It was found that, 59% of CMO's who use technology strategy, depends on marketing ops for tools, analytics, process and metrics. According to Scott Vaughan (CMO of Integrate), marketing operation (marketing Ops) focuses on customer acquisition. The marketing operations function has emerged due to the need for a more transparent, efficient, and accountable view of marketing. Its growth was driven by the proliferation of marketing technology and increased pressure from the C-suite to prove the value of marketing and contribute to the bottom-line. The Marketing Ops role is increasing in today’s world, so, some tips for Marketing Ops leaders. They are as under:
Tip 1# Lead process change by organizing around the customers: Look at your current marketing plan, technology, process and resources.
Tip 2# Drive decisions based on governed data: Apply data governance to improve quality.
Tip 3# Shape the marketing technology infrastructure: Identifying and applying right technology.
Read more at: http://marketingland.com/marketings-new-customer-nerve-center-marketing-operations-127292

According to Gartner’s report, “CRM will be at the heart of digital initiatives in coming years as enterprises look to create more targeted interactions in a multichannel environment.”

And the basis for these initiatives will be Internet of Things (IoT) because IoT is not only affecting the way people interact with objects and things but also the way customers interact with brands. In this IoT era, marketers have several new options for enhancing customer service as well as experience. Some of them are:

• Real time marketing promotions
• On-demand pricing
• Next-generation customer service
• In-store experiences
• Extensive use of wearable devices
• The self-marketing products

For these initiatives, a sophisticated set of CRM tools like Parature, Geotoko and Aislelabs are also available.

In the nutshell, to deal with today’s digitally empowered customers, organizations are realizing the need to change their focus from products to services.

To know more, please read the following article by Frank Palermo, Senior Vice President, Virtusa, at cmswire.com:

http://www.cmswire.com/cms/internet-of-things/a-new-frontier-for-crm-the-internet-of-things-029120.php

It is the age of mobile devices and users spend most of their time in apps than they do mobile web. So, nowadays, brands are capitalizing this trend, and aggressively going for larger in-app budgets. According to a forecast by eMarketer, projects in-app ad which spends $29.66 billion now will be triple i.e. mobile web spend will be $10.84 billion by 2016. Mobile video is another fastest growing segments in digital advertising and it is expects it expects revenue of $4.4 billion in ad revenue in the US alone. Southeast Asia is another growing smartphone regions in the world, and specifically in India, where broadband internet is scarce and mobile penetration is high, it is expected to reach over 250 mm mobile devices this year. To know more about latest mobile advertising trends, follow:  http://venturebeat.com/2015/04/21/10-mobile-advertising-trends-for-2015-and-beyond/

In this digital world, continuous innovation in marketing is very important to have a competitive advantage. The traditional ways of marketing are no longer effective, but marketers need to build engaging ads to attract customers, which leads to the development of touchpoint marketing. Touchpoint marketing aims to build a contextual customer experience across every online and offline touchpoint. This approach can help in building loyalty and engagement of customers.

Here are some tips to make touchpoint marketing effective:

• Create an emotional customer experience.
• Move from linear marketing to the customer life cycle.
• Shift from personalized campaigns to contextual interactions.

To know more about touch point marketing, read the article link “touchpoint marketing helps you stay connected with customers” by Patrick Tripp (Senior Product Marketing Manager for Adobe Campaign) at: http://www.cmswire.com/cms/digital-marketing/touchpoint-marketing-helps-you-stay-connected-to-customers-029110.php

iGen or  Generation Z is the generation who has been born in digitalization age with smart phones in the hands. iGen is independent, stubborn, pragmatic and always in a rush. Marketers are facing problem in understanding their interest, hobbies and attitude. Gen Z wants to know everything about a product before buying. They trust friends, strangers over advertisements, blogs or information on the net. In an article by Joan Schneider (CEO of Schneider Associates), shares some tips on how to market iGeneration:

·         Personalize Everything.

·         Connect with them through social media.

·         Be strategic with advertisement.

·         Excite I Generation with content.

·         Use mobile to reach I Generation.

Marketers also need to be social, transparent and personal with this generation. To know more about this generation read an article “How to market to the Generation I” by Joan Schneider at: https://hbr.org/2015/05/how-to-market-to-the-igeneration

“Text messaging as a communication channel is impersonal because it lacks the emotional connectivity of face-to-face and verbal communication, yet it feels extremely personal.”

This personal element is what that makes text messages, an effective sales medium. But, familiarity factor is also critical for prospecting via text. According to the Lead360 study, that covered 3.5 million lead records from more than 400 companies, a text message sent alone converts at 4.8%. That same message, sent after a phone contact increases conversion by 112.6%. So, to get 112% results, combine text messages with another medium, use the familiarity factor and –voilà- the sales is done!

To effectively utilize this sales medium, Jeb Blount has given 7 keys to structuring effective text prospecting messages. They are:

1. Identify Yourself
2. Message Matters
3. Be Direct – Be Brief
4. Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling Count
5. Avoid Abbreviations
6. Transparent Links
7. Before Clicking Send – Read It Again

Read more at:

http://jebblount.com/7-keys-text-messaging-sales-prospecting/

Every businessman wants to enter into new market for growth or better opportunities, but most of the time they won't able to succeed because of competition. An article by Samit Varma (CEO of Pizza Studio), discusses about three components which can help organization to enter into the new market:

·         Focus on consumer impact: Provide high quality, consistent product. People buy products based on their initial experience, so try to make a positive impression. Customer satisfaction is the only key for success.

·         Allow for customization: Today’s customers believe in customization, so to succeed in new market an entrepreneur need to provide customized product with quick delivery.

·         Streamline for predictability: Consistency in operations is very important for timely delivery of products. Implementing forecasting and planning can help entrepreneurs.

Read more at:   http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245813

In today's world, brands need to stand out and do something different. So, a new concept has come up. It is the concept of placing your brand in a subscription box.  Subscription box is a box that is received by subscribers periodically and contains products and samples. They can be used for customized market research and provides information about products and packaging. According to Euromonitor International, using subscription boxes will help to retain customers. Using this subscription box can reduce your marketing expenditure and help a company to reach a national audience, increase social traffic and sales. To know more about subscription box and its benefits, read the article linked by Aihui Ong (Founder and CEO of lovewithfood.com) at:  http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245753

According to Chris Golec (founder and CEO of Demandbase), innovations in marketing technology are solving many critical issues of B2B marketers. These innovations are taking place in advertising, personalization, conversion and measurement which are helping marketers in driving and engaging present and potential customers. Future of B2B is maintaining continuous and long term relationships with customers. Three areas where innovation in B2B taking place:

• Accounting Based Marketing (ABM): It provides a vital strategy for companies that want to create sustainable growth and profitability within their most important client accounts. ABM focuses explicitly on individual client accounts and their needs. More importantly, it is a collaborative approach that engages sales, marketing, delivery, and key executives toward achieving the client’s business goals.

• “Always-on” advertising & subscription model: B2B organizations need to advertise on a regular basis and for attracting right companies, you need to have the right content on your website.

• Best of breed vs. Single vendor: Best of breed is better because it provides best solutions for each problem.

Read more at: http://venturebeat.com/2015/04/30/the-future-of-b2b-marketing/

According to Lauren Jung (Co-Founder of Theshelf.com), customers believe influencers over Facebook, twitter post for getting information about new trends, innovations and advice for buying products. Influencers are individuals who have the power to affect purchase decisions of others because of their (real or perceived) authority, knowledge, position, or relationship. In consumer spending, members of a peer group or reference group act as influencers.

Here are some tips to make influencer marketing effective are:

•         For making influence marketing successful align with influencer who have the power to influence the buyer’s decision or inbound interest.
•         Tailor your strategy based on the influencer.
•         Try to maintain a relationship.
•         Encourage content creation from brand evangelists.

 Read more at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245757

In this competitive world, where technology and social platforms are most used mediums to engage customers, companies usually pursue digital marketing strategies that engage by leading conversations. Rather, they should engage customers by providing them an opportunity to lead the way.

According to Robert Hegeman, digital creative director at Siegel+Gale, a global branding firm, engagement goes beyond simply responding to and talking with consumers.

Peter Gasca, Founder, Naked Cask, in his article at entrepreneur.com, has given four simple tips to engage customers and hence, improve digital marketing strategies. They are:

• Focus on mobile first
• Stop annoying your customers
• Make engagement painfully easy and obvious
• Stick to a website experience

To understand them in detail, please visit the following link:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245487

“Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship...the act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth.” 

-Peter F. Drucker

So, to create wealth, it’s important that we constantly innovate. And innovation is not the responsibility of few. It’s important that we understand the need to create a culture of innovation i.e. we should foster this sense of internal drive among all the members of the organization and then only, can we together move forward towards success.

Ken Lin, Founder and CEO, Credit Karma, in his article at Inc.com, has shared from his experience, six strategies to instill a culture of innovation in the company. They are:

• Give people a sense of ownerships
• Change constantly
• Hire upwards
• Know when to move quickly
• Make everyone a guardian of the product
• Protect the culture

To learn more, please visit the following link:

http://www.inc.com/ken-lin/6-strategies-for-building-a-culture-of-innovation.html

Mobile commerce (m-commerce) is a type of e-commerce conducted through mobile devices such as mobile phones and other mobile devices with a wireless connection - including smart phones (iPhones, Google Android), tablets (iPad, Amazon Kindle) and notebooks. M-Commerce also brings new opportunities for selling online, and mobile marketing can be used to extend online reach. Four things a company must consider while developing m-commerce marketing strategy are:

·         Reach: Tap into the uniqueness of mobile-first consumers.

·         Curate: Trigger impulse purchases through well-crafted offers.

·         Entertain: Make shopping fun and easy, not just cheap.

·         Lock in: Capture the loyalty of mobile shoppers early.

Read more at: http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/consumer_and_retail/learning_from_south_koreas_mobile-retailing_boom

E-mails are an indispensible part of our lives. With the growth of mobile internet reach, people now have instant reach to their emails. For marketers to reach these people instantly, the easiest means is via emails. So, planning an email marketing campaign has become as much important as planning any social media campaign.

Pierre DeBois,Founder and Chief Digital Marketing Strategist, Zimana, in his article at cmswire.com has given 5 key strategies to plan a successful email marketing campaign launch. They are:

• Assume customers will view an email in a mobile device
• Plan for a personal touch
• Create an engaging subject line
• Send email at the right time
• Consider metrics within context of site or app objectives

To understand them in detail, please visit the following link:

http://www.cmswire.com/cms/digital-marketing/how-to-plan-an-email-marketing-launch-029036.php

“Customers don’t want just a personalized experience, they want a full package”

According to 2015 Customer Experience Trends Report and infographic released by InMoment, customers do appreciate the personalized touches that brands create for them, they are much more interested in providing value back to the company.

Lori Alcala, in her article on cmswire.com, summarizes top customer experience trends revealed in the report. They are:

• Shorter Surveys, More Listening
• More Reliable Online Reviews
• Stronger Relationships

She has also added an interesting excerpt from the report in her article. To see that and increase your knowledge spectrum about customer experience, please visit the following link:

http://www.cmswire.com/cms/customer-experience/want-to-know-the-top-cx-trends-infographic-029002.php

According to Dan Kennedy’s book, “No B.S. Direct Marketing",  business is a bucket into which we owners pour ideas, energy and money in hopes of stirring up profits and the failure to follow- up customers is a big hole in that bucket .

Therefore, a business should always look forward to follow up -both existing and lost- customers in order to serve them better, retain them and also, build long lasting relations. William Ballard, Freelance Writer and Author, in his article on entrepreneur.com gives 4 steps that should be followed to follow up customers when the answer is “no” in first stance. They are:

Step 1.Redeem yourself by re-stating or re-selling your existing offer.

Step 2.Give a firm or humorous “2^nd Notice” message to create scarcity.

Step 3.The “third and final notice.”

Step 4.The final step is to present another offer.

To know more, visit the following link:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244094

For long term survival of an organization, they need regular and loyal customers. According to Brian Horn (Author and Co-Founder of Authority Alchemy), for building long term relationships with your customers, an organization needs to build trust. Following are the ways to build relationship and brand loyalty: • Offering returning customers a discount on services.
• Giving rewards for references.
• Offering updates.
• Really caring about your customers.
Read more at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245439

According to a survey, for hiring a customer service worker, an employer approximately spend $8800 on hiring and training and 70% of customer service worker leave a job within 1year. Some steps for employee retention are: • Provide training to workers and motivate them.
• Evaluate the performance of the employees and give feedback.
• Implement the customer service training software.
• Give employee work from home choice, this will reduce cost per employee up to $2000.
Read more at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245524

Loyal customers, they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you; they insist that their friends do business with you.
   - Chip Bell

Customer Loyalty should be a priority for every business. To retain loyal customers and thus, contribute to growth of the business, every marketer must take certain steps. John Rampton, in his article on entrepreneur.com shares 25 tips for earning customer loyalty. Some of them are:

• Share your values
• Be transparent
• Create a sense of community
• Use social proof
• Anticipate problems

To know more, visit the following link:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245365

The field of marketing has gone through many transitions- the Trade Era, the Production Era, the Sales Era, the Marketing Department Era, the Marketing Company Era and last era that was going on is – the Relationship Era. Now again, a transition is taking place and a new era of Experience Marketing has emerged.

This article by Carla Johnson, Founder, Type A Communications, at cmswire.com talks about the need for this type of marketing in this competitive world and how companies are adapting this to enhance customer experience.  

The example of Marriott, the brand that has launched an original content studio that creates content that informs, entertains and adds value to travel lifestyle consumers, shows how building audiences by creating differentiating experiences has now become an important part of marketing.

To summarize, this article emphasizes the need to make content creation a core function of the business and the foundation from which all experiences, across the company, are created.

Read more at:

http://www.cmswire.com/cms/digital-marketing/experiences-the-7th-era-of-marketing-028978.php