Posted by Becky Bornstein on February 20th 2012 | 0 comments
The key to an effective campaign is creative ideas facilitated by preparation and execution. No matter if you are working on a PR plan, social media plan or overall marketing plan, all of the essential components and fundamentals are the same. Below are the key components you will need to create a strong marketing plan.
Extensive research. Your first step should be research on the product, the brand, the company, the target consumer, the competition and of course an analysis of current metrics.- Do a SWAT analysis. This is a great tool because it evaluates the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT). It’s easy to follow and explain to anyone at your company.
- After doing the analysis, list out your objectives. Then list out your strategies and how you will complete them to meet your objectives.
- Create a timeline to help you stay on track with your marketing plan. Create milestones that you can refer back to and make sure everything is being executed on time.
- Don’t forget to measure. Create a list of things that you will be measuring, how they will be tracked and what the expected results are. This will help fine tune future plans.
As you can see most of the tactics above are pretty common. But a few of them tend to be forgotten such as measurement and the list of objectives. People usually go straight into the strategies and never list the objectives. It’s important to separate them out. And it’s important to always remember measurement tools so that you know how well you plan worked and what can be tweaked.
What other tactics would you add to the list above?
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Posted by Becky Bornstein on February 16th 2012 | 0 comments
Mobile marketing is gaining momentum very quickly. It’s important that when you are in your planning phase of your marketing plan to make sure you not only list things that need to be done, but also list out things that shouldn’t be done. There are plenty of companies that have come before all of us and made mistakes that we can learn from . Below are some of the top things to avoid regarding mobile marketing:
Solve a problem via mobile marketing. Do some research on your target audience and see where they need some help. See if you can use mobile marketing to help solve their problems.- Make sure the landing page is mobile friendly. You don’t want people having trouble reading your content because if they are having a hard time then they are most likely to give up and not even read your message.
- Test the mobile application, make the changes necessary and test it again before launching it. You don’t want to have to remove the application and fix problems that could have been solved if proper testing was done. Also, if there are glitches then it’s going to reflect poorly on your company.
It’s great that companies are getting into new channels of marketing. New channels allow companies to increase their reach and gain more insight on what their consumers are looking for. The best way to find out what channels work for your company is to test them out. When testing these different methods make sure to do a detailed research on the method, so common mistakes can be avoided and you get the best possible results.
Has mobile marketing been effective for your company?
Posted by Becky Bornstein on February 13th 2012 | 0 comments
At DataSource we believe that one of the most important steps when working with a client is the assessment and planning stage. This is one of the first steps where we establish a benchmark so that we can set realistic targets and goals. We analyze your business processes and procedures to understand your current business environment in order to provide recommendations that are specific with target and cost savings objectives. We have worked with many clients throughout the years and we have found a set of questions that are really key to this portion of the assessment. They will help tailor the recommendations we offer. Below are the top 10 assessment questions that we have found most useful:
What current processes does your company have in place? What processes are actually used?- What are each processes used for? And who is involved with each process?
- When is the last time you evaluated your processes?
- Who keeps the processes updated?
- What are the top 5 issues you are currently facing?
- What is good about your current process?
- What are 3 specific goals you would like to attain?
- When do you want everything set up by?
- How do you currently measure your productivity?
- Are your current processes aligned with your overall business strategy?
There are a ton of other questions and evaluations that we preform. But these questions are a great place to start the process and get an introduction into the company that you are going to be working with. Data Source conducts a complete supply chain analysis so that we can maximize your cost reduction potential. Industry-specific assessments can be conducted for the commercial, restaurant/hospitality, and automotive industries.
What other questions would you add to the list?
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Posted by Becky Bornstein on February 9th 2012 | 0 comments
Large companies that are trying to save time and money usually do outsourcing procurement. Procurement requires a great deal of focus on cost saving, profit maximization and compliance. Often good procurement strategies can be the difference between a successful company and an unsuccessful company. The good thing s that a procurement outsourcer can leverage a company’s economies of scale and have the experience and trained staff that cut costs and enhance efficiencies. Larger companies are not the only one reaping the benefits; smaller companies are also outsourcing procurement to take advantage of external structures and expertise.
If you have been researching procurement and trying to decide if it’s a good choice to outsource for your company then read the tips below. Below is a list of benefits of outsourcing procurement that you will want to consider:
- There will be a cost reduction on internal costs such as training and computerization. You will also save time on having to train employees. This will give you more time to focus on more important issues at hand.
- Improved communication between purchasing experts and the company staff. It’s helpful when you have someone on your side that has done business with the other company before and has a relationship. It helps ensure that you are getting the best quality for your money.
- You will get better knowledge on what suppliers are best for certain products and most get the most cost effective solutions.
- You will have a team of highly skilled people that specialize in purchasing which can lead to getting better discounts.
- Transactions cost per purchase are lowered by economies of scale.
These are just a few of the many benefits. But there are always two sides to a story some of the cons that you may hear about include less control internally and having to manage an outside company. It all depends on what you are looking for and what works best for your company today. What other questions would you like us to address about procurement.
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Posted by Becky Bornstein on February 6th 2012 | 0 comments
A key component to creating a strong management system is the planning and assessment phase. In this phase detailed research will be done about a company, there will be internal and external surveys and various observations. The survey is a very important aspect because it gives you insight into what your internal team is thinking and what your customers think. It’s essential that the right types of questions are asked in the right form. Below are some key tips to creating an effective survey that we have found very useful in our process at DataSource.
Keep it short and simple. You don’t want people to get tired of answering questions and just fill in the blanks without giving it much thought.- Ask relevant questions and provide answer choices that are relevant as well. Keep it simple and to the point.
- Try to avoid open-ended questions. This takes too more time to answer and people are more likely to skip these types of questions.
- Don’t add complicated tables or multiple choice questions. Always remember that you need to make sense of your survey data in the end. For example, if you offer too many multiple choice options the data becomes more difficult to analyze.
- If you ask personal questions, always put a disclaimer saying why you want this information and how it will be used.
We hope that these tips are helpful for you as you create your own survey. This tips can be used for anytime of survey. The main things to remember are make it easy for your target audience to fill out and that it’s in a format that you can easily work with on the back end. What other tips do you have to add to the list above?
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Posted by Becky Bornstein on February 2nd 2012 | 0 comments
More people are using their mobile devices to check their emails each day. The percentage of people using mobile devices to access their emails or Internet is way over 50%. This is why it’s important to think ahead and start preparing your mobile email strategy. One of the biggest mistakes I see is people will create an email strategy, get all the design work done and then when they are in the testing phase realize that the email doesn’t render properly on the phone. This delays the launch date because the designer has to go back and in change the layout. But, before jumping the gun and launching your mobile email strategy there are some things you will want to review beforehand to make sure you need it.
Is your current content suited for mobile? It is not need to design all your messages for mobile. In order to find out what types of content should be created for mobile you are going to have to test and measure the results. Not everyone uses mobile devices and even those that do still check their emails via desktop from time to time. Don’t forget that mobile email design can change some of the fundamentals. It’s more than just the brief copy, streamlined navigation and narrow table columns. Links and buttons must be easy to read and navigate.- Do your research and find our exactly how many people in your target audience are using mobile devices to access emails and the Internet. There are several tracking services that can help you track activity, audience segmentation, types of devices and the response activity. You might also consider offering a mobile option in your preference center to help you gauge how popular mobile is for your specific audience.
- Revise your copy so that it is tight and to the point. Usually people are on the go when reading emails via phone so you want to make sure the copy is captivating. Segmenting mobile email messages from your overall email campaign can be very beneficial, provided you identify where mobility is a differentiator and then adapt your content to the small screen.
What was your biggest lesson when launching a mobile email strategy?
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Posted by Becky Bornstein on January 28th 2012 | 0 comments
Have you been to a trade show recently and realized that you didn’t get many new prospects or if you did their contact information wasn’t completed? This is a huge problem that many companies see after the fact, so it’s very important to plan ahead so that you don’t fall into the same situation. There are many ways to use automated marketing tactics to help you capture the data you need in order to increase sales. Below are 3 ways you can leverage data from corporate events by using automated marketing tactics.
- Most people will register online before coming to an event. This is the perfect opportunity to customize your registration form to answer questions you may have about your target audience. This will also help you prepare better for the evening knowing what your audience is wanting to see/hear.
- Keep track of how your target audience digest the information that your provide. Today’s technology allows marketers to determine which attendees downloaded white papers, demos or other marketing collateral. You can also learn how your materials are being received by reviewing the discussions that occur between attendees on social media platforms.
- Review the data that you collected carefully. You will get to know exactly what worked and what didn’t. Use the information you attain to help improve your next corporate event/trade show you attend.
As you can see there are many ways to use your data to help you improve your marketing efforts and increase sales for you company. The data you collect with allow you to create targeted marketing campaigns that address your target audience’s needs. Make sure to start planning this portion of your event strategy about 6 months in advance so you can make sure there is nothing missing and you attain all the information you need.
How have you been leveraging you data?
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Posted by Becky Bornstein on January 27th 2012 | 0 comments
Fulfillment and distribution are, quite literally, where the rubber meets the road with supply chain management. You need to find warehouse and distribution centers that provide turnkey solutions and flexibility in meeting your kitting, fulfillment and distribution needs. If you have been considering outsourcing your warehousing 2012, below are a list of reason why it is definitely a good idea.
If you don’t have the capabilities to maintain a distribution center- You can avoid capital expenditures for equipment, software, and infrastructure
- It can improve your business’s fulfillment and supply chain processes
- Gain a competitive advantage over your competitors through the use of supply chain professionals
- Reap the benefits from advanced technologies and warehousing software without having to make a huge investment
- Reduce shipment times and increase reliability
- Increase inventory control and lower cost in lead generation
The most important thing to do is take a thorough look at your company’s needs and the goals they are trying to accomplish. See if outsourcing is really a service that will help give you the competitive advantage you have been searching for. As stated above the main reason for going outside your company is to acquire an expertise, talent and resources that you do not have internally. The benefit in doing this is that you will have more time to focus on your expertise and fine-tune that so you will be able to provide the best quality is service and product.
Do you outsource you warehousing?
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Posted by Becky Bornstein on January 26th 2012 | 0 comments
Did you know that B2B mobile marketing spending will quadruple over the next five years, rising from $26 million in 2009 to $106 million in 2014, according to Forrester Research? If you haven’t already started integrating mobile marketing into your strategy it is best that you start planning now. Mobile marketing is growing larger by the day. More and more consumers are turning to their mobile devices for information instead of their laptops or desktop computers. Below are some ways to help you get started with making your strategy mobile friendly:
The first and most important this to do is make sure your website is optimized for mobile devices. And then make sure that all your email, blogs and other marketing materials are also optimized.- Make sure to consider mobile users when creating content. For example, if you are writing a blog post, you may want to leave out a video because it may not work with the person’s mobile device and instead provide a photo with a description to get your point across.
- Use a centralized location for your content. Instead of publishing it in a specific channel, you may want to put it in a central location (web site or database) and then point your channels to that content or broadcast it from that content source. That way you can announce or display the content in your various marketing channels such as email campaigns, social networks, mobile apps, blogs, text messages, etc.
As you can see there is definitely a lot of planning that needs to be done ahead of time. Also, remember to test your new marketing strategies. You will never know how it’s going to work until you try it. Mobile is still in it early stages and growing so there is a lot of learning to be done. And always track your results so you have solid proof on what works and what doesn’t work. Have you started incorporating mobile marketing into your strategy?
Posted by Becky Bornstein on January 26th 2012 | 0 comments
When was the last time that you reviewed your marketing content strategy? Many times we get caught up in just getting pieces out so quickly that we forget to take a close look at the content we are sending out. You may not be getting the same results as when you first started your efforts because people are tired of reading the same thing over. Or you may have never reached your goals because people were not responding well to the content from the get go. If these two scenarios sound familiar then it’s definitely time to take a look at your marketing content. Below are some helpful tips for revamping your marketing content to achieve better results:
Create content with your target audience in mind. In order to make sure you do this accurately, create a detailed persona of every target consumer type you want to reach. Be sure that persona includes demographics and anything you know about their needs, likes, and content consuming habits.- Decide on where you will make the content available. As you plan your content and who you are writing for, think about the best way to deliver that information. Is the content best delivered as a whitepaper or blog post? Depending on the platforms you pick the content will need to be adjusted accordingly.
- Delegate one person that will be in charge of writing/editing all of your content to maintain consistency in tone. You can always delegate topics to different people in the company so that you are producing high quality, relevant post consistently. This will also help ensure that you are writing for all the needs of your various target audiences. One of the best processes is to have a checklist with standards, so that they person in charge doesn’t miss anything.
The best marketing and business decisions are guided by a strategy and plan so your content marketing is no exception. You need to create a strategy to be successful. Your content helps you engage with your target audiences, get found online, build credibility, and generate new customers so give it the attention it deserves. Do you have a content strategy?
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