MarketStar Blog

Your customers have taken matters into their own hands, literally and figuratively. With the help of portable devices, they research their products online, seek reviews from their friends on social media networks, scout the web for coupons, visit stores and browse using in-store mobile apps, decide to buy it online instead because of lucrative deals.

To blog or not to blog, when tweeting seems so sweet! Many companies fall into the trap of relying solely on microblogging as their digital marketing and PR strategy. Blogging, however, should be the cornerstone of your efforts, with microblogging supporting it. Here are six compelling reasons why blogging should take precedence over tweeting: 

Product marketing is all about demonstrating the value of your product to prospective customers and building a relationship with them to stand out from the competition. That said, a successful product marketer needs a complete product marketing strategy so that customers can connect with the product. 

A good product marketing strategy ensures that the product is aligned to customer needs, is well-positioned in the market and that there’s a marketing communication plan in place to spread the word. 

The following are the five essential elements of a successful product marketing strategy:1 

It was the year 2016. The campaign was a brand index and a new customer survey. The results were astounding – 90%1 of the respondents acknowledged that they have used social media in some way to talk to a brand directly. Also, over one-third of them divulged that they preferred social media over other traditional channels like phone and email.  

That was 2016! Imagine how it is today. 

Social media has come of age in recent years. Though it was conceptualized as a networking platform, over the years, it doubled up as a business development tool. Today, it’s redefining the way customer service is delivered, thanks to its influence and penetration. 

If a business is heavily counting on the traditional contact center approach, it’s time they pull up their socks. Customers are fatigued with the traditional call center approach in which waiting times are getting longer. They now seek instant answers, and that’s where social media comes to their rescue. So, should ‘trings’ become ‘clicks’? Not at all. This is the age of multi-channel customer service, and adding social media to the contact center is a call that’s worth taking. Here’s a quick rundown on the benefits of social customer service: 

Remarketing is a form of online display advertising which allows advertisers to recapture previously abandoned purchase intent. Unconverted visitors are brought back to the site with the help of relevant targeted creative. 

Losing customers is more than just a revenue loss—it can negatively impact your brand’s reputation and future sales. Dissatisfied customers are more vocal than satisfied ones, with Americans sharing a poor service experience with an average of 15 people, compared to 11 people for a positive experience¹. On social media, this dissatisfaction spreads even further, damaging a company’s credibility and influencing potential buyers. 

However, there’s a silver lining—winning back lost customers can be easier and more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. According to Harvard Business Review, these customers have already shown interest in your product or service, making them better candidates than cold leads². They also recognize your brand, so there’s no need for an introduction, reducing the effort required to bring them back. 

Something that started as a nice-to-have channel has now overtaken other traditional channels of consumer interaction and purchase. Customers are searching for vendor information, checking user reviews, making purchases on the go with the help of mobile devices. The latest mobile usage statistic by WebDam shows that 1.4 billion people own and use smartphones globally; that is 1 in 7 people worldwide! According to a projection by ComScore, monthly data consumption by an individual using a smartphone will increase from 150MB in 2011 to 2.6GB in 2016. Mobile devices have changed the way customers think and purchase and this is evident more than ever in the year 2014.

I’ve been spending a lot of time supporting demand generation efforts for several large B2B and B2C businesses – with lead nurturing center stage. When organizations hear the value proposition behind nurturing, they can’t hold back their excitement and jump blindly into the initiative.

According to Frost & Sullivan, customer experience (CX) is set to overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator by 2020. Companies that offer personalized and seamless experiences are gaining a competitive edge, making CX a top priority for business leaders worldwide. 

Virtual Reality (VR) has been hailed as a revolutionary technology, promising to transform the way marketers engage with their audiences. The hype surrounding VR often suggests that its adoption is straightforward and without significant challenges. However, integrating VR into your marketing strategy requires thoughtful preparation and consideration of potential obstacles.