5 Localization Strategies to Enrich Marketing

When General Motors released the Chevy Nova in the 1970s, it performed poorly in South American countries. One reason was due to the name, which loosely translates to “no va” or “doesn’t go” in Spanish. Although since proven to be an urban legend, the story gained popularity as a cautionary tale about understanding foreign markets and cultures before entering them. With the proliferation of digital communication, today’s global marketplace is even bigger, but selling globally still requires time, research and consideration of cultures, languages and buyer personas. This process is known as localization, and if your company works internationally, it needs to be a well-thought-out part of your marketing strategy.

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How to Harness User-Generated Content in B2B Marketing

User-generated content (UGC) is defined as any type of content created by users of an online platform, whether they are individual consumers or business representatives. This type of content results in others promoting your brand rather than your brand promoting itself. Content can range from product images, blogs, tweets, videos, reviews and other social media posts.

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The Top 4 Market Research Challenges

Understanding the needs and market research challenges of your target market is vital to the long-term success of any business. Logically, that knowledge should come from facts, not fiction and be based on extensive research and the careful analysis of the data collected. But market research is only effective when utilized in context and via informed and proven processes.

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The Evolution of B2B Marketing

For decades, B2B marketing techniques relied on the same basic principles as consumer marketing. But over the last 20 years, B2B marketing has gone through an evolution and emerged as its own discipline with unique strategies, practices and metrics of success. The way marketing and business has changed over the years mimics the ways our values change as a society. If we compare the two, we discover greater insights into why we make the purchase decisions we do.

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A Critical Guide to Marketing Segmentation

As marketers, nothing is more important than interacting with your target market. We’ve discussed ways to identify, interact with and grow a specified target market and communicate with an interactive audience, but the next step, segmenting the audience, is just as important. Segmentation ensures your content and outreach are relevant to your prospects and clients.

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Why Is Gamification Becoming a New Marketing Priority?

When we think of “gamers” we often picture teenagers, headphone-clad in a dim room, palming a controller for hours on end. According to a 2017 study, however, 64% of the general US population consider themselves “gamers.” Video game technology and usage have grown exponentially since its inception in the 1970s. As a result, video game technology has infiltrated sectors far beyond the entertainment industry.

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How to Cultivate a Successful Marketing Team

Marketing is a rapidly changing and evolving discipline. New technologies, social and behavioral norms, digital marketplaces, business trends, global and cultural influences and communication methods change almost every day. Yet, we expect marketers to not only keep up with the pace, but also count on them to be experts too. While this is a tall order, it is possible to develop high-performing, agile marketing departments.

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How to Build a Niche Market

No business can be all things to all people. The more narrowly you can define your target market, the better. This process is known as creating a niche and is a key to success for businesses of all sizes. Niche marketing concentrates marketing efforts on a specific and well-defined segment of the population—the ones whose profiles most closely match your existing customers’ needs.

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How to Capitalize on Multicultural Marketing Opportunities

Not long ago, prospects and customers were a more homogenous group, often located in the communities and surrounding areas in which they lived and worked. Today, with the advances in technology and the growth of a multicultural population, companies are expanding their marketing outreach dramatically, both in terms of geography and customer profiles (including age, gender, race and socioeconomic background).

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How to Set Realistic Marketing Expectations

It’s natural for companies to expect immediate return on any investment. The truth is, building a business takes time and patience. Marketing is an essential element to generating business, but unrealistic marketing expectations are common. Setting the bar too high and establishing unrealistic deadlines can result in disappointment and failure. To avoid unrealistic marketing expectations, follow these guidelines to set achievable goals.

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9 Tips to Boost Engagement in Your Email Campaigns

Despite the constant parade of new communication apps and technologies, email is still a messaging mainstay. In fact, 86% of professionals prefer to use email when communicating for business purposes. While there are a variety of factors that impact the success of email campaigns, here are some best practices to help you generate the higher response and engagement rates you seek.

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How to Create Stellar Call-to-Actions (CTA)

The “call to action” (CTA) is an essential component of any marketing initiative. It’s the answer to “what now?” after any article, video, advertisement, blog or other promotional offer. The call to action represents a compelling message that is intended to get your prospects to do what you want them to do. It’s a vital step to lead generation (which 63% of marketers state is their biggest challenge) and also guides prospects through the buying journey. 

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3 Keys to an Effective Social Selling Strategy

Social Selling

The average person will spend five years of their life on social media. The simple truth is: social networking technology has changed the way we communicate. With expansive networks across multiple platforms, many of us do most of our communicating online. So shouldn’t sales and marketing initiatives follow suit?

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How to Refresh Your Marketing Strategy

You’ve been working your 2018 marketing plan since the beginning of the year, but is it delivering the results you expected? No matter how rock-solid your plan was in January, circumstances change, sometimes dramatically. Therefore, it’s important to evaluate your marketing strategy and adjust your approach based on current market conditions and the results of tactics implemented to date.

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How to Establish an Effective Marketing Analytics Process

Data-driven marketing analytics is pivotal to the success of any marketing effort. Without the insights and direction analytics provide, companies are behind the curve ball when it comes to establishing and maintaining a competitive advantage. Based on the information collected and analysis of data, marketers can learn how customers interact with a company’s marketing content. For example, analytics show specifics such as how many pages a visitor clicked through before leaving a website or which ads are most effective.

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The Customer Experience and Customer Service – Why Do They Matter?

et’s be clear. There is a distinct difference between customer service and the customer experience, also known as CX. Customer service entails everything a company does to “respond” to its customers. “Respond” is the key word. While fixing mistakes with a smile, saying “yes” even when it goes against company policy and diffusing disgruntled or unhappy customers efficiently and effectively are all important and can contribute to the customer experience after the fact.

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Influencer Marketing: The What, Why and How

You may have heard of it, but how much do you know about influencer marketing? The phrase has been popping up more and more in the past year with headlines gracing Forbes, Entrepreneur and other national business publications. As more companies make influencer marketing a strategic priority, it’s becoming more important to investigate whether this is a passing trend or a vital initiative. Let’s start by asking the right questions.

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B2B Content Marketing: 5 Trends To Watch In 2018

January typically is filled with “best of” lists, resolutions and predictions. Industry news sites feature countdowns and rewinds that take us back or forecasts that keep us looking ahead. It’s a natural time to reflect so we can learn where we’ve been and plan for the future. B2B content marketing is no different. Now that 2018 is fully underway, what predictions can we make about this year’s trends? What similarities will we see from 2017, and what changes will be made?

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