B.J. and Mullen, T. (2008) ‘Sponsored search: an overview of the concept, history, and technology’, Int. J. Electronic Business, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp.114–131. [5].

Jansen, B. J., Liu, Z. and Simon, Z. (2013), The effect of ad rank on the performance of keyword advertising campaigns. J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci., 64: pp. 2115–2132. [6]