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Archives for April 2014

Delivering Brand Experiences the Southwest Airlines Way

southwest airlinesSouthwest Airlines has been a leader in integrating social media into its corporate culture for years. The Nuts About Southwest blog achieved notoriety years ago as a great example of employees being given the opportunity to advocate a brand. As a result, Southwest Airlines developed a well-known reputation as the “anti-big” airline. The brand is fun and more approachable than larger competitors, and that brand image is carried through both internally and externally. Just spend some time on Southwest Airlines’ social media accounts and you’ll get a feel for the brand’s personality very quickly.

With that reputation in mind, it’s not surprising to find that a recent video of a Southwest Airlines flight attendant energizing the pre-flight safety announcement with humor was recorded and went viral. Consumers who were already familiar with the Southwest Airlines brand image felt more connected to the brand. It reflected the brand experience they’ve come to expect from Southwest Airlines. For consumers who were not familiar with the Southwest Airlines brand, the video introduced them to the airline’s unique brand personality by giving them a front row seat to the real Southwest Airlines brand experience.

You can watch the video below. After you watch it, ask yourself how closely your brand image and personality are integrated into your company culture? Is the integration strong enough that employees are able to and encouraged to live that brand personality and deliver the promise of the brand in every customer interaction and brand experience? Today, brands that leverage their employees as brand advocates are at a significant advantage in the competitive marketplace. However, you can’t simply tell employees what your brand personality, image, and promise are and expect them to support the brand and live the brand promise. They need to believe in the brand enough to want to advocate it just as consumers have to believe in the brand enough to want to buy it.

Give your employees a reason to believe in your brand by developing a corporate culture that delivers the 3 Es:

  • Educates them about the brand promise, image, and personality.
  • Encourages them to live the brand promise by integrating it into your corporate culture and code of ethics.
  • Enables them to advocate the brand through online and offline interactions.

Image: Aero Icarus

Brands and the Disease of Data Paralysis – The 3-Step Cure

marketing big dataIs your brand suffering from data paralysis disease?

Your brand might have data paralysis disease and your business results are already suffering. If you’re slow to take action and unwilling to take risks that can’t be supported by metrics, then your brand will suffer from data paralysis disease.

Don’t worry. It’s curable.

The first step to curing data paralysis disease is recognizing the symptoms listed above. Once you admit that your brand has a problem, you can make the necessary changes to cure it.

Step 1: Accept the existence of conflicting data.

In simplest terms, data paralysis happens when brand marketers have access to so much data that they become overwhelmed. They’re incapable of narrowing their focus and distilling real meaning from the data. If a piece of data doesn’t fit their expectations, decisions come to a grinding halt.

If there is so much information in your way that you can’t move forward, then you’re enabling conflicting data to paralyze your brand. To cure your brand of data paralysis, you need to learn how to avoid getting so caught up in the details that you can’t see the big picture.

Step 2: Accept that numbers can lie.

Data can be massaged to tell a wide variety of stories. Therefore, making decisions based on the data provided to you by other people should be done with consideration for the source.

In other words, don’t believe the first numbers provided to you and stop forward momentum on an initiative because that set of data didn’t support its viability. This is self-imposed data paralysis, and you need to be prepared to question the numbers from time to time.

Step 3: Accept that you can’t always wait for data.

Quick decision-making is what separates an agile business that can seize opportunities from the pack. Data takes time to compile and analyze, so it’s critical that you have a constant flow of data through marketing automation and an experienced and intelligent analyst team.

However, you can’t always wait for all of the data to come in. The best leaders know that part of business success often ties to risk-taking, and that might mean making decisions before you have access to all of the numbers.

To cure your brand of data paralysis disease, you need to recognize the limitations and opportunities that data provides, but don’t forget the human element required to effectively analyze that data and make decisions based on it (or without it).

Image: lustfish

The Gap Between Brand Marketers, Agencies, and Customer Lifetime Value

mind-the-gapWhat tactics are most effective to improve customer lifetime value for brands? That’s one of the questions Econsultancy and Sitecore aimed to answer in their recent research study, Customer Lifetime Value: Building Loyalty and Driving Revenue in the Digital Age.

In a study of both brand marketers and agencies, primarily from the United Kingdom (45%) and in other parts of Europe (22%), it was revealed that while there is consensus on the importance of building customer lifetime value, there is great disparity in how that customer lifetime value should be developed.

The biggest gap was found in how brand marketers and agencies valued the effectiveness of loyalty programs for building customer lifetime value. 31% of agency respondents to the study survey ranked loyalty programs as one of the top three most effective tactics to building customer lifetime value while just 18% of brand marketers ranked loyalty programs in the top three. On the other hand, 42% of brand marketers ranked the effectiveness of improvements to customer services in the top three while just 34% of agencies did the same.

Let’s take a closer look at how tactics stacked up in the minds of brand marketers versus agencies.

Tactics Ranked as Most Effective by More Agencies than Brand Marketers

  • Loyalty program: Agencies = 31% vs. Brand Marketers = 18%
  • Customer segmentation/personas: Agencies = 32% vs. Brand Marketers = 24%
  • Multichannel/omnichannel marketing: Agencies = 21% vs. Brand Marketers = 13%
  • Focus on online experience: Agencies = 27% vs. Brand Marketers = 22%
  • More effective use of data: Agencies = 30% vs. Brand Marketers = 26%

Tactics Ranked as Most Effective by More Brand Marketers than Agencies

  • Improvements to customer services: Brand Marketers = 42% vs. Agencies = 34%
  • Cross-selling/upselling: Brand Marketers = 29% vs. Agencies = 22%
  • Better advertising and flow of messaging: Brand Marketers = 12% vs. Agencies = 9%
  • Improved pricing for repeat purchases: Brand Marketers = 15% vs. Agencies = 13%
  • Subscription models: Brand Marketers = 12% vs. Agencies = 11%
  • Increased investment in marketing technologies: Brand Marketers = 10% vs. Agencies = 9%

Interestingly, 34% of brand marketers and 34% of agencies rated personalized interactions (via email or online) as one of the top three most effective tactics for improving customer lifetime value.

The gap between how brand marketers and agencies view the effectiveness of tactics used to build customer lifetime value is concerning because the misalignment in thinking can lead to miscommunications, frustration, increased time required to implement programs, and decreased results. Brand marketers must ensure the agency they work with isn’t pushing their own agenda but rather supporting the brand’s goals in the most effective ways possible. At the same time, brand marketers need to stay open to new ideas, new tactics, and the evolving world of marketing and consumer behaviors.

Bottom-line, there has never been a more critical time for brand marketers to build open, agile, and honest relationships with agencies. Take the time to determine if gaps exist between the way you and your agency think—not just about building customer lifetime value, but about all aspects of your marketing strategy and opportunities. Navigate through those gaps with your agency, and your short-term and long-term results should improve. As a result, customer lifetime value should improve, too.

What do you think?

Image: Philip Jackson

Facebook Gets More Ad Spending but Twitter Gets More Clicks

money social media ad spendingTwitter ads get more clicks, but most brand marketers are still spending far more of their digital advertising budgets on Facebook ads. That finding comes from new research by Resolution Media (an Omnicom company) in its first annual Social Trends Report and is similar to results of Social Bakers’ State of Social Media Marketing and Advertising 2014 report. However, advertisers are ramping up their Twitter ad spending considerably.

Resolution Media analyzed 2013 ad performance data from social ad campaigns of over 20 of its clients. These clients represented over $37 million in social media ad spending on Facebook and Twitter during 2013. Companies analyzed represent some of the biggest and most recognized brands in the world, including Pepsi, McDonald’s and HP, and they come from seven industry categories: consumer packaged goods, business and consumer services, financial services, technology, retail, media, and tourism and hospitality.

The research found that brand marketers invested 127% more on Facebook ads in 2013 than Twitter ads, but Twitter ad performance is improving and Twitter ad rates are dropping, making it far more attractive to advertisers. The Resolution Media report also notes that Twitter ads are being integrated directly into consumers’ lives, particularly through real-time television integration. In the fourth quarter of 2013, the 20 clients analyzed by Resolution Media increased their Twitter ad spending by 361%. Facebook spending increased during the fourth quarter as well but at a smaller growth rate of 211%.

However, all news isn’t great for Twitter ads. A separate report released recently by Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. found that 40% of Twitter users believed they had never seen an ad on Twitter, and three out of four Twitter users who recall seeing ads on the platform think the ads they’ve seen are irrelevant to them.

What This Means for Brand Marketers

Facebook has a considerably larger audience than Twitter (over 1 billion monthly users for Facebook versus fewer than 300 million per month for Twitter). Facebook advertising has also been around longer than Twitter advertising. Both are viable options and Twitter advertising should continue to become more attractive as advertising opportunities on the platform continue to be refined and expanded. However, Twitter and Facebook have evolved in recent years. They are very different sites today, and they attract different types of people for different uses.

With that in mind, the data from the experiences of these 20 brands isn’t necessarily indicative of what your brand would experience on either Twitter or Facebook. Both of these sites’ audiences are maturing, and it’s more important than ever to match the message, offer, and experience to the platform and audience. For years, marketers have talked about the future as a time when a mobile-first strategy will be critical. We’re getting close to that time, but one thing is certain. We’re definitely already at a time when platform-first is a strategic imperative in much of our tactical marketing implementation.

What do you think?

Image: Svilen Milev

Twitter Ads Are Irrelevant to 4 out of 5 Users

twitter eggsNew research from Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. reveals interesting insights into Twitter users’ behaviors and perceptions that brands need to understand. The study found that nearly half of active Twitter users are very engaged and use the platform more than once per day. In fact, daily average use of Twitter isn’t far behind Facebook’s daily average use.

More than one out of two Twitter users (51%) want to learn about news and related events when they visit the platform. Furthermore, more than one out of three Twitter users (37%) use the social media platform to find interesting content and articles. In other words, Twitter isn’t just a communications and broadcasting tool. It’s very much a content discovery tool, which is very important for brands to understand and consider during the development of content marketing and social media marketing strategies.

Two areas of the study results are most important to brands: mobile and advertising. Let’s look at the results in both areas in more detail.

Mobile Twitter Usage and What It Means for Brands

More than three out of four Twitter users (76%) use the platform via mobile devices. Nearly 72% of active Twitter users access the site using mobile apps while more than 13% use Twitter mobile websites. Only 58% access the site via desktop or laptop.

The Takeaway: For brands, this means you need to create content and promotions that are mobile-friendly. Make sure links in tweets and ads lead to landing pages are mobile-optimized.

Twitter Advertising and What Brands Need to Know

Nearly two out of three Twitter users (60%) responded to the Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. survey stating that they have seen an ad on Twitter, but 40% stated that they have never seen ad ad on Twitter. That means one of two things—either ads are so unobtrusive that Twitter users simply don’t realize that they’re ads or Twitter users really aren’t seeing those ads.

The study also found that of those Twitter users who have seen ads, 83% of them do not believe that the ads they’ve seen on Twitter are relevant or useful to them.

The Takeaway: For brands, these findings mean that Twitter advertising investments are unlikely to drive the return on investment they need. Fortunately, Twitter has introduced more audience targeting features to its advertising options. It is imperative that brands use those targeting tools to increase the relevancy and usefulness of Twitter ads so the audience notices them and takes action.

You can follow the link at the beginning of this article to read the full report from Deutsche Bank Market Research.

Image: Garrett Heath

Inc. 500 Rank LinkedIn as Social Media Platform of Choice

inc 500In the United States, the Inc. 500 is a list published every year by Inc. Magazine of the 500 fastest growing private companies in the country. Business people, investors, analysts—they all want to know what makes these companies tick. In 2007, the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth launched the first of its annual reviews of the use of social media by the Inc. 500. Now, the results for 2013 are available.

For the second year in a row, Inc. 500 executives ranked LinkedIn as the preferred platform with usage growing to 88% of companies in the Inc. 500. Facebook ranked second (84%) followed by Twitter (74%), Google+ (58%), blogging (52%), YouTube (50%), Pinterest (33%), Foursquare (23%), and Instagram (18%). Overall, 95% of Inc. 500 companies are using at least one social media platform.

Results of the study revealed surprises in three areas: social commerce, mobile, and reputation monitoring. Let’s take a closer look at each.

Social Commerce

While LinkedIn is the preferred social media platform for the Inc. 500, 61% believe that Twitter has the most potential for social commerce and actual sales growth. Facebook ranked second (55%) followed by Pinterest (31%). Despite the belief that social commerce is growing, only 45% of Inc. 500 companies are tracking social sales. Companies that are not currently tracking social sales are unlikely to do so in 2014. Not even one out of three (29%) of those companies plan to start tracking social commerce in the next year.

Mobile

Although mobile web traffic surpassed desktop traffic for the first time earlier this year, only two out of three Inc. 500 companies have added mobile features to connect with mobile consumers. While 92% have optimized their company websites for mobile audiences, only one in four (25%) offer mobile apps and just 19% are using text message marketing.

Reputation Monitoring

Online reputation monitoring is extremely important today. Consumers turn to social media to complain, ask questions, and make purchase decisions. They expect brands to be present, and social media is becoming the go-to place for customer service for more consumers every day. However, only 39% of Inc. 500 companies have a plan in place to monitor brand reputation attacks and disasters online. In 2012, 54% of Inc. 500 companies had social media disaster response plans in place! In fact, only 59% of Inc. 500 companies monitor their brand, product, and company names online, which is down from 70% in 2012.

Furthermore, the number of Inc. 500 companies that have social media policies in place to guide employee online behavior related to the companies, brands, and products is also down. In 2009, 36% of Inc. 500 companies had social media policies, but in 2013, that number dropped to 31%.

Based on this lack of concern and prioritization of brand reputation management online, it shouldn’t be surprising to hear that one out of five Inc. 500 companies don’t have social media plans of any kind in place. Of those companies that do have social media plans, more than one out of two include social media efforts as part of the company’s overall marketing and/or business plan. Just 13% have standalone social media plans.

Bottom-line

The Inc. 500 might be the fastest growing companies in the United States, but they’re balancing precariously close to brand reputation problems that could escalate into full-scale disasters by failing to prioritize social media and to develop appropriate policies and procedures to advocate the brand, monitor it, and effectively respond to threats (and opportunities).

What do you think?

Image: CPXi