Digital Disruption from EX²

The return on expenses related to marketing efforts has traditionally been difficult to quantify. In the past, companies often felt that if revenue was increasing, then marketing efforts were successful, and if revenue was dropping, then the marketing plan needed to be adjusted. Given the competitive environment in which companies have had to operate over the last decade or so, this simplistic approach to measuring the effectiveness of marketing efforts is as obsolete as door-to-door sales representatives who only make cold calls.

Modern CEOs and CFOs want to see data that proves whether marketing efforts are succeeding or failing. They want facts, and they want those facts to be supported. They are not interested in guesses, feelings or projections that are not based on reliable data. They want data-driven marketing rather than marketing that merely reacts to the competition or that relies on intuition. They want a detailed breakdown of marketing costs compared to the benefits the company gains from the expenditures. In short, they want marketers to justify virtually every dollar spent by the marketing department.

More and more, spending on marketing efforts is being scrutinized closely by other C-suite executives. Marketers are being asked to assign real, definitive rates of return on their spending. In a few organizations, the perception of marketing as a "necessary evil" has persisted, and executives see an opportunity to force marketers to justify their existence. More often, the scrutiny results from the knowledge that more data than ever before is being collected; top managers expect marketers to leverage this data to provide them with the information they want. 

The problem is that many marketers are not sure what they should be measuring. They might be using metrics that are very meaningful to marketing or sales but are of little use to a CEO. They might be tracking one KPI without tracking a second KPI that is required to give true meaning to the first. 

Every organization is different, and the metrics they need to collect vary by organization. However, if you are struggling to determine which metrics might be most useful to your company, you might want to consider using some of the following.

Having a powerful, recognizable brand is more important today than ever before. However, it is not something that "just happens" or that can be achieved overnight. It requires developing a strategy and carefully leveraging the brand in all interactions with potential customers. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to tell whether a branding strategy is working. The following tips can help you identify the points that can tell you whether your branding strategy is effective or whether you need to fine-tune your efforts.

The digital age has ushered in new opportunities for businesses to engage their customers. Modern customers are eager for this engagement, but only if it is offered in a relevant, personalized manner. Correctly done, customer engagement can help convert first-time buyers, retain current customers and improve branding. 

Despite the benefits that businesses can receive, few companies reward customers for their engagement. Most businesses opt for loyalty rewards that are based on how much the customer spends. By limiting rewards in this manner, businesses are missing opportunities to build and nurture customer relationships during  the customer's purchase journey.

Customers are the backbone of your company. After all, you could not stay in business long if they stopped buying from you. Despite (or perhaps because of) their necessity, customers can be frustratingly difficult. Their needs and wants are constantly changing, as are the channels and devices they choose to interact with you. Where once customers appreciated anonymity, they now want you to "read their minds" about what they want from you. Where they once appreciated notices of sales or special events, many now view text or email blasts as annoying intrusions.

Customers want to be engaged, but they want a greater amount of control over the process than in the past. They want you to provide them with content, but only the content they want to see and at the time they want to see it. They expect the same consistent experience across every channel, even as they continue to drive a blurring of the lines between digital and physical domains.

In other words, your customers want contextual engagement. They want you to provide content to them that is meaningful when their behavior, past history, method of access and location are considered.

Sitecore has the functionality to allow you to engage customers in an anticipatory and contextual manner. Start with the Sitecore context class. Sitecore can use a variety of sources to determine the proper context, and the actions taken can be different for internal and external users. By leveraging the power of Sitecore analytics, you can truly get to know your customers to create a personalized experience for each. 

The engagement automation feature enables cross-channel coordination of the customer's experience. It also deals with activities that occur at different times. The feature can be used to automatically initiate an action in one channel based on the customer's actions in a different channel. For example, if a customer used a smartphone to check availability of an item without making a purchase, you could deliver information about alternative products when the customer used a desktop computer to visit your site.

The inline experience management tool in Sitecore is another way that the software can help you engage your customers. You can establish customer personas and even create profile cards to define each persona. Based on personas, content can be manipulated or managed inline for a sleek, seamless experience. You can also use business rules to define the actions. In addition, you can use the same tool to set up inline A/B or multivariate testing on a web page.

Sitecore's engagement analytics includes a qualitative metric called engagement value that can help you measure the performance of your social channels as well as your marketing campaigns. Because each organization can configure engagement value differently, you can tailor it for whatever KPI will be most useful to you. You can assign weight and score outcomes to provide insights on the level of customer engagement or commitment.

One problem that some solutions have is that they are too complex for users who lack strong technical skills. Sitecore, however, has made things easier for users to understand. The incorporated functionality makes Sitecore accessible without making it less powerful.

Delivering the right message to the right person at the right time is the best way to enhance customer engagement. Engaged customers are more likely to be converted from first-time browser to new customer. Current customers can be encouraged to make additional purchases or try new products or offers that are personalized especially for them.

In the future, it is highly unlikely that customers are going to willingly relinquish the control over how they interact with your business. They will continue to demand multichannel engagement and contextual content. Companies that can deliver what customers want, when they want it and in the manner they want should be rewarded with increased revenue and a more loyal customer base.

The rush is on for companies to make the move to a digital enterprise sooner rather than later. The proliferation of smartphones, the expansion of the Internet of Things and innovations, such as wearable technology, have forced businesses to rethink how (and where) they will connect with their customers. 

One area that has received a great deal of attention lately is digital content — and a recent survey indicates that companies are actually losing ground in meeting the digital content readiness challenge. In 2014, a joint survey conducted by the Center for Information Development Management and Data Conversion Labs revealed that 48 percent of the respondents stated that their content was ready to provide support for digital business requirements during the upcoming two years. In 2015, that number had fallen to 44 percent. 

Furthermore, the survey indicated that companies are going to need help to handle the change. When asked to name the obstacles that stood in the way of meeting the digital content challenge:

Twenty years ago, interacting with customers was simple. Most companies used print ads, radio or television spots to communicate their marketing efforts with an occasional "snail-mail" campaign tossed in for good measure. Customers typically interacted through in-person visits or telephone calls. The Internet was still new to most consumers, and truly forward-thinking companies had simple websites and used email campaigns as best they could. Those were the days when customers accepted that their shopping was limited to your store's business hours and your on-hand inventory.

Today's consumers have more freedom to choose how to interact with businesses than ever before. Smartphones, desktop computers, tablets, kiosks, wearable tech and laptops are just some of the options consumers can choose to conduct research, make purchases or discuss a company's products, customer service or brand reputation. It has become increasingly common for customers to jump between devices as they progress through the various steps of their journeys from mild interest in a product to completing its purchase.

However, customers demand an experience that is engaging as well as seamless when they switch from one channel to another. This is where an effective content management system can help. Content management systems were once little more than a tool to make it easier to upload images and text. Over time, however, they have evolved to become the foundation upon which all Internet-enabled processes are built.