| Experts Corner |  Communicating intelligently with existing customers is critical, and marketing spend is heavily weighted towards this pool. But businesses cannot afford to neglect prospecting activity. So, what techniques can businesses adopt to ensure that the search for new customers is both targeted and cost-efficient ?
David Jefferies, Marketing Director, Pitney Bowes
Read more... |
|
| Highlights |
 Getting Off on the Right Foot: Avoiding Common Master Data Management False Starts
Companies wishing to start a master data management (MDM) project may be unsure where and how to begin. After all, MDM is a journey and success or failure at the first step either defines or dooms the further evolution of the project.
by Ravi Shankar, Director of Product Marketing
Read more... | |
|
|
|  |
| Author: By Michael Caccavale, CEO |
| Company: Pluris |
| Doc Type: Article |
|
|
|
| |
| Abstract: Executives have heard the following phrase countless times: marketing needs to get more analytical. The strategies, processes and technologies used to identify, acquire and retain loyal customers, as we now know them, are changing. Companies struggle to find out what makes their customers "tick" while budget constraints make finding the best customers and prospects more difficult. Add to this the barrage of an unprecedented volume of messages across every conceivable channel and the world of marketing becomes a very difficult place. |
| | |
|
| |
|
| |
| Abstract: Until recently, businesses would nod sagely about the need to ‘improve the customer ‘journey’ yet, when it came to taking investment decisions, the harsh reality was that the customer would be all but forgotten in the drive for greater operational efficiencies and a better bottom line. |
| | |
|
| |
|
| |
| Abstract: I recently attended a seminar put on by Pragmatic Marketing entitled “Effective Product Marketing”. The seminar came recommended to me by several colleagues and it did not disappoint.
One of the core learnings of the seminar was how to use buyer personas as the basis of your strategic planning. This concept is nothing new. I can still remember my Marketing 101 professor, Dr. Lauterborn, drill into our heads, "the only sustainable competitive advantage is a superior understanding of the consumer." Nonetheless, many marketers often forget this fact. We're busting tail trying to check off items on an ever-growing list of collateral to create and shows to attend. The end result is usually a focus on the product, not the buyer and what matters to them.
Most buyers place product capability low on the list of considerations when purchasing your product. I'm not saying it's unimportant, but it's rarely what motivates them to choose you over an alternative solution. What buyers want to know is if the product (or service) solves a fundamental problem they have.
Each audience has a different buyer persona, and your ability to grok, or profoundly understand, that persona will make or break your marketing campaign. The buyer persona reveals what problem is really keeping them up at night and why they haven't considered your product as the solution. It will also reveal how they influence the buying decision and why they haven't considered you yet. If the persona has a say in the buying decision they should be studied. Otherwise you are just guessing.
Be careful not to confuse a buyer with a user, also know as a customer. The two groups have very different personas and thus require different messaging and assets to satisfy. Customers could care less about the benefits of the product - they've already bought it and will glaze over any messaging that only reinforces what they already know. Customers care about user criteria - how the product functions and how they can fully exploit it to be more successful with less energy. Buyers still need to hear how your solution solves their problem.
So how do you go about building a buyer persona?
First, try to cast aside preconceived notions about who you think the buyer is. You'll often find it's not who you should really be talking to.
Second, keep personas to a minimum. Create separate personas only if you truly have to say something different to each group. Another rule is to segment as long as it is profitable to do so. More personas means more research, more messaging strategies and more marketing assets that have to be produced.
And third, get personal. Read what they read. Attend events they attend. Monitor topics and industry news that is important to them. Interview your sales people to get firsthand experiences of the people they talk to on a daily basis. Use your website to capture information or conduct interviews by phone or at conferences. And, the most insightful source of all - win/loss analysis. Nothing is more telling than knowing why someone chose you, or why they chose someone else. It's is essential you do this information gathering up front to avoid inaccurate personas. Inaccurate personas lead to messaging that misses the mark.
I challenge you to read through your current product collateral and see how you measure up. Are you listing product features, or how those features solve their problems? Are you spewing forth generic "saves you time and money" jargon (I can practically hear their eyes rolling), or are you solving a problem that keeps them up at night? |
| | |
|
| |
| Author: By Kate Leggett, Director, e-Service Product Strategy |
| Doc Type: Article |
|
|
|
| |
| Abstract: As I embark on this holiday season, once again I realize that all my shopping will be done online. Recently, I have grown enamored with Web 2.0 social shopping sites that provide a targeted, and personalized experience for time-starved individuals like myself. |
| | |
|
| |
|
| |
| Abstract: Consumers now expect to be given the option to receive communications via the channel of their choice, placing considerable strain on businesses to have the infrastructure in place to ensure that data from each touch-point is retrieved, analysed and utilised.
Businesses can’t afford to lose track of customers and prospects (7.5% of all documents are lost over the years and 3% of the remainder are misfiled [Source: Coopers and Lybrand]). Nor can they risk running foul of the law through poor document management.
So what are the key archive management points for businesses to consider?
Policy
In order to streamline the flow of documents and gauge the level of technology investment and storage options, a company policy needs to be drawn up and implemented across the business. Consulting each department and business function is essential in determining the varying formats of data, the different time periods that data needs to be stored for and a projection of total volume of data that will eventually need to be archived.
The policy should be a clear and accessible document which outlines the type of information that is to be saved, for how long, and just as importantly, what not to save. Whether this function is managed in-house or outsourced, an archive policy is crucial for ensuring that the outlined strategy is consistently applied through the business. It can also work as a benchmark document which measures the success of the archive management team or the standards and targets initially set by the policy itself, and can be reviewed at a later date.
Technology & Storage
The next stage is to set up the infrastructure that can cope with the volume of data, as well as the various formats they may be presented in, such as an expense receipt or large architect drawings in either black and white or full colour. Businesses will need to accommodate the storage of physical documents and invest in electronic imaging and storage. It is in this area that outsourcing of the archive facility is an advantage, as technology provision is normally part and parcel of the service. Documents that are scanned and converted into an electronic image will need to be enhanced so the document is reproduced as clearly as possible whilst minimising costs. The enabling hardware and software should capture, index and manage the full process, ensuring that a comprehensive document management system is provided.
Data capture can be improved by utilising character recognition technology which reduces the laborious task of manually entering in information from documents such as invoices or forms. The cost of keying in this information can also be reduced by up to 50%. By classifying each document, organisations can prioritise incoming documents and direct them to the appropriate member of staff, cutting administration time and storage space.
Retrieval
Integration of electronic documents directly into workflow processes is vital in providing seamless access to information across the business. The electronic archive can act as a central information hub which is hosted on a secure website or internal system. The capability of searching and retrieving data rapidly is important in complying with statutory regulation and reducing lead times.
Customer service is increasingly becoming the key differentiator between a business and its competitors. Rapid retrieval of customer information is critical to ensure that customer-facing staff have immediate access to exact information that has been sent to the customer in order to answer enquiries. For example, a call centre agent dealing with a query from a customer who received a special offer in the post, will be able to resolve the call satisfactorily and faster if they have rapid access and can view the special offer ’as rendered’ or in the same format that it was sent to the customer.
Auditing
Regular audits of the archive are imperative in ensuring that any mismanagement of document storage and destruction is minimised. We must bear in mind that the data selected to be archived has been chosen for a reason and most likely are business critical. Bar-code technology for physical documents will help users to track and trace the record throughout its entire lifecycle, allowing archive managers to trace the last user.
Security
Knowing where you have privacy information and managing it securely is another key factor to bear in mind. With electronic documents hosted on the central hub, different access levels can be established where only approved members of staff can retrieve sensitive information.
Additionally, the task of converting physical documents into electronic format in itself is a risk mitigator as it can be backed-up remotely and reduces the reliance on the physical document. Storage in a secure off-site facility can ensure the long-term preservation of hard copy records in the case of fire or flooding. Important, incoming mail can also be X-rayed offsite to avoid incidents, whether genuine or hoax, of substances being found in the mail piece, quarantining the threat and avoiding the down-time that would inevitably be experienced at the main business premises. |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
by Document Type
