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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: 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.

1 Minute Advice: Best Global Brands of 2018

International branding firm Interbrand is out with its ranking of the "Best Global Brands" of 2018. Interbrand pioneered brand valuation in 1988. The Interbrand ranking is significant because of the rigorous criteria, says Interbrand:

"To be included in Best Global Brands, a brand must be truly global, having successfully transcended geographic and cultural boundaries. It will have expanded across the established economic centers of the world and entered the major growth markets. In measurable terms, this requires that:

• At least 30 percent of revenue must come from outside of the brand’s home region.
• The brand must have a significant presence in Asia, Europe, and North America as well as broad geographic coverage in emerging markets.
• There must be sufficient publicly available data on the brand’s financial performance.
• Economic profit must be expected to be positive over the longer term, delivering a return above the brand’s cost of capital.
• The brand must have a public profile and awareness across the major economies of the world.

These requirements—that a brand be global, visible, growing, and relatively transparent with financial results—explains the exclusion of some well-known brands that might otherwise be expected to appear in the ranking."

Brands are ranked together and separately by business sector and geographic areas. The following are the top ten Best Global Brands overall, according to Interbrand:

1. Apple
2. Google
3. Amazon
4. Microsoft
5. Coca-Cola
6. Samsung
7. Toyota
8. Mercedes
9. Facebook
10. McDonald's

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: Sometimes, Brand Loyalty is Age-Related

It's common sense that when consumers like a brand, they will buy it again. But loyalty to a brand -- repeat purchase time and again -- is often related to the age of a consumer.

A recent study of U.S. Internet users, as reported by eMarketer, found that more than half (51 percent) of consumers age 18 to 21 will try different brands, even when there is one brand they already like. But two-thirds of the GenX generation and three-fourths of the Boomer generation indicated they will stick with a brand they like and buy it over and over again.

Still, according to the research, consumers are willing to switch brands if certain factors, including product quality, company ethics, and price, come into play. Even consumers most loyal to brands will stop buying a particular brand if any of these factors result in a negative experience or perception. Another study confirms that these factors not only influence consumers to leave a brand they formerly loved, but such factors can create new brand favorites. Almost 60 percent of digital consumers in that study said quality and variety lead to repeat purchases.

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: Amazon Makes Its Move in Digital Advertising

The acknowledged leader in e-commerce is now quickly becoming just as much of a force in digital advertising, according to eMarketer. While Google and Facebook continue to be the top two digital advertising leaders, by the end of this year, Amazon's digital advertising revenue is projected to double, making it third in digital advertising.

Still, the dominance of Google and Facebook is impressive: Together this year, they own almost 60 percent (57.7%) of the digital advertising market in the U.S. Google has about 37 percent market share to Facebook's 21 percent, with Amazon clocking in at just 4 percent, says eMarketer. By 2020, though, Amazon will see its market share grow to 7 percent, while Facebook will remain basically the same and Google will drop by 2 percent. According to eMarketer, "Amazon has the ingredients for a truly powerhouse digital ad business, the key to which is doing more than just selling ad impressions. It’s impossible to say how much of Amazon’s business comes from selling ads on its own properties vs. facilitating ad transactions across the web."

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: Planning for Personalization

According to the renowned consulting firm McKinsey, personalization is a proven way to drive growth in marketing. "Personalization at scale," says McKinsey, "can drive between 5 and 15 percent revenue growth for companies in the retail, travel, entertainment, telecom, and financial services sectors."

But for personalization to be most effective, McKinsey believes it must be an integral part of the marketing operating model. An operating model with personalization at its core needs four elements, all working in concert:

1. Data foundation
2. Decision
3. Design
4. Distribution

How each of these elements interact is crucial, says McKinsey. In an informative article, McKinsey lays out the groundwork for how to develop a personalization operating model. Read it here: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/no-customer-left-behind

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: For Brands, Social Media Best for New Products and Customer Service

As reported by Marketing Charts, a recent survey regarding the use of social media by brands suggests that consumers are okay with brands using social media, but like it best for showcasing new products and services. Another social media survey indicated a majority of consumers think customer service is the best use for social media by brands.

Interacting directly with consumers is an attribute of social media that offers a distinct advantage for brands. Research indicates that about 40 percent of consumers in nine countries say they are unlikely to have an emotional attachment to a brand unless they interact and communicate with it via social media.

Interestingly, consumers also believe brands have a responsibility to be sure the information they post on social media is credible and trustworthy. Over two-thirds of one survey's respondents feel that brands should "pressure social platforms" to do more about false information.

In addition, consumers want brands to be more transparent. "Transparency" was associated with such attributes as openness, clarity, and honesty. Only 15 percent of survey respondents thought brands are "very transparent" on social media.

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 top the YouGov Brand Index?

The YouGov Brand Index ranks 1630 brands based on the Index score, which is a measure of overall brand health calculated by taking the average of Impression, Quality, Value, Satisfaction, Recommend and Reputation. 

The Index Rankings chart shows the brands with the highest average Index scores between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018. The Index Improvers chart ranks the brands with the highest increase in Index, comparing scores from the previous 12-month period. Both scores are representative of the general population of adults 18+. All brands have been tracked for at least 6 months to be included in the rankings, and have been tracked for at least 6 months in the prior year’s period (as well as being currently tracked) to appear in the movers tables.

Here are the top ten brands overall:

1. Band-Aid
2. Amazon
3. Dawn
4. Hershey's
5. Google
6. Clorox
7. Netflix
8. M&Ms
9. Dove
10. Craftsman

Brands are also ranked within industry. As an example, here are the top index rankings in consumer electronics brands:

1. Samsung
2. Sony
3. LG
4. Bose
5. Apple

The top index improvers in the consumer electronics brands category are:

1. Samsung
2. Galaxy
3. Amazon Alexa
4. Ring (video doorbell)
5. Android

See rankings for other industries here: http://www.brandindex.com/ranking/us/2018-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. 

1 Minute Advice: Revisiting the Marketing Funnel

The marketing funnel is a concept that has been around for decades. It is based on the theory that a prospective customer needs to be cultivated from the top of the funnel to the bottom, with the most qualified prospects "dropping out" at the end of the funnel. Generally, it was believed that a fairly linear process was involved in pushing prospects down through the funnel.

Today, however, the marketing game has changed considerably. Now marketing experts think more in terms of a "customer journey" which involves various touchpoints along the way that can be more random and create a non-linear path. MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa, revisits the marketing funnel with an emphasis on a more contemporary perspective. Senior Director of Editorial Content Daniel Burstein suggests turning the funnel upside down. He writes, "It’s an effort to move your customers along this path, and that effort must be powered by a value proposition that propels your customers up through the funnel. ...This process often isn’t linear, and you may discover that your product(s) essentially has many funnels, based on different buyer types (e.g., influencer vs. decision maker or healthcare industry customer vs. publishing industry customer)."

Read more about the idea of an inverted marketing funnel in this excellent analysis: https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/website-and-landing-page-design/marketing-101-funnel-creation/

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.