digital

Evaluating digital performance

What damage is caused by using bad metrics in digital marketing?

To improve the impact of digital marketing and undo the damage caused by using inadequate metrics, we must find a high-margin, transactional product to sell and market. Currently, a major issue with e-mail marketing is the optimisation around transactional metrics rather than emotional metrics. It’s important to point out that learning from digital marketing mistakes is not always easy or straightforward. I think it’s essential to exercise caution in this aspect and change our focus towards emotional engagement in order to obtain more effective results.

“Making mistakes is something everyone does. Learning from them is not. ”
— Burrellism

Wider performance marketing

To improve the impact of digital marketing and undo the damage caused by using inadequate metrics, we must find a high-margin, transactional product to sell and market. Currently, a major issue with e-mail marketing is the optimisation around transactional metrics rather than emotional metrics. It's essential to exercise caution in this aspect and shift our focus towards emotional engagement for more effective results. I think one should find an high margin, transactional product to sell and market, and then use good metrics to optimise its performance.

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Unlocking growth

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The job of a salesperson is straightforward, their job is to listen to understand what’s the most important thing for their buyer and then help them get that. Unfortunately, most technology today is not built to provide your buyers with the experience they want and need, just image if your sales team could unlock their performance and become top sales professionals and deliver essential insights to their buyers in those critical moments. This may be the difference between winning and losing because if you don’t partner with buyers and guide them through their journey, you will lose deals to competitors. 

 

We will be selling in digital, virtual, and online spaces more often in the future, and these spaces are noisier and more polluted than ever. This digital pollution costs both you and your sales team time, attention, and productivity, also it affects your ability to reach and engage with the decision makers who matter most to your sales success. How do you fight through it and reach the right people? How can you grow relationships, reputations and revenues? For answers contact me via e-mail and let’s have a meeting.

“The architect of the universe did not build a staircase leading to nowhere!”
— Burrellism
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What is the Future for Bricks & Mortar Retailers?

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New technologies are also vastly transforming consumers' shopping experience. Today's smart consumers are a lot savvier than earlier generations, after being exposed to a multitude of options offline and online and are empowered to make informed decisions via "word-of-mouth" recommendations and online reviews. Traditional models of cultivating customer relationship via physical stores are being disrupted. Retailers must understand that the line between e-commerce and in-store shopping is non-existent in the consumer's mind. Therefore, merging the e-commerce experience with the in-store shopping and vice versa will allow the brand to get to know their customers' behaviour better, whilst also delivering an elevated experience that is not currently offered by your competitors.

Too many consumers still want to touch, feel and try-on before they buy, so in my opinion bricks and mortar stores are not going to disappear. And, besides, there is nothing like shopping and building friendships, passing time and simply indulging in the atmosphere of "what if, even if I can't!" Today's consumers are seeking personalised, data-driven services, as entertaining, memorable buying experiences can never be replaced with online shopping.

Going forward stores will need to build a "community", take more risks, look at their relationships with employees and stakeholders, reinvent training and embrace unexpected partnerships. With the establishment of e-tailing, physical retailers now must realise that they are competing with leisure experience (e.g. trips to the cinema or live sporting events), for a share of the consumer's valuable time. Eventually, stores will change from being a distribution channel to a media channel.

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Retailers must aim to create an environment in which customers who come into their stores leave feeling a greater connection to the brand, and these connections will be built via the creation of experiences. Retailers should use technology, education and entertainment as the tools that serve as the foundation for the brand. This will enable them to connect with their customers and create lasting impressions that will keep them coming back. The hard work of managing this implementation along with your staff may require some external help.

Omni-channel marketing refers to a significant shift where marketers now need to create a consistent, unified, seamless approach across all communication channels, e.g. direct mail, advertising, events, web, mobile, call centre services, etc. These channels need to be fused into a single approach and each piece of the consumer's experience should be consistent and complementary.

Today, too many sales staff see e-commerce as competition rather than an ally. Perhaps it should be a looked upon as a halfway house, a mix between digital and physical models. Both Amazon and Warby Parker (eyewear) started as online ventures, but now have e-commerce and physical stores where consumers can try merchandise out before going on to place their order online rather than carrying their purchases home with them.

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Privacy issues are a major concern now, but it is not slowing down the Personal Information Economy (PIE). If a customer thinks that it will benefit them financially or in service terms, they will surrender personal data to credit card companies, Google and their favoured brands and stores. Plus, more and more retailers are offering digital e-receipts – "Can we e-mail you your receipt?" – allowing them to track trending products, buying history and even customer moments.

A future scenario will see a consumers' who are connected to their retailer account when entering a store, beacon technology will be able to provide the sales assistant with their purchasing history, preferred brands and the option to send personalised discounts and promotions to the customer's smartphone. Such technology will also track where shoppers move quickly and where they linger, enabling retailers to make informed decisions about store layout. Staging experiences, embracing omnichannel and mining data are the new credos for physical retailers who want to lead the game.