Having the right tools in your toolbelt is a fundamental part of being a successful digital marketer. In fact, it’s almost impossible for digital marketers nowadays to perform their daily tasks without the assistance of these tools; tools that help automate processes and save precious time and money, ensuring a good return on marketing investment. From email marketing and CRM tools to analytics and project management, there are quite a few tools to choose from when forming your own martech stack this year.
https://mopinion.com/nl/top-27-tools-martech-stack-2020/
There’s a reason why Yelp’s influence can make or break a restaurant in a matter of just a few reviews -- customer service is the be-all and end-all of good business. Customers are the backbone of every business and while acquiring them is difficult, retaining them can be even trickier.
If a business is having to constantly find new customers, it’s going to struggle to create any long-lasting growth. Meanwhile, if another business can keep its customers happy, those customers will refer the business to new customers.
http://entrepreneur.com/article/342677/
It’s their service, the experience you go through and how they treat you. Customer experience is more officially known as the sentiment associated with a company’s ability to provide positive experiences to their customers. Services range from one-on-one interactions where a support agent resolves a customer issue, to exchanges with the brand on a more public scale.
You can think of it as the product of an interaction between an organization and a customer over the duration of their relationship. And it’s a critical component of today’s marketing mix.
http://business2community.com/customer-experience/is-customer-experience-driving-your-2020-marketing-focus-02269889/
Sales is no longer a door-to-door business; you don’t get to ring the doorbell and tell customers they need you anymore. Now, they’re coming to your door, and if they don’t like what they see, they move on. So, how do you ensure they see the value in what you offer?
You have to understand their expectations not just of your offerings, but of their entire experience with your brand — from discovery to customer care. That means that “sales” can no longer stand apart from “marketing” or “service.” These silos must converge and create a continuous, intelligent customer experience (CX). Read on for steps you can take toward meeting and exceeding customer expectations.
http://customerthink.com/4-ways-of-exceeding-customer-expectations-through-intelligent-cx/
Brands often talk about being customer-centric but in reality, most businesses are still not set up with customers at their core. Simply installing a chief customer officer and hoping the rest will fall into place will not cut it in 2019.
https://www.marketingweek.com/2018/12/12/marketing-trends-2019-customer-centric/
One of the most oft-asked questions that I encounter by early-stage startups is "Do I really need to spend time on marketing? Why not focus on just building the product and let it lead the path of marketing? And if I have to start, from where do I start?"
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/324541/
When asked what they saw as the number one opportunity in ecommerce marketing today, 30% of brands said ‘More accurate consumer targeting across retailers.’
Brands also cited three other key opportunities: ‘Improved user experience’ (22%), ‘Voice search advertising’ (14%), and the closer alignment of digital marketing with merchandising teams (8%).
In our recent Era of Ecommerce research report with Catalyst and Search Engine Watch, we found a number of interesting insights on the ecommerce landscape today, what opportunities and challenges exist, and how marketers are — or are not — rising to meet them.
https://www.clickz.com/how-to-improve-ecommerce-performance/220283/
https://www.business2community.com/ecommerce/how-b2b-ecommerce-marketers-can-use-the-voice-of-the-consumer-to-boost-sales-02133114/
'Staying current with ever-changing tech trends is now de rigueur for any modern marketing executive. One of the first things Jim Lyski did after becoming CMO of CarMax in 2014 was to go on a “digital safari” to Silicon Valley with the company’s new CIO and other senior executives. They spent three days meeting with leading tech and venture capitalist firms, getting up to speed on emerging technologies.
“Google is happy to show you not only what they’re doing but what they’re going to concentrate on over the next year,” Lyski says. “Facebook, Adobe, Oracle and IBM Watson will do the same thing. If you’re not talking to the experts that are reshaping our industry, you’re missing the boat. This industry changes at breakneck speed. If you don’t put in the effort to stay abreast of everything, you’ll blink and be left behind.”'
https://www.adweek.com/digital/4-keys-cmos-should-consider-as-they-transform-their-organizations-and-themselves/
“Your focus needs more focus,” urged the martial arts master, played by Jackie Chan, in The Karate Kid remake. The same could truthfully be said about any of our businesses. Focus is difficult to achieve and maintain. It requires constant diligence and discipline.
We could all learn from the experience of Phononic, the developer of solid-state cooling solutions used in a variety of applications and industries. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in the Research Triangle Park area of Durham, NC, this private company has been named a CNBC Disruptor 50 (twice!) and was just recognized for account-based marketing innovation at the #FlipMyFunnel conference, where I first met them. As a company who is just beginning to take their technology out of the lab and into the market, focus is everything.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferdavis/2018/09/10/5-ways-to-focus-on-the-buyer-and-their-journey/#10360c177c53/
