MarketStar Blog

In an amazingly short span of a couple or so years, Cloud Computing has become an integral, perhaps even the most vital part of an enterprise’s IT Strategy. It has helped free-up a huge chunk of the IT from the constrictions of legacy software and hardware licensing data center models, and has opened, revolutionized and to an extent democratized the way IT delivers services and how the users access information, applications and business services. 

But with the ever-increasing impact the cloud has on IT, there’s also a palpable confusion about how its full value to business can be harnessed, mainly because of the continuous and rapid evolution of the cloud and its related technologies and the growing flux of vendors using portentous hyperbolic marketing speak to sell their cloud solutions. 

That is why it is essential for businesses to continually monitor computing trends to keep updating and adapting their cloud strategies to evade expensive oversights or encash market opportunities over the coming years.

It’s being called nothing less than the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”1. And in terms of uncovering the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT), it seems the limits are defined only by our collective imaginations. Indeed, as one Forbes.com article argues, “The most important thing to do when considering how the Internet of Things will affect your business is to think bigger—much bigger.”2 And what applies to our businesses applies just as much to our individual lives. 

Welcome to the next generation of digital business, where predictive marketing powered by artificial intelligence and advanced analytics is revolutionizing the way we connect with customers. As a B2B marketer, you know that the traditional methods of marketing are no longer sufficient. Today’s customers are more informed and discerning, and their buying journey is more complex than ever. So, how do you stay ahead of the curve? The answer lies in predictive marketing. 

The obvious goal of an internet marketing campaign is lead generation converting to customer acquisition and retention. In order to build a successful online marketing strategy and keep it on the right track, constant monitoring and acknowledging customer feedback should be the thumb rule. Furthermore, it is essential to choose the most cost-effective and relevant plan that can assure maximum ROI. Pushing the boundaries of web technology should be the ultimate motive of any internet marketing tactic in order to achieve valuable leads.

Emailers have been a favorite tool of marketers. But in recent years, with inboxes getting clogged by more and more promotional mailers, they may be losing their effectiveness. In fact, with fewer respondents checking their work and personal email than last year (down 17% and 25% per week respectively) and 35% of personal emails going unopened by consumers, as shown in a study done by Adobe amongst European consumers, the need to supplement emailers with other marketing tools has never been more important. 

As myriad reports and surveys suggest, the future of marketing is going to be shaped by new digital tools like Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). So it’s time we started discussing how and where marketers could use these tools to help better market their products. 

With the Google Hummingbird update, one thing that is evident is that good quality content which enriches and supplements a customer’s decision-making process is the key to ranking high in search engine rankings and resulting in high search traffic. Importance of link-building, keyword stuffing has diminished profusely but having said that keyword research is still crucial since customers find and engage with brands using search engines. 

The key is to have a search strategy which targets buyers at different stages of the purchase cycle. Having a uniform search strategy for all your customers regardless of their place in the purchase funnel is like designing the same shoe regardless of a customer’s shoe size. With personalization and targeting becoming a necessity for customer acquisition and retention, search marketers must ensure that their organic search strategy facilitates the advancement of the customer’s purchase journey. 

The first step is to conduct keyword research and target different keywords for different stages of the purchase funnel. The first step is to conduct appropriate keyword research and find keywords with a good monthly search volume but relatively low competition. This can be done using tools such as Google Keyword Planner Tool or the wordtracker keyword tool.

The rise of the subscription-based economy has fundamentally changed the way businesses operate. Customers today prefer access over ownership, opting for on-demand services rather than committing to long-term product ownership. This shift places the burden of ongoing value delivery on businesses—customers will only renew subscriptions if they consistently see value. In this landscape, customer retention is more critical than ever, and tracking customer health is essential for ensuring long-term success. 

At a time when 97% of global consumers1 say that customer service is somewhat important or very important in their choice of and loyalty to a brand, you can’t afford to overlook this aspect of your business. Many businesses recognize this and, upon evaluating their customer service practices, realize that their current approach falls short of meeting ever-rising consumer expectations.

After 28 years in the world of Sales as a Service™, MarketStar has forged many lasting relationships with leaders in our field. We’ve asked Claudio Ayub, a 20-year channel veteran and Chief Channel Strategist of Perks, to discuss his view on improving sales performance through his experience as a loyalty marketing expert with broad knowledge in strategy development, market management, and channel sales planning.