123 eGuides

123 eGuides. 3 Proven Steps, Just 3 Bucks.

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).

123 eGuides are designed for today’s reader who wants information in a quick, convenient, easily readable format. Each 123 eGuide is intended to provide a functional overview rather than a detailed roadmap. Every 123 eGuide always includes additional resources if the reader wants to learn more.

Check the "Available 123 eGuides" link above to see what's available. 123 eGuides are available wherever eBooks are sold, including the Amazon Kindle store and in any eBook format at Smashwords.com.

1 Minute Advice: Video Marketing Growing in Importance

A report entitled "The State of Video Marketing" indicates that 83 percent of marketers say video content is becoming "more important," according to coverage by Marketing Charts. The use of video across many marketing formats is growing as well: Now 85 percent of marketers use video on their websites, 84 percent use video on social media, 55 percent use video in email, and 55 percent use video in webinars.

The majority (59 percent) of responding marketers believe that video converts sales leads better than other forms of content. The majority (55 percent) of marketers increased their video marketing budget in 2018.

The report was based on a survey of 271 marketing executives, 50 percent of whom work in B2B companies, and 21 percent of whom work in a mixture of B2B and B2C companies.

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.

1 Minute Advice: Treat Your Customer Like Your Mom

Customer service expert Jeanne Bliss has authored an intriguing book, Would You Do That to Your Mother? The "Make Mom Proud" Standard for How to Treat Your Customers. Bliss shares numerous stories in her book about companies that engage in both excellent and poor customer service.

In an interview for the Knowledge@Wharton newsletter, Bliss discusses three key shifts that are causing companies to be more sensitive to their customers:

1. Organic growth among existing customers is "ten times more profitable" than acquiring new customers
2. Social media is holding companies accountable because customers themselves are talking about the company's values
3. Silos in a company "don't organically unite," so the entire organization needs to focus on "customer math" by asking such questions as, "Did you bring in more customers than you lost?" and "Are you keeping more customers than you're losing?" 

Bliss also makes the following insightful observation: "We're finding that the more high-tech we get, the more humanity we need." Read her full interview here: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/would-you-do-that-to-your-mother/

 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.

New Year Sale: Every eGuide, Half Off!

For a limited time only (December 25, 2018 through January 1, 2019), you can purchase every single 123 eGuide at half off: Just $1.50 each, instead of $2.99 each!

To take advantage of this New Year sale, simply visit www.smashwords.com and search for any of these 123 eGuides:

Branding 123, Second Edition
B2B Marketing 123
Low Cost/No Cost Marketing 123
Product Launch 123
Sales Leads 123
On Your Own 123

At Smashwords.com, you'll be able to purchase every one of these 123 eGuides for half price from December 25, 2018 through January 1, 2019 in the format you want: PDF, EPUB, or Kindle.

Buy your eGuides at this special price today!

1 Minute Advice: Google's Top Tips for Digital Marketing

Google issued an Economic Impact Report earlier this year that highlighted both small and large businesses and some of the digital marketing tactics they use to be successful. Writing for Think with Google, Ken Wheaton distilled the report into eight key digital marketing lessons that are worthy of consideration for every marketer. The lessons are:

• Find a need and fill it.
• Master the connection between online and offline.
• Make the best use of your data.
• Invest wisely in marketing.
• Be creative in all aspects of your business.
• Video is a marketing necessity.
• Embrace digital change.
• Grow your local business globally.

Read the article for further details about each of the above important lessons: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-resources/omnichannel/economic-impact-report/?

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.

1 Minute Advice: Direct Response Advertising and Branding Go Hand-in-Hand

As a brand marketer focused on getting results, you may face a common dilemma: You'd like to make use of direct response advertising, which you know is measurable and results-oriented, but you think it is separate and distinct from brand marketing. Not so, writes Greg Bender of Ocean Media for MediaPost's Marketing Insider.

Bender says that the face of your brand should be consistent, regardless of the media or marketing method you use. He writes, "Unfortunately, some advertisers don’t consider this when developing DR advertising. Their focus is on driving response as efficiently (or cheaply) as possible. This may lead to creating an advertisement that checks off the key messaging points needed to drive response, but is executed in a manner incongruous with how they want (or need) the brand to be perceived." The result, Bender says, could sacrifice "long-term brand value" because the brand message and the direct response advertising don't mesh.

How do you solve the problem? By creating well-executed ads that "work just as hard at defining brand identity as driving response."

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.

1 Minute Advice: Which Brands were "Most Relevant" to Americans in 2018?

Brand relevance is a subjective measure that the brand and marketing consultancy Prophet analyzes in its annual "Brand Relevance Index." Four specific characteristics are studied: "customer obsession; ruthless pragmatism; distinctive inspiration; and pervasive innovation."

For 2018, Marketing Charts reports that Prophet's relevancy rankings indicate the following are the five most relevant brands overall:

1. Apple
2. Amazon
3. Pinterest
4. Netflix
5. Android

It is interesting to note the difference in brand relevancy between Millennials and non-Millennials, however.

Millennials Most Relevant Brands

1. Netfilx
2. Amazon
3. KitchenAid
4. Apple
5. Google

Non-Millennials Most Relevant Brands

1. Apple
2. Amazon
3. Pinterest
4. Android
5. Netflix

Here are the most relevant brands in a few select industry categories:

Airlines: Southwest
Automotive: Toyota
Grocery: Trader Joe's
Hospitality: Marriott
Restaurants: Chick-fil-A
Telecom: Verizon

 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. 

1 Minute Advice: Avoid These Social Media Mistakes

Most every business uses social media marketing nowadays, but do they use it effectively? Writing for MarTech Advisor, Neel Sinha, founder of MyLink, a link shortener and URL management solution, addresses five common mistakes to avoid next year. They are:

1. Undefined goals and targeting the wrong audience.
2. Multiple profiles, over-promotion, wrong reaction.
3. Not putting a right strategy in place.
4. Automated link posting and not tracking analytics.
5. Not investing in video and neglecting paid advertising.

Sinha explains all of these in further detail in his informative article, which you can find here: 
https://www.martechadvisor.com/articles/social-media-marketing-2/five-common-social-media-marketing-mistakes-to-avoid-in-2019/

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.

1 Minute Advice: Good Customer Service is Crucial

According to eMarketer, recent research points to the importance of good customer service: Almost three-quarters of consumers rely on a retailer's customer service reputation when they buy from that retailer. Most consumers (also about three-quarters) believe a human provides the best customer service, but just as many would like to have digital options as well.

Poor customer service definitely can lose customers, according to multiple studies. In one study, a negative interaction with a call center resulted in as much as 82 percent of consumers leaving a company. In another study, half (49 percent) of consumers abandoned a brand after just one bad customer service experience.

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.

1 Minute Advice: In-App Advertising Seen as Effective

Recent research indicates that marketing agencies and media buyers view mobile in-app advertising as "delivering the best results across multiple metrics." Nearly one-third of respondents cite "better user engagement" for mobile in-app advertising vs. mobile web browser advertising. Brand marketers believe better targeting capabilities are a top benefit.

As much as 78 percent of survey respondents say they have already used gaming apps for ads and that percentage is expected to grow in the future: 91 percent of media agencies and 87 percent of brands expect to purchase gaming app ads. While mobile web browser advertising continues to be popular, 82 percent of US-based brands indicate a desire to start buying in-app inventory specifically.

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.

1 Minute Advice: If You're a B2B Marketer, Focus on Audience-Driven Content

When it comes to B2B marketing, there has been a fairly dramatic turn toward content that focuses on an audience's informational needs. Recent research by the Content Marketing Institute indicates that 90 percent of all top-performing B2B content marketers put their audience's informational needs above their company's sales/promotional message. Almost all of these organizations -- 96 percent -- believes their audience views their organization as a "credible and trusted resource."

Still, relatively few B2B content marketers research their audience by talking to their customers: Less than half (42 percent) say they have conversations with their customers as part of their audience research. Instead, 74 percent use sales team feedback, 73 percent use website analytics, and 65 percent use keyword research. The top two ways B2B content marketers nurture their audience are email campaigns and educational content.

Read more about this research here: https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2018/10/research-b2b-audience/

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.