![Most Important Marketing Tactics Contributing to Campaign Performance [Report]](https://bersondeanstevens.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Marketing-Tactics.webp)
by Lori Berson | May 14, 2022 | Marketing
Almost 2,000 marketers around the world were asked by Nielsen to rank the order of importance of a variety of marketing tactics from most important (1) to least important (9) when considering the contribution to campaign performance.
The results of Nielsen’s 5th Global Annual Marketing Report indicate that audience targeting came out on top, with an average rank of 4.1. Following closely was a grouping of ad creative, audience reach, and data quality, each with an average rank of 4.2.
Rounding out the top 5 was personalization (average rank of 4.6), ahead of path-to-purchase message sequencing (5), AI/machine learning (5.1), and publisher placement (5.3).
Almost 5 years ago Nielsen released a report which found that at least for CPG campaigns, creative (quality/messaging) had a far greater contribution to sales lift from advertising than did reach or targeting. A more recent survey from Westwood One and Advertiser Perceptions, however, revealed that marketers and agencies believed that targeting was a bigger driver of sales than creative or reach.
One factor unique to this latest survey is data quality. Only about 1 in 4 (26% of) survey respondents strongly agree that they have access to the quality audience data they need to get the most out of their media budget, though it’s true that an additional 45% somewhat agree that they do. This is supported by recent research from Ascend2, in which only 1 in 3 respondents said that the quality of their data allowed them to make effective decisions on where to spend marketing and/or sales resources, though another 55% somewhat agreed.
More than 1 in 3 of the Nielsen survey respondents report the following to be extremely or very difficult: data access (36%); identity resolution (36%); actionable data insights (36%); data accuracy/quality (35%); and data scale (34%). An additional third or so find these topics to be moderately difficult.
About the Data: The results are based on an online survey conducted December 2, 2021-January 1, 2022 among 1,943 global marketing professionals at or above the manager level, working with annual marketing budgets of at least $1 million. Respondents were from the auto, financial services, FMCG, technology, health care, pharmaceuticals, travel, tourism, and retail industries.
Need assistance with your marketing strategies? Schedule a call or email Lori Berson at lberson@BersonDeanStevens.com.
BersonDeanStevens has been a recognized brand strategy and marketing leader for over 25 years, including over a decade in marketing and sales automation. We work in partnership with you to differentiate your brand and achieve your business goals. Client list.
![New B2B Marketing and Sales Strategies for 2020 [Report]]()
by bersondev | Jan 10, 2020 | Advertising, Digital marketing, Marketing, marketing automation, Marketing Strategy, Social Media, Video, Video Marketing
With the end of 2019, it’s time for B2B marketers to look towards 2020 and determine the goals and strategies they’ll use to achieve them. In a recent report, B2B marketing professionals have listed converting leads to customers and increasing sales leads as their top two marketing objectives in the coming year. But how will these objectives be achieved?
Nearly half (47%) of respondents say they will use personalization strategies in 2020, while another 42% will be exploring account-based Marketing (ABM). Although ABM is still a new approach for some, another report indicates that a majority of B2B marketers have been using this strategy, in some variation, for at least 6 months.
Video marketing is another strategy some two-fifths (41%) of the B2B marketing professionals surveyed say they will try next year. Video was tagged as one of the main B2B trends for this year, so it seems that those marketers yet to incorporate it into their arsenal will do so next year.
Marketers are also planning to use other strategies including AI and automation (36%), influencer marketing (27%) and programmatic advertising (19%). Others are exploring newer strategies such as conversational marketing (chatbots; 33%) and podcasts or live streaming (22%). And, although B2B advertising spend allocated for mobile has continued to fall short of that for desktop, 17% of respondents say they will try a mobile-first strategy.
LinkedIn Tops The List for B2B Social Media
Even though marketers are looking into new approaches to achieve their objectives, certain channels, like social media, remain part of their efforts. Nearly half (48%) of respondents say they use paid social media and have seen ROI from it.
When it comes to social media channels, LinkedIn tops the list, with 86% respondents saying they use the channel the most. Prior research has found that LinkedIn is one of the most preferred channels for content consumption for B2B buyers.
Instagram is 5th on the list of most used social media channels for these B2B marketers, with only 3 in 10 respondents (31%) using the platform. Instagram is actually ranked first by respondents among social media channels when looking at engagement, beating out both Facebook and LinkedIn.
Check out the full report.
About the Data: Findings are based on a survey of 100 marketing professionals.
Need help with your 2020 marketing strategies? Schedule a call or email Lori Berson at lberson@BersonDeanStevens.com.
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BersonDeanStevens has been a recognized brand strategy and marketing leader for over 25 years, including over a decade in Marketing Automation. We work in partnership with you to differentiate your brand and achieve your business goals. Client list.
![New B2B Marketing and Sales Strategies for 2020 [Report]]()
by bersondev | Oct 16, 2018 | Email Marketing
Interested in breaking through inbox clutter?
Put the person’s name in the subject line. That tactic will boost clicks even when the content is “not particularly informative,” according to research conducted by a team of academics, as summarized by the Chicago Booth Review. The research was conducted by Stanford University’s Navdeep S. Sahni and S. Christian Wheeler and Chicago Booth’s Pradeep K. Chintagunta.
That team tested emails from a major online test-preparation company, MercadoLibre, a Latin American online marketplace, and Stanford University. They split the emails between those personalized with the person’s name in the subject line and those that were not.
It’s not clear whether this personalization consisted of first names, last names, nicknames and suffixes. Here are the results:
- Putting the name in increased the probability of the addressee opening the email by 20 percent, from about 9 percent to about 11 percent of emails, Chicago Booth Review reports.
- In addition, this maneuver drove a 30% boost in sales leads valued at $100 apiece. And there was a 17% decrease in unsubscribes.
- This practice also boosted engagement for MercadoLibre and Stanford.
- One caveat: Discounts only worked when the email was personalized.
- Another caveat: These findings are not necessarily supported by other research. For example, a InMoment study found that 75% of consumers find most forms of personalization at least somewhat creepy.
– 22% will dump a brand after being creeped out.
– Adobe reports that almost one-fifth of consumers are turned off by the creep factor, a pertinent finding in an age when people are afraid of phishing attacks and identity theft.
- For 33%, annoyance builds when recommended items fail to match the person’s interests. And 17% are irritated when their name is misspelled.
- When asked how they would change the emails they get from brands, 39% said they would make them less about promotion and more about providing me information. Moreover, 27% say they want content that’s better personalized to their interests.
These studies suggest that effective personalization starts with sending relevant offers based on past behaviors — and with being informative.
People want to feel important and valued. It’s frustrating to receive batch-and-blast emails that haven’t been personalized based on the recipient’s habits or interactions with you.
Our investigation of the mechanism shows that personalized content can be non-informative, but still be valuable in garnering a consumer’s interest and increasing the likelihood of her processing and responding to the rest of the advertising message, per Chicago Booth Review.
Are you personalizing your emails? To learn how, contact Lori at 877.447.0134, x111 or lberson@BersonDeanStevens.com.
by bersondev | Sep 11, 2016 | marketing automation
Behavior-based data is critical for customized marketing content.
Marketing technology can be useful for marketers looking to strengthen their digital personalization efforts. According to June research, well over half of senior business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers globally rely on web analytics software, customer relationship management (CRM) and content management systems to ramp up their digital personalization efforts.
From March to June 2016, CEB polled 228 B2C senior marketers worldwide from more than 17 industries about personalized communications, defined as using a customer’s behavioral data to customize marketing based on their likely needs.
According to the data, 68% of respondents said they deploy web analytics software, followed by CRM (61%) and content management systems (55%) to support digital personalization efforts. In contrast, 5% said they had not yet invested in a technology to facilitate this type of work.
The research also stated that only 18% of marketers polled said they use predictive analytics for personalization, a discipline that many marketers, both client- and agency-side, have been buzzing about.
Personalization is a crucial piece to content marketing strategy, in order for marketers to produce contextually relevant material. In a separate July 2016 study from Forrester Consulting and Persado, most marketers in the US and Western Europe said they use and behavior-based data develop content based on insights and emotions (67%).
Critical to gaining relevant insights is having access to the right technologies. And most marketers agree that these types of tools can help their teams personalize at scale. In fact, many have said they can’t personalize because they don’t have the tools, according to March 2016 research by Demand Metric and Seismic.
Need help with behavioral data and customized marketing?
Contact the marketing technology experts at 877.447.0134 or info@BersonDeanStevens.com.
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by bersondev | Aug 15, 2016 | behavioral marketing, Content Marketing
Behavioral data and customer insights drive a more customized approach to ensure ROI.
Most marketers agree that content marketing makes up an important piece of their marketing strategy. Unfortunately, creating engaging content that delivers ROI is not easy. To succeed, content must be personalized and contextually relevant.
July 2016 research from Forrester Consulting emphasizes the growing importance of personalization in content marketing. When a group of senior marketing executives from the US and Europe were asked about their approach to personalized marketing, 67% said they used behavior-based data to develop content based insights and emotions.
But that doesn’t mean producing content has gotten any easier. Creating more personalized, insight-driven content is more difficult now than ever. When the same executives were asked about the challenges they face with content creation, 60% mentioned it was difficult to keep up with demand for more content across more channels. Meanwhile, another 50% mentioned they found it tough to leverage behavioral and attitudinal data to create emotionally-engaging content.
Other research confirms the inherent challenges of content personalization for marketers. A February 2016 survey from Demand Metric looked at the reasons marketers do not personalize content, and found that many don’t have the technology (59%), while others don’t have the necessary resources (59%).
Missing the technology and expertise to create personalized and relevant content?
Contact Lori at 877.447.0134 or info@bersondeanstevens.com to learn more.
![New B2B Marketing and Sales Strategies for 2020 [Report]]()
by bersondev | Mar 2, 2015 | marketing automation
Few businesses are maximizing marketing automation opportunities.
Marketing automation will only get bigger in the coming years as marketers grow more comfortable with the technology. The adoption and usage has a way to go. A December 2014 study by Ascend2, indicates 24% of marketing professionals worldwide reported using marketing automation extensively. 35% had a limited use of marketing automation and 34% who weren’t using it said they planned to in the future.
December 2014 polling by CallidusCloud found bleak results among sales and marketing professionals worldwide from business-to-business (B2B) firms—often considered more advanced at marketing automation than their business-to-consumer counterparts. Just under 13% of respondents said they had successfully automated 75% or more of their sales and marketing processes. Meanwhile, more than half said fewer than 50% of their processes had been automated, with the majority of that group automating less than 25%.
Marketers looking to accomplish a list of goals would be wise to jump into automation quickly. Among Ascend2 respondents, 86% said marketing automation was successful to some level at achieving important objectives. However, just 25% ranked this as “very” successful, suggesting room for improvement among users.
Increasing sales revenues and lead generation were the most important objectives of a marketing automation strategy, each cited by 47%, followed by improving lead nurturing (44%), customer engagement (37%) and marketing productivity (33%). Though personalization is hot, just 25% ranked improving campaign targeting as an important objective.
Despite the powerful effect of sharing data companywide and the ability for marketing automation technology to help with that, only one-fifth of respondents said improving marketing-sales alignment was a top priority for marketing automation. Technology solutions were fragmented across B2B sales and marketing departments. About three in 10 (31.4%) respondents said both departments had automation technology solutions, and among marketers only, just 28.6% said so.
Are you using marketing automation to nurture and convert leads?
To lean how, call Lori today at 877.447.0134.
