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123 eGuides are authoritative guides published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost. Every 123 eGuide is just 3 bucks or less ($2.99 to be exact).

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1 Minute Advice: The Year's Leading Brands in Customer Loyalty Engagement

The 24th annual Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index for 2020 has been published. It examines customers' relationships with 833 brands in 85 categories. Here are some of the top brands in their categories:

Airlines: Delta
Automotive: Hyundai
Hotels-Upscale: Marriott
Ice Cream: Ben & Jerry's
Natural Food Stores: Trader Joe's
Online Brokerage: Fidelity
Online Streaming: Netflix
Parcel Delivery: UPS
Smartphones, Tablets: Apple
Quick-Serve Restaurants: Chick-fil-A

View an exclusive interview with Brand Keys founder Robert Passikoff, who discusses the implications of the index.

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

Read about 156 best and worst brands of the 50s and 60s!

1 Minute Advice: The Enduring Importance of Loyalty Programs

As reported by Marketing Charts, a new report on brand loyalty based on a sample of 17,000 U.S. consumers shows that 78 percent of consumers say loyalty programs make them more likely to continue to do business with brands. In addition, 72 percent say they are more likely to recommend brands with good loyalty programs. Loyalty programs also have an impact on spending: 64 percent of loyalty program participants say they modify spending to maximize points associated with loyalty programs.

Loyalty programs that were identified as leaders in their field include:

Airlines: JetBlue True Blue
Apparel: Nike+
Drug Stores: Rite Aid Wellness+
Hotels: Hilton Honors
Specialty Retail: Amazon Prime

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

Read about 156 best and worst brands of the 50s and 60s!

1 Minute Advice: Facebook Declines, Instagram and YouTube Increase

According to the 12th annual edition of the Social Media Marketing Industry Report, which surveyed more than 5,200 marketers, Facebook has lost share among marketers for the past two years even though it is still the dominant social media platform. Only 50 percent of marketers plan on increasing their Facebook organic activities.

On the other hand, Instagram has skyrocketed in popularity with marketers, with 76 percent of marketers using it and 67 percent planning to increase Instagram organic activities. YouTube interest is also high, with 55 percent of marketers using it and 69 percent of marketers planning to increase their YouTube usage.

ROI for social media marketing in general is a chronic problem. Only 35 percent of marketers agreed they were able to measure their social organic activities, down from 44 percent in 2019.

For more insights, get the free report here: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

Read about 156 best and worst brands of the 50s and 60s!

1 Minute Advice: How Marketers Should Deal with a Crisis

When a crisis occurs that affects a brand or a company, marketers need to respond quickly and correctly instead of being driven by panic and uncertainty. Sophia Le writes on MarketingProfs.com that it is critically important to "plan ahead and create a framework or process that prompts you to craft the right message to your customers—even if you're under stress." Taking a lesson from the Coronavirus pandemic, Le references the framework used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), called the "Single Overriding Communications Objective" (SOCO). It consists of these five questions:

1. What is the primary message?
2. What do you want recipients of the message to do?
3. What groups of customers need to know about this?
4. What facts or data support the message?
5. Who is the spokesperson of this message?

Le walks through each of these questions as if a B2B company has had a data breach -- not uncommon these days. Read her insightful article here: https://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2020/43418/how-to-effectively-talk-to-your-customers-during-a-crisis? (Free registration required.)

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

Read about 156 best and worst brands of the 50s and 60s!

1 Minute Advice: Global Brand Leaders in Sustainability

According to a new survey, the top three global leaders in sustainability are (1) Unilever, (2) Patagonia and (3) IKEA. The survey, which tracks expert opinions of sustainability, has been conducted annually since 1997. This year's survey was based on responses from over 700 experts across 71 countries. The survey was especially significant since experts were asked to name sustainability leaders without any prompting.

Experts participating in the survey were also asked about the "most urgent actions for the private sector to increase resilience." The two leading actions were "environmental sustainability" and "new business models." Experts agreed that companies must emphasize Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), human rights and ethical issues to build long-term resilience.

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

Read about 156 best and worst brands of the 50s and 60s!

1 Minute Advice: Majority of Holiday Shopping Likely to Go Digital

With the lingering concern about COVID-19, retailers are already expecting consumers to largely shop online this holiday season. Data from daVinci Payments, as reported by eMarketer, indicates that 71 percent of U.S. adults plan to do more than half of their holiday shopping digitally this year. The percentage is even higher for 26 to 30 year olds (81 percent) and 31 - 38 year olds (82 percent). But even 60 percent of those in the 56-plus age group said they planned to shop online for the holidays more than half the time.

The pandemic has had a marked influence on consumer interest in online shopping. Another study as reported by eMarketer shows that 47 percent of U.S. adults are more interested in shopping online during the holidays this year.

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

Read about 156 best and worst brands of the 50s and 60s!

1 Minute Advice: The Fastest Growing Demographic in the U.S. is...

In the last decade, marketers have continued to concentrate the majority of their U.S. efforts on Millennials and Gen Z demographic slices. But an analysis of population growth in the past 10 years by Marketing Charts indicates one demographic is growing faster than all others: The  65 to 74 age group, i.e., Baby Boomers.

The analysis reveals that the number of adults age 65 to 74 increased by 44 percent from 2010 through 2019. Second in line for population growth was the number of adults age 75-plus, growing at over 21 percent during the same period. The 55 - 64 age group showed an increase of 15.4 percent.

Here are the 2010-2019 growth percentages for all age groups:
0 - 11 years of age: Minus 1.6%
12 - 17 years of age: Minus 1.1%
18 - 24 years of age: Minus 1.8%
25 - 34 years of age: 11.5%
35 - 44 years of age: 1.7%
45 - 54 years of age: Minus 9.1%
55 - 64 years of age: 15.4%
65 - 74 years of age: 44%
75-plus years of age: 21.2%

Makes you wonder if marketers are paying attention to the data.

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

Read about 156 best and worst brands of the 50s and 60s!

1 Minute Advice: Strong E-commerce Growth Across the Board

Despite all of the awful things the pandemic is doing to the world's economy, one positive side effect globally and in the U.S. has been the strong growth of retail e-commerce. Retailers who are more dependent on in-person shopping are suffering: Just recently, the venerable Lord & Taylor, Jos. A. Bank and Men's Wearhouse all declared bankruptcy, joining a growing list of traditional retailers devastated by the pandemic. Not surprisingly, consumers have been turning to online shopping as a safer alternative to visiting brick-and-mortar stores.

eMarketer reports a stunningly robust growth year-over-year in e-commerce sales as of May 2020. The leading retail category in e-commerce, food and beverage, has seen a 58.5 percent increase. Next in line is health, personal care and beauty at 32.4 percent. Toys and hobby saw a 20.9 percent increase; computer and consumer electronics 17.9 percent; office equipment and supplies 17.9 percent; and books, music and video 13.9 percent. eMarketer predicts the number of U.S. digital grocery buyers to surge 41.9 percent this year, representing 131 million consumers who are shopping for food via the Internet.

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

Read about 156 best and worst brands of the 50s and 60s!

1 Minute Advice: What GE's Light Bulb Sale Says About Brands Today

Say tissue and you think "Kleenex"... copy and you think "Xerox"... light bulb and you think "GE." That's the power of brand positioning in the consumer's mind.

But "light bulb" is no longer synonymous with GE (General Electric), because two months ago, the company announced the sale of its storied lighting business. According to The New York Times, "For nearly 130 years, G.E. Lighting was at the forefront of every major lighting innovation, from the dawn of incandescent bulbs to the first energy-saving fluorescent bulb, introduced in 1974, according to the company. But the business began to dwindle with the proliferation of LEDs, which need to be replaced less frequently because they are longer-lasting and more energy-efficient than traditional incandescent lights."

Paul Israel, director and general editor of the Thomas A. Edison Papers at Rutgers University told The Times, “From the standpoint of people who associate the light bulb as the symbol of modern invention and innovation, there’s a kind of sadness to the fact that G.E., which for many years was at the forefront of that industry, has moved away from it."

What lesson can be gleaned from GE's financial move? Brands need to stay current and vibrant and keep up with changing times. Even when it means leaving behind a lasting brand legacy, difficult decisions must be made. Still, as Mr. Israel suggests, it is sad to see a brand being forced to sell off a product for which it has been known for generations.

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

For the month of July only, all eGuides are on sale for half price. Further details about this sale are available here.

1 Minute Advice: 6 Changes in Consumer Behavior

According to consulting firm McKinsey, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed consumer behavior in at least six important ways:

1. Shopping: Catching up to the great digital migration to expand digital borders
2. E-services: New 'service platforms' to help consumers take care of business
3. Home: Finding a spot in the new 'command central' for all activities
4. Community: Localizing the experiences
5. Trust: Creating a space for health and affordability
6. Purpose: Holding brands to higher standards.

McKinsey say marketers need to "modernize and reimagine their playbooks" if they are to "succeed in COVID-19-altered markets."

Read more about each of the above six consumer behavior changes here: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/reimagining-marketing-in-the-next-normal?

This post is brought to you by 123eGuides.com. 123 eGuides are a series of authoritative guides about branding, marketing and small business published exclusively in electronic format to provide maximum value at minimum cost.

For the month of July only, all eGuides are on sale for half price. Further details about this sale are available here.