The third point in the this CMO.com article is particularly important for marketers in the Internet Age: “Establishing a unified view of the customer.” Kemp claims that less then 50% of CMOs utilize customer insights, and only 20% have an effective attribution model that allows them to measure performance. What is holding companies back?
http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/conducting-a-marketing-machine-a-finely-tuned-orchestra/231119/
CMO.com article on the effect of marketing metrics on creativity in marketing and advertising. As Sahgal writes, the focus needs to be on the customer and the customer experience. Campaign analytics have provided marketing departments with a tool that can be used to their advantage, but they need to be careful that customer insight doesn’t clash with overarching business goals.
http://www.cmo.com/innovation/technology-killing-creative
Two-part NPR article on big data reveals the potential behind big data analysis, but fails to mention that companies can test into this process too. By starting with smaller data sets, as opposed to the “zetabytes” and “trillions” that the article mentions, companies can create the business processes necessary to make big data insight valuable.
Part 1:
www.npr.org/2011/11/29/142521910/the-digital-breadcrumbs-that-lead-to-big-data
Part 2:
www.npr.org/2011/11/30/142893065/the-search-for-analysts-to-make-sense-of-big-data
An AdAge article reveals that word-of-mouth offline is based more on what’s top of mind, while word-of-mouth online is affected by peer concerns. This throws a stick in social media monitoring metrics, and suggests an increased impact from display advertising as branding.
http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/tips-driving-word-mouth/231159/
November 22nd, 2011 from NY Times
J.P. Morgan director’s claim that the adoption rate for their mobile apps is higher than that of online banking on their website when first offered indicates a shift in customer behaviors and the customer journey for financial services. As demand for financial apps increases, banks should respond with technology that promotes their branded customer experience at risk of losing that control to 3rd party developers (e.g. Mint.com):
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/business/global/with-apps-wealth-management-goes-mobile.html
November 21st, 2011 from AdAge
Direct response media that pushes low prices, and early awareness media that triggers emotional responses, are two aspects of the same customer journey. MakeBuzz founder Christopher Skinner explains why brands need to tell a story and create customer engagement during the holiday season:
http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/storytelling-holiday-season-marketing/231083/
November 18th, 2011 from CMO.com
CMO.com article claims that brands are moving from the “Age of Information (1990 – 2010) to the “Age of the Customer” in which providing a cohesive customer experience will make or break companies. We have been advocates of customer journey marketing for a long time, but think that there is too much of attention placed on social media, when businesses need to focus on optimizing their existing marketing to better connect with the customer.
http://www.cmo.com/branding/pay-heed-age-customer
In a CMO article, Gernert writes, “Marketers...need insights into consumer values and the ability to act in a meaningful way on those insights,” and he’s hits the nail on the head. Brands need to have an in depth understanding of their customers’ behaviors, demographics and values, and a framework to make marketing decisions based on those insights. Investing in research on consumer values is only valuable if it can affect decisions that affect total sales.
http://www.cmo.com/branding/values-based-insights-light-funnel
Social Media as the primary marketing channel works for some industries, such as sports, but not for most. Putting the brand in the hands of the consumer implies an intimate understanding of the customer journey, and how consumers interact with the final product.
So where is the line? For sports brands, even the NFL CMO says putting players Twitter handle on their jerseys is going a bit too far.
http://adage.com/article/news/sports-leagues-put-fans-control/231030/
While navigating through the immense amount of user data in social media, marketers shouldn’t get caught up in individual likes or top tweets. This CMO article suggests that marketers should dig into Facebook top friends, Twitter retweets and Youtube habits, but what is the real business goal here?:
http://www.cmo.com/targeting/social-next-frontier-behavioral-targeting
As Internet penetration rates skyrocket in developing nations, customer behaviors online are going to evolve and change. Lane states: “Freedom of expression now mandates the ability to broadcast that expression to the entire world,”. What does a more connected global network mean for your business?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2011/11/15/the-united-nations-says-broadband-is-basic-human-right/
November 11th, 2011 from AdAge
Cleveland identifies ad agencies reluctance to enter into the “jungle” of new media as a key component in their demise. Agencies have a hard time navigating the new media “jungle” because they don’t understand what MakeBuzz calls the dual customer journey. As ad agencies develop approaches like the “ACRE Matrix” (Attract, Convert, Retain, Engage) it begs the question of bias. How can an agency that profits from media spend honestly counsel their clients on best reaching their customers?
http://adage.com/article/small-agency-diary/agencies-vital-clients-fault/230927/
Moorehead suggests that consumers may move towards a business model where they control the monetization of their digital data such as credit card spend, website visited and demographic characteristics. How would access to specific behaviors of target audiences change marketing practices?
http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/personal-data-oil/230932/