MarketStar Blog

Video marketing has become one of the most sought-after content marketing trends for brands today and it continues to grow at a rapid scale. Cisco’s research1 estimates that “Globally, 70% of all Internet traffic will cross CDNs by 2021”. Moreover, the exponential increase in mobile and tablet users, paired with sufficient availability of distribution platforms, have made it convenient for marketers to drive audience engagement through videos. However, it is imperative to get the technique right to obtain maximum engagement from it. 

Here are 3 things you must do to drive maximum audience engagement through video marketing: 

Programmatic advertising has become one of the most commonly-used forms of media buying simply because it is the most efficient method available. Instead of relying on human salespeople to bid and negotiate for inventory, agencies and brands can now utilize programmatic software instead. 

The benefits of Account-based Marketing (ABM) included an increase both in the number of deals closed and the average size of a deal in ABM accounts but also an increase in the engagement level in ABM accounts. However, only a little over half had an ABM strategy in place. As high as 42% of those who did not have an ABM strategy in place said the reason for that was that they found it difficult to get their marketing and sales teams aligned. This is unfortunate, considering that both teams are internal to an organization. 

When revenue-generating departments don’t speak the same language, it often results in steep financial losses that are easily preventable. The Fortune 250 B2B company that spent a quarter of a million dollars trying to solve the wrong problem would agree.1 After the failure of a new product, the company threw money at product research and sales methodology, when, in fact, the problem was caused by misaligned goals between sales and marketing. 

The symbiotic relationship between sales and marketing finds them both deeply interconnected and yet at odds. According to Forrester research, 78% of executive buyers claim that salespeople do not have relevant examples or case studies to share with them.2 The same is true when marketing has an inflated view of the company’s brand equity on target customers. Yet sales and marketing rarely sit together to plot targets, strategies, and objectives for the year. That is set to change, especially as more businesses go the Account- Based Marketing (ABM) route. 

Snap Inc. lost over $1.3 billion in market value recently when their shares sank by 7.2% following a tweet by Kylie Jenner in which she said that she doesn’t open the app anymore, drawing agreement from her 24.5 million followers1. Now whether Jenner was solely responsible for the decline in share value or whether she only contributed to it, it must be noted that influencers wield a power like never before. 

Last year was the year of influencer marketing with 84% of marketers launching at least one influencer campaign2. That number is only likely to go up this year. Some experts deem that influencer marketing is the fastest growing channel for online customer acquisition. 

Influencers are people, typically on social media, who talk to their captive audience - their tribe - about things that matter to them. Their influence comes from their knowledge and expertise in a particular area. When they talk, people listen. Influencers have the ability to make or break your brand. 

In theory, your channel partners should be eagerly awaiting the chance to utilize the Marketing Development Funds (MDF) made available to them. After all, as far as they’re concerned, it’s essentially free marketing money! However, the reality of the matter is that 60% of marketing development funds are left unused on a quarterly basis. There are a number of reasons why channel partners leave such a large portion of the MDF pie untouched, ranging from excessive paperwork and lack of resources to poor communication with the business and low confidence in them.1, 2 

In the competitive world of business, marketers are increasingly turning their focus to Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). This crucial metric offers insights into the net cumulative profit a customer can generate over their entire relationship with a company. Understanding and enhancing CLV is essential for businesses aiming to boost sales and foster long-term customer relationships. Despite its importance, many marketers fail to fully leverage CLV due to outdated perceptions of customers as mere value-extraction targets rather than value-creating partners. 

My leadership philosophy is a combination of my own experience and that of watching and being mentored by key contributors at MarketStar. What have I learned? A sales leader is an individual who isn’t afraid to roll up their sleeves to accomplish goals and lead their team to success. But we all know leadership takes more than barking orders!  I try to lead my teams with empathy, performance, and transparency as my guideposts. I don’t want to scare new hires away after their first week on the job!

Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovator’s Dilemma, How Will You Measure Your Life?, and other landmark business publications, writes about disruptive innovation. This occurs when smaller companies root a product or service in simple applications at the bottom of a market and relentlessly move up a market, resulting in the displacement of bigger companies. He states that large companies are consistently disrupted by smaller, nimbler, and more aggressive companies that attack a niche—or possibly lower end—of the market.

Itwasn’t too long ago that cloud computing was still a relatively new model of operation. There were serious concerns at the time about the security, legal implications1 and performance2 of the technology, but things have come a long way since then. As time passed and the concerns were gradually addressed, the use of cloud computing spread. Today, it’s firmly established as a mainstream practice. The question is no longer whether utilizing the cloud is a good idea; it’s now a matter of how to best leverage the technology. The answer is simple: adopt a cloud-first approach.

Taking a cloud-first approach means adopting a mindset wherein the cloud will be your first and main consideration before turning to other alternatives for any emergent business requirements such as technological upgrades or workload and data migration. 

Here are a few reasons why it’s time for you to take a cloud-first approach to business: 

1. Cloud Cuts Cost

One of the first benefits associated with the adoption of cloud is cost saving. Provisioning and maintaining your own on-premise hardware is cumbersome, time-intensive and expensive; updating and repairing hardware, along with personnel costs, can quickly nibble away your budget. By opting to move to the cloud, you forgo these expenses in favor of a monthly or usage-based fee paid to your cloud provider, allowing you to enjoy all the benefits that cloud has to offer without worrying about any of the upkeep3. 

2. Scalability is Critical to Success

There will come a time for any budding business when its internal infrastructure can no longer keep up with the increasingly demanding operational requirements. The ability of an organization to quickly adjust to shifting needs is critical to its long-term success. Whether scaling up or down, cloud gives you the flexibility to provision resources as needed. With a usage-based tariff, this allows you to always meet business requirements at minimal cost, keeping operations smooth and efficient3. 

3. Security Issues Have Been Addressed

In its early days, apprehension about cloud computing was widespread and legitimate. The risks of adoption were high; security, in particular, was a big concern for early adopters looking to implement this practice 4. Now that the field has matured, many of the reservations initially held about cloud computing are no longer valid; in fact, security is one of the biggest strengths of the cloud. In fact, according to Gartner, through 2022, at least 95% of cloud security failures will be the customer’s fault. This indicates that the flaws lie not within the technology itself, but in the way it’s used5. 

4. Future-Proofing Your Organization

The cloud has been a disruptive force over the last decade, and the field is set to be the area of focus for further advancement in the foreseeable future. Game-changing innovations that are yet to come will almost certainly be geared toward cloud computing. Taking a cloud-first approach now means that you’ll be perfectly situated to reap maximum benefit from said innovations when they arrive, at minimal cost and restructuring. This will translate to improved agility, streamlined operations and quicker time to market6. 

5. Embracing Mobility

With today’s bring-your-own-device culture in the workplace, cloud adoption is an obvious choice. If an internet connection is available, your employees can work from any location on any device in real time. This level of flexibility means that productivity rarely suffers because of restrictive circumstances7. 

6. Encouraging Innovation

The cloud environment grants you access to all the latest software releases virtually instantaneously, be it new technologies or updates. Such freedom encourages experimentation with little or no downside, which leads to innovation. Trying out new delivery models, leveraging big data, implementing artificial intelligence – the possibilities are limitless, and you might just stumble upon something that works for you and gives you an advantage over competitors8.

It’s clear that cloud computing is here to stay. Organizations that align themselves with the vision of a ‘cloud-first’ approach can expect to reap significant rewards in the not-so-distant future.

Embrace the Future with a Cloud-First Approach

Adopting a cloud-first approach can revolutionize your business, driving cost savings, scalability, security, and innovation. By prioritizing the cloud for your technological needs, you future-proof your organization, enabling flexibility and embracing mobility. The cloud allows for seamless updates and encourages experimentation, setting you up for long-term success. As cloud computing continues to evolve, businesses that embrace this approach will be well-positioned to reap substantial benefits and maintain a competitive edge in the ever-changing marketplace. 

References: 

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.729.163&rep=rep1&type=pdf  

https://ts.data61.csiro.au/publications/nicta_full_text/4387.pdf  

https://nordic-backup.com/blog/benefits-of-cloud-first-strategy-for-business/  

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-computing-cloud-survey/cloud-computing-disappoints-early-adopters-survey-idUSTRE7932G720111004  

https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/is-the-cloud-secure/  

https://www.securityroundtable.org/cloud-first-security-strategy/  

http://www.inteqna.com/blog/4-benefits-of-a-cloud-first-business-strategy  

https://www.ibm.com/blogs/watson/2017/04/beyond-cloud-businesses-need-truly-cloud-first-strategy/

As the sales industry continues its rapid evolution, sales reps will need a higher level of technical competency to sell complex products, services, and solutions. Technology has created a demand for sales teams to stay up to speed on the wants and needs of their customers and the pulse of their respective industries at large. Not only is technology changing how teams operate and interact with their customers, but products are becoming increasingly complex. This requires a rethinking of sales knowledge and skill sets.