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Jun 24, 2019, 03:49 AM
by
Fred Dumas
What does it take to get things done in today’s world of digital marketing services? Not only has technology completely changed strategic thinking in marketing, it has also revolutionized marketing operations, or the discipline of getting things done in marketing. The following is a summary of how to achieve excellence in digital execution and managed marketing services. We focus on three areas: identifying essential digital marketing functions, driving operational excellence, and aligning investments with your essential functions.
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Mar 12, 2019, 15:44 PM
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None
Some of the most successful brands across industries are outsourcing their customer care with great success. The negative image of customer service and support is the result of a variety of myths about outsourcing—read on to see how these myths are dispelled.
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Sep 10, 2018, 05:40 AM
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Alex Gill
Relationships. We’ve all had them. But in order to generate positive, successful relationships, you need to invest plenty of time, care and attention. And that's no different for the ones between businesses and their customers.
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Aug 30, 2018, 10:14 AM
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Rich Romig
Clients choose an agency based on different criteria, but chief among them is the belief that the agency will simply do a better job than the others it competes against. At the core of that belief is the client’s personal experience with agency personnel or its leadership team. Once the credentials and capabilities are established and the speculative (spec) work shown, it’s people-to-people connectivity that often seals the deal, the way the right seasoning elevates a recipe into something great.
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Aug 23, 2018, 12:14 PM
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Alan Kittle
I recently completed the privileged role of chairing four judging panels at this year’s DMA International Echo Awards in New York City. I was joined by over 100 judges, reviewing shortlisted submissions from over 20 countries across three grueling days.
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Aug 22, 2018, 15:44 PM
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Zach Nelson
This insurance brand is a leading provider of property and casualty insurance that prides itself on providing superior customer service. The company had built an effective customer acquisition model through its large network of affinity partners, but rapid and revolutionary changes in the property and casualty (P&C) insurance category were making this model increasingly difficult to sustain.
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Aug 22, 2018, 05:20 AM
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Alan Kittle
Soundtracks can enable powerful movie marketing. The hit Titanic song "My Heart Will Go On," sung by Céline Dion, was a great marketing tool. Titanic went on to become the second-highest grossing film of all time, and the soundtrack is in the top 50 album sales of all time. Some say the movie made the soundtrack, but this misses the obvious synergy between a movie and its soundtrack.
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Aug 16, 2018, 12:34 PM
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Natalia Gallur
Our world is being redesigned through digital technologies. Technology has changed how people live, work, play and connect. And marketers are learning to use the digital experience to track signals to reach customers in a more human manner—in the moments that matter. The healthcare industry can do the same to track and engage patients in the moments that matter to them—and improve their outcomes.
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Aug 16, 2018, 06:23 AM
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Christopher Decker
You know what they say about assumptions, right? If you don’t, I’m not going to print it here. But suffice it to say, you should avoid making them. In life and in business, we have to deal with them, and counter with the facts.
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Aug 10, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
A lot of clients ask us about where cryptocurrency is going, but the technology that tracks cryptocurrency (blockchain) holds more potential. JD Metcalf, VP of Marketing Strategy at Harte Hanks, explains how this technology can provide value to your financial services customers.
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Aug 10, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
Brands that produce commodity products can still make real connections with their customers (think Coca-Cola). Zach Nelson, VP of Marketing Strategy at Harte Hanks, explains how.
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Aug 9, 2018, 15:44 PM
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None
A pioneer in the wealth management industry has as their business a wide range of services including retirement, education funding, investment, planning and insurance to individuals, families and businesses.
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Aug 6, 2018, 04:05 AM
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ZACH NELSON
Marketers often use broad-stroke pillars and base budgets on a percentage increase over current spend (or other loose estimates) with the eventual tactics bearing little resemblance to the original strategic framework used to build those budgets. If this sounds like you, read on to learn about a better way of building grounded marketing program proposals that can be more accurately budgeted and ultimately produced.
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Aug 2, 2018, 05:15 AM
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JD Metcalf
Toys R Us has finally closed its doors. And like the sad meme of their mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe waving goodbye the finality has people buzzing and experts (for better or worse) speculating about the future of retail in an increasingly digital world. What could they have done differently?
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Aug 1, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
Fintech seems to be one of the biggest threats to traditional financial services providers, but worrying about all of the possible technology-based players isn't likely to help you succeed. Watch this video for a better approach from JD Metcalf, VP of Marketing Strategy at Harte Hanks.
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Aug 1, 2018, 10:25 AM
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Scott Rhodes
As noted in a recent Gartner study, the CMO’s budget as a percent of total company revenues has dropped after years of persistent growth. The study concludes: “Marketing leaders must justify past budget commitments and demonstrate the returns they deliver to ensure the future fiscal health of marketing.”
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Jul 31, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
The more time we all spend interacting with digital devices, the more we crave human interaction. And customers want marketers to get to know them as individuals. JD Metcalf, VP of Marketing Strategy at Harte Hanks, explains what this can look like in financial services.
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Jul 31, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
It can feel daunting for a packaged goods brand to make an emotional connection with its customers—especially in the days of Amazon. Zach Nelson, VP of Marketing Strategy at Harte Hanks, explains how brands like Coca Cola surround commoditized products with "lifestyle wrappers" to create emotional connection and stay with the consumer between purchases.
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Jul 31, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
It is the essence of omnichannel marketing: surrounding customers with relevant, coordinated messaging across channels, in the right moments. Zach Nelson, VP of Marketing at Harte Hanks, explains the strategy he calls "The Surround."
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Jul 31, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
Most banks and credit unions want to tap into this acquisition opportunity—and it might be easier than it appears. Find out which opportunity we're referring to from JD Metcalf, VP of Marketing Strategy at Harte Hanks.
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Jul 31, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
At the end of 2017, over $2B was sitting in the Starbucks payment app. Find out why this is important to banks and credit unions and what they can do about it from JD Metcalf, VP of Marketing Strategy at Harte Hanks.
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Jul 26, 2018, 15:44 PM
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None
On the topic of technology, new author Tej Bhattarai, Marketing Campaign Director, examines best practices for selecting and implementing the right tools for your omnichannel experience—and Laura Watson, Director of Strategy, explains the irony in using technology to be more “human” in your communications.
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Jul 26, 2018, 10:43 AM
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Nick LaBran
Social media is now part of just about every company’s marketing strategy. Some use it well, others, not so well. But one key element that should be part of any successful social marketing strategy is social listening.
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Jul 23, 2018, 12:24 PM
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Jennifer Miles-Losapio
A decade ago when market research response rates were 35% to 40%, we could assume away non-response bias. But today, with response rates as low as 5% to 10%, we need to question whether we are getting results that represent the population.
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Jul 20, 2018, 03:57 AM
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Mark Michaud
Supply chain execution for some firms is an increasingly critical dimension of marketing, differentiation, and defensible competitive advantage. As an example, consider Home Depot’s recent decision to invest $1.2 billion in its supply chain for their two thousand-plus stores as well as their growing e-commerce business.
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Jul 18, 2018, 06:03 AM
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Aaron Ludwig
We’ve discussed the factors you should consider when deciding to outsource your database, as well as some of the benefits you can reap from an outsourced marketing database. We’ve even covered what a good marketing database will cost (in house or outsourced).
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Jul 17, 2018, 04:14 AM
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Aaron Ludwig
You know the four functions of a good marketing database, but can you achieve all four on your own? If not, outsourcing might be the answer. The specific benefits you may gain from outsourcing your database marketing solution depend on your situation and goals. Generally, however, the benefits fall into 10 well-defined categories.
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Jul 16, 2018, 15:44 PM
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None
The dealership network of a major import automotive brand was losing after-sales revenue, an extremely important part of the dealership's overall profitability.
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Jul 16, 2018, 05:54 AM
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Matt Pollock
From travel and hospitality offers, to incentives on concert and sporting event tickets and that Starbucks card in your wallet, we’re a society that loves our perks. In the U.S. alone, consumers hold over 3.8 billion memberships in customer loyalty programs—and that number continues to grow.
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Jul 13, 2018, 12:05 PM
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Matt Pollock
Delivery options for ecommerce fulfillment are proliferating. The choice of same-day delivery or next-day or two-day shipping are table stakes. Now, consumers have the choice to go to a physical location to pick up their package themselves, saving time and money.
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Jul 12, 2018, 08:50 AM
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Karen Puckett
Wipro’s flagship WINNOVATE 2018 event took place earlier this year, at which Harte Hanks CEO Karen Puckett joined executives from Microsoft, Uber, Discover and Nokia in a panel discussion on Operations Transformation in the Digital Age. We captured some of Karen’s insights on technology and transformation ahead of the event in this interview.
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Jun 28, 2018, 08:41 AM
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Jonathan Cayton
In this final installment of our four-part series on account-based marketing, we detail six technology fields essential to supporting an end-to-end ABM process. We also suggest tools for consideration for both entry-level and advanced strategies.
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Jun 25, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
Discover how to make the most of moving. Watch our video to learn how to drive sales and brand engagement for your business with the New Mover Marketing Suite by Harte Hanks.
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Jun 15, 2018, 14:05 PM
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Laura Watson
It’s been a decade since Mad Men’s Don Draper and his entourage dramatized the now-antiquated approach to marketing: create a product then convince consumers they can’t live without it. For today’s marketers, given the focus on big data, personalization and one-to-one marketing, that methodology feels foreign.
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Jun 13, 2018, 15:24 PM
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Frank Grillo
With all of the new responsibilities CMOs are being asked to shoulder, the role can sometimes feel like we’re being asked to walk on water. In fact, that’s exactly how Kim Whitler, Assistant Professor, University of Virginia, Darden School of Business and member of the Harte Hanks Marketing Advisory Board, calls it: a “water-walking” role. Finding the right CMO that can navigate these demanding waters is equally challenging for the CEO (evidenced by the fact the CMOs have by far the shortest tenure in the C-Suite).
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Jun 13, 2018, 13:37 PM
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Tej Bhattarai
Omnichannel marketing—the practice of sequencing communication across channels so that it’s connected, relevant and consistent with the customer’s buying stage—is no longer a competitive edge, but rather a business practice mandatory for survival.
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Jun 7, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
Your brand's content is not only competing with other brands—it's also competing with the likes of Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime content for attention. You can stand out by delivering real value. Nicole Bump, Director of Content Marketing at Harte Hanks, explains.
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Jun 7, 2018, 11:45 AM
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Jonathan Cayton
In this third installment of our four-part series about account-based marketing, we click through the “Four Ps” essential to the process: prepare, prioritize, plan and perform. Much of marketing is about pursuit. But we’d all be spinning in circles if we did not first invest the time to identify and get to know the prospective customers we are best suited to help—and consider the ideal approach to engage with them.
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Jun 1, 2018, 15:44 PM
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None
Corporations are increasingly willing to connect their brands to social issues. Rather than be left behind, many companies are wondering whether they too should add a social dimension to their brand. While there are numerous risks, some of the key advantages include making the brand more human.
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May 30, 2018, 15:44 PM
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None
It’s that time of month again—time for an update on our hottest marketing content. And hot it’s been for data privacy professionals. Between the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica fiasco and GDPR, the marketing world has been abuzz about personal data, data privacy and trust lately.
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May 30, 2018, 13:59 PM
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Nicole Bump
Brian Carrier is the Vice President of Global Demand Generation, Data Insights and Marketing Technology at Xerox. Reporting to Xerox’s CMO, Toni Clayton-Hine, Brian is responsible for the company’s global demand generation and marketing technology/data strategy, including the company’s big data datamart, Salesforce.com and Marketo integration, as well as their technology roadmap. We interviewed him about his key challenges and the innovative technology he’s employing to solve them.
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May 29, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
Instead of trying to be everything to everyone on social media, consider context audiences. Hear Kate Sullivan, Senior Director, Digital & Social Media at Harte Hanks, explain why they can be a great tool for generating relevant social communities.
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May 29, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
Kate Sullivan, Senior Director, Digital & Social Media at Harte Hanks, explains what should be top of mind for social media marketers in 2018. You might also find value in this this post by Kate: 5 Dos and Don'ts on How to Use Consumer Data in Social
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May 29, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
While reaching a large audience with a prominent influencer sounds like a winning bet, you might be better off focusing on your brand advocates. Kate Sullivan, Senior Director, Digital & Social Media at Harte Hanks, explains why—and how to find them.
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May 29, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
Do you know what your customers want from you on social? Kate Sullivan, Senior Director, Digital & Social Media at Harte Hanks, explains what it is—and how to deliver it.
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May 29, 2018, 14:58 PM
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JD Metcalf
August and September mark one of the busiest times of year for opening depository accounts, and the time to take advantage is now. In this second story in our two-part series, we follow six marketing steps that enable banks to identify, select and engage the best-opportunity households for new accounts. If you haven't seen the first post on finding households ripe for deposit growth, have a look!
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May 29, 2018, 14:09 PM
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Kate Sullivan
By Laura Watson and Kate Sullivan. Data privacy is a hot button topic right now—but being responsible with your customer’s personal data is never going to go out of style.
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May 25, 2018, 14:01 PM
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JD Metcalf
A sound way to increase deposits is by strengthening relationships with existing customers. In this first story in a two-part series, we lay out the four steps for growing deposits with a small but influential segment—affluent households.
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May 22, 2018, 15:34 PM
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Scott Rhodes
I’m going to bring up a term that might score if you’re playing buzzword bingo: “digital transformation.” The term has become ubiquitous enough that most companies are at least pretending to worry about it—and amorphous enough that no two “gurus” will give you the same working definition of what it actually means.
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May 22, 2018, 15:17 PM
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Jonathan Cayton
In this second installment of our four-part series about account-based marketing, we’ll venture into selective accounting and developing personas by analyzing the events that shape the client’s needs. If you haven't yet, check out the first part in this series about the five essential ingredients to building an ABM strategy.
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May 16, 2018, 16:14 PM
by
Thea Crelin
By Daniel Rubin and Thea M. Crelin. It’s the million-dollar question that can save many insurance firms a bundle, and yet it starts so small: If you had just one dollar to spend on marketing, where would that dollar go?
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May 16, 2018, 09:03 AM
by
Dave Francis
In my previous blogpost, I looked at the state of transportation and how to manage the current capacity crisis: that is, the trucking industry demand for freight is very high, and supply of equipment very low, which results in high prices.
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May 11, 2018, 15:44 PM
by
None
What an exciting and yet challenging time to be in marketing. The demands placed on us as marketers are constantly expanding and are being driven from all areas that impact our customers’ and potential customers’ lives. Perhaps none is more top of mind at the moment than trust. People share their information with us in the two-fold belief that we first will respect it, and second, that we will use it in a way that is genuinely relevant to them.
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May 4, 2018, 09:42 AM
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JD Metcalf
How much more profit would your company generate with a small improvement in new customer retention? For most firms, the answer is, “A LOT.” A simple Google search generates statistics that show it costs between 5X-25X as much to acquire a new customer as it does to retain a current customer.
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May 3, 2018, 15:26 PM
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Asha Rangaraj
Omnichannel experience is a multi-channel approach to marketing, selling and serving customers in a way that creates an integrated and cohesive customer experience—no matter how or where a customer reaches out.
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Apr 30, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
At the end of the day, we're all people, and we're making decisions not just based on rational evaluation—but also based on our experiences with brands. Brands therefore need to connect with customers on a more human level. Nicole Pawluk, Director of Strategy and Planning at Harte Hanks, explains why this is particularly important for financial services brands.
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Apr 30, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
For customers that avoid marketing messages, it's best to forget about "marketing" altogether. Instead, focus on creating value. Nicole Pawluk, Director of Strategy and Planning with Harte Hanks, explains.
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Apr 30, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
"If you build it, they will come." Not so with mobile apps. Nicole Pawluk, Director of Strategy and Planning with Harte Hanks, explains why marketers need a plan for how to continually engage users with their mobile apps.
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Apr 30, 2018, 15:35 PM
by
None
People have deep, emotional connections with their smartphones, which makes mobile a great place to have a genuine, human conversation. Hear more from Nicole Pawluk, Director of Strategy and Planning at Harte Hanks.
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Apr 27, 2018, 15:57 PM
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Aaron Ludwig
The scope of database marketing, the various skill sets required, and particularly the ways the database intersects both IT and marketing, are factors that contribute to why many organizations choose to outsource their database.
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Apr 27, 2018, 15:10 PM
by
Lane Yard
Saving for the future is smart. Yet, historically many Americans haven’t exactly been wired to do it. So, financial advisors have long relied on scare tactics to convince consumers to save for the future: If you’re not putting at least 15% a year in your retirement fund, you’ll be working until you’re 75!
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Apr 27, 2018, 11:25 AM
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Terry Arnold
There are a number of trends to adjust to as the role of contact center continually changes. However, a through-line is maintaining excellent customer experience.
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Apr 23, 2018, 16:23 PM
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Jonathan Cayton
This story is the first in a four-part series that explores ways to leverage and effectively deploy account-based marketing. In this first part of the series, we examine the five essential ingredients to building an ABM strategy.
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Apr 20, 2018, 15:10 PM
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Dave Francis
"Crisis" is a strong word—but when talking about the current state of logistics, it might be an appropriate descriptor. It's not time to panic yet, but if we look at some basic economics, things are certainly getting dicey.
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Apr 19, 2018, 15:44 PM
by
None
Managing someone’s financial assets is about as personal a business as you can get. After all, the performance of customers’ portfolios directly impacts their lives—whether they’re planning for college expenses or looking toward a comfortable retirement. Yet in such a personal business, the customer acquisition process isn’t always personal.
Additionally, the industry faces some daunting challenges.
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Apr 17, 2018, 15:44 PM
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AAron Ludwig
We've created this worksheet to help you decide if you should seek to install or outsource your marketing database. Included are 20 factors to consider (other than cost). Think you know where you stand? Download the worksheet to find out.
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Apr 13, 2018, 08:41 AM
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Chris Field
Customer data privacy is an area of intense public and governmental concern across the globe. Since customer data are often managed by marketers, companies need their CMOs to take the lead on this one. We see four major risks that must be managed immediately. If done well, the risks become opportunities.
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Apr 12, 2018, 15:44 PM
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None
The constant mantra at Harte Hanks is: The right message, with the right offering, designed to reach the audience at the right time. One way we make this mission a reality is to create analytics-based personas. Another way is to nest personas within the strategic context we call the 5 Pillars of Best-in-Class Marketing.
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Apr 12, 2018, 15:44 PM
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None
Let’s start with Toys“R”Us . The childhood icon is closing its doors. What went wrong? How could they have avoided this fate? I’ve brought back a piece from October that explores how Toys“R”Us could have saved its stores. If your brand has a brick and mortar presence, click through to learn from their mistakes.
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Apr 11, 2018, 10:31 AM
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Matt Pollock
We've been seeing a major change in the marketplace over the past 10 years when it comes to fulfillment. Some companies are suddenly exiting the playing field, and others are slowly backing away by not investing in systems to keep it moving forward.
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Apr 10, 2018, 14:02 PM
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Thea Crelin
Making the most of the investment is simply a matter of focusing efforts on the anticipated opportunities (and risks) an individual company’s change will present. By doing so, even small insurers could compete with mid-sized rivals. To get the most out of segmentation, one must keep in mind that the buyer’s journey for each segment is likely to be different.
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Apr 5, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
DeShelia Spann, Director of Strategy at Harte Hanks, explains why content is one of the few things that will remain constant in B2B marketing—and how to use it across the buyer's journey.
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Apr 5, 2018, 15:35 PM
by
None
For B2B marketers to be successful, they need to take personalization beyond a name in an email to consistently serving up contextual messaging that aligns with behavioral insights and the buyer's journey.
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Apr 5, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
Harte Hanks Director of Strategy DeShelia Spann explains how B2B marketers can use AI to move from broad-based messaging to a one-to-one approach.
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Apr 5, 2018, 13:53 PM
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DESHELIA SPANN
For several years now, the concept of personalization has been largely driven by quantitative and qualitative data. Leveraging demographic and firmographic insights to engage with existing and potential customers became the go-to-market strategy for many marketers.
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Apr 4, 2018, 05:53 AM
by
None
Modern technology and operations management in your fulfillment process can deliver on both improved performance and reduced costs. This makes choosing the right fulfillment partner a business-critical decision.
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Apr 3, 2018, 15:24 PM
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Terry Arnold
Often, for your customers, the first point of interactive contact with your business is via your contact center. Whether it's through asking a question of your brand on social media or through your online chat feature, emailing, or calling to speak with a representative, the caliber of this particular interaction can make or break whether a customer decides to continue to interact with your brand (and what they share with their networks about their experience).
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Mar 29, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
Harte Hanks Strategist Beth Curtis-Clarke explains why B2B brands need to go beyond metrics and facts to humans and emotion in their marketing—and provides tips for getting started with storytelling.
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Mar 29, 2018, 13:45 PM
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Thea Crelin
Agility may be key to surviving an industry in flux, but when it comes to the insurance business, successfully keeping apace means understanding if fleet-footedness is necessary for fleeting change.
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Mar 23, 2018, 13:50 PM
by
Jennifer Miles-Losapio
With the recent data privacy scandal involving Facebook and a research company called Cambridge Analytica, the issue of personal data is seeing a whole new level of attention. In this light, adhering to privacy laws is all the more important.
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Mar 22, 2018, 15:35 PM
by
None
Some brands are doing great account based marketing—and having fun with it. Alex Gill, SVP of B2B Strategy at Harte Hanks, explains how IBM is successfully using social listening to drive their ABM efforts.
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Mar 22, 2018, 15:35 PM
by
None
Account based marketing (ABM) is a hot trend in B2B businesses, but not everyone is getting it right. Alex Gill, SVP of B2B Strategy at Harte Hanks, explains some of the mistakes brands are making with their ABM.
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Mar 22, 2018, 15:35 PM
by
None
Alex Gill, SVP of B2B Strategy at Harte Hanks, defines account based marketing (ABM) and its goals.
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Mar 22, 2018, 09:32 AM
by
Nicole Bump
The definition of customer retention is simple: a customer continues to transact with your brand. But achieving customer retention? Not so simple. In fact, as Scott Neslin, Albert Wesley Frey Professor of Marketing at the Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College, explained at a Harte Hanks Marketing Advisory Board meeting, customer retention is downright difficult to achieve in practice and can be expensive to boot.
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Mar 19, 2018, 16:53 PM
by
Michael Behrenhausen
How do banks personalize their customer experiences in the digital age while still maintaining the comfort and familiarity provided by branch locations? That's just one of the questions within the financial services industry we have explored. It's all a part of our efforts to make marketing more human and provide thought leadership in the rapidly evolving world banks and financial institutions are challenged with navigating.
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Mar 19, 2018, 13:49 PM
by
Karl Hellman
The following is an interview by Dr. Karl Hellman with Alan Kittle, SVP Creative and Strategy at Harte Hanks. Karl was curious about Alan’s perspective after an extended series of meetings with clients across the USA and Europe. Karl’s question topics ranged from the 5 Pillars of Best-in-Class Marketing to social issue advertising.
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Mar 19, 2018, 11:26 AM
by
Nicole Bump
Who would buy a mattress online, you may ask? Well, I would, for starters, and so do a lot of others—the online mattress industry is worth about $1.5B. But because a mattress is typically considered a 'fit product' that customers want to try out in person, these bed-in-a-box companies have had to innovate their customer experience to provide value to the buyer in other ways.
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Mar 17, 2018, 15:26 PM
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Nicole Bump
One of the goals of the Harte Hanks Marketing Advisory Board is to provide value to our professional members and others like them. Developing talent is a common challenge that most marketing leaders face. How do we grow the next generation of marketers? And how can we continue to develop as leaders ourselves?
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Mar 15, 2018, 13:43 PM
by
Jon Dome
We've established that people will perceive your brand based on their own experiences with it. And if those experiences are unremarkable—or worse, negative—your customers won’t miss you when you disappear. The best way to design a remarkable experience is to design it around the customer’s needs throughout the buyer’s journey.
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Mar 14, 2018, 15:44 PM
by
None
I’ve taken a slightly different approach at choosing content this month. Each of the pieces provides different insights on market segmentation—starting with Tony Ulwick’s new piece on milkshake marketing, published in Marketing Journal. In this piece, he explores the limits of traditional segmentation and how segmenting markets by jobs to be done may be a more effective approach.
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Mar 9, 2018, 09:36 AM
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Terry Arnold
What happens when a brand overextends itself beyond its core business competencies? It fails. That's usually where outsourcing as a solution comes in. But some brands worry about how a strange new outsourcing partner could ever possibly know their business well enough to do take over vital functions like, say, inside sales.
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Mar 9, 2018, 09:24 AM
by
Rusty Langford
It’s time to wrap up our series on strengthening the foundations of your customer support channels. Once you’ve mastered these basics, then and only then should you jump into the tempting waters of shiny and new technologies like artificial intelligence-driven chatbots and virtual reality.
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Mar 8, 2018, 09:24 AM
by
Mike Hastings
Auto marketers can best respond by focusing on three major areas: the retail experience, the connected car, and new mobility patterns. Out of these three areas, we suspect a major shakeout in the digital phase of the retail experience will happen first. Those brands that radically enhance their ability to digitally connect with auto buyers and make their digital marketing more human will enjoy outsized rewards.
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Mar 7, 2018, 14:44 PM
by
None
If you think the whole world is your oyster, you're wrong. At least when it comes to marketing. No product or service can be all things to all people. To make the most of your limited marketing budget, you must hone in on those opportunities where you are most likely to succeed.
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Mar 7, 2018, 12:39 PM
by
Natasha Silensky
Does this sound familiar? You and your significant other have plans to go out on a Friday night. One of you has a very specific expectation for the date night but wants the other to make the plans on their own, while still meeting some unarticulated expectation. It’s not mind reading but may as well be—the planning partner is playing a guessing game, working off assumptions, which inevitably leads to the anticipating partner’s disappointment.
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Mar 5, 2018, 14:44 PM
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None
This issue of Featured includes our top content from January 2018. Several of our most-read pieces this month illustrate the challenges marketers are still grappling with around getting their teams to design and execute on the experiences customers want.
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Feb 23, 2018, 13:06 PM
by
Jon Dome
Understanding your customer’s needs and the value of the customer experience should be common by now. Unfortunately, when you look at many retail organizations, there are still only a handful that really get it.
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Feb 21, 2018, 12:52 PM
by
Nicole Bump
As a New Hampshire-ite, I need really good winter boots if I’m to leave the house between November and March. The last time I was in the market for such boots, I saved up and splurged on a pair of LL Bean’s infamous Bean Boots. They were pricey, but I was confident that if they weren’t up to snuff after a long winter of snowy, slushy treks to my kids’ bus stop, I could return them and find something else that was.
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Feb 21, 2018, 12:40 PM
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Rusty Langford
Remember that old cliché, don’t put the cart before the horse? In other words, don’t get ahead of yourself. There’s a lot of talk about using new and impressive technologies—like artificial intelligence-driven chatbots and virtual reality—to improve support and the customer experience. But there are well-established communication channels that brands should (and in many cases, need to) focus on mastering first.
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Feb 20, 2018, 16:09 PM
by
Nicole Bump
Over the past year, we've been on a journey to becoming agile marketers. We consider this to mean being able to have real conversations in real time with our potential buyers, providing them value throughout their journeys with our brand.
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Feb 20, 2018, 15:35 PM
by
None
Kay Lemon, Accenture Professor of Marketing, Carroll School of Management at Boston College, predicts that consumer packaged goods manufacturers will continue to learn more about their end customers through data and technology—enabling them to build relationships directly with their consumers.
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Feb 20, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
Ken Bernhardt, Regents Professor of Marketing Emeritus, Georgia State University and Chair of the Harte Hanks Marketing Advisory Board, explains the value customers can expect from the Harte Hanks-Wipro partnership.
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Feb 20, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
Scott Neslin, Albert Wesley Frey Professor of Marketing, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College, explains why brands are seeing such excessive product returns and provides advice on how to reduce return rate.
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Feb 15, 2018, 08:48 AM
by
Rusty Langford
By using social media as a customer support channel, you give customers the option to solve their issues when and how they want. You can also use social to proactively mine insights about your trending support issues.
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Feb 14, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
You must know your customers and their context more deeply to achieve more human marketing.
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Feb 14, 2018, 15:35 PM
by
None
Success isn't about how loud you shout or how far you push your message out. Work out your best opportunities for success and engage with those most likely to say "yes, yes, yes!"
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Feb 14, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
Don't be a creep. You must know your customers and their context more deeply to achieve more human marketing.
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Feb 14, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
You must know your customers and their context more deeply to achieve more human marketing.
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Feb 14, 2018, 14:35 PM
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None
You must know your customers and their context more deeply to achieve more human marketing.
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Feb 12, 2018, 09:11 AM
by
Terry Arnold
Welcome to the last of our myth-busting series on outsourcing customer care. Here’s a quick look back at what we learned from the previous entries: A strong customer care partner will keep you in the loop—not in the dark. A good outsourcing partner will encourage your team to be as involved as you want to be in every stage of the process.
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Feb 8, 2018, 15:16 PM
by
Frank Grillo
We’re navigating a landscape in which the customer is in control. For a brand to succeed, someone needs to take ownership of that customer—and often step in and "be the brand," as well. More often than not, we’re seeing the CMO put into this role. But are they hindered by too many high expectations and too many required skill sets?
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Feb 7, 2018, 14:44 PM
by
None
We live in the “Age of Me.” Buyers call the shots. Brands don’t control the buying process. Winning share of wallet means winning share of attention. Buyers expect companies to make offers that are interesting and relevant in the moment. Anything less is an unwanted intrusion.
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Feb 5, 2018, 16:06 PM
by
Karen Puckett
Some years ago, “…Best Buy’s management team realized a big box filled with stuff wasn’t all that appealing to a lot of people.” This is when the company began to focus squarely on providing customers with a better experience.
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Feb 2, 2018, 15:35 PM
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None
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Feb 2, 2018, 14:44 PM
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None
This pharmaceutical brand produces a leading drug that treats a chronic disease. The company identified an opportunity to provide patient support tailored to the needs of each individual living with this disease. The objective was to provide a personalized, human-based approach to support that could scale to a global level in order to improve patients’ personal outcomes and empower them to live their lives to the fullest.
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Jan 30, 2018, 16:14 PM
by
Michael Behrenhausen
We recently set up a conversation between Harte Hanks CMO Frank Grillo and Kimberly Whitler, Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, to discuss the current and future state of retail both digital and physical. The two ended up having a lively, insightful exchange of ideas.
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Jan 30, 2018, 08:46 AM
by
Terry Arnold
We’re three for three so far in our busting of common misconceptions on outsourcing customer care and feeling pretty good about it! Looking back, some of the finer points we’ve noticed: it’s key to work with the right partner who has the relevant experience and the resources required.
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Jan 29, 2018, 14:59 PM
by
John Deighton
Before the great recession of 2007, retail was quite adventurous. The idea of retail as theater was explored in everything from Niketown to American Girl to the Lego Store in Chicago’s Watertown. The recession forced us back to safer territory.
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Jan 29, 2018, 14:44 PM
by
None
In the world of modern marketing it’s all too common to see irrelevant ads and ineffectual attempts at engagement. To make a difference and an impact there needs to be a genuine effort at speaking to the customer personally and in the moment. Thinking that a single data point or sending me a note on my birthday is personalization is just wrong.
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Jan 26, 2018, 09:23 AM
by
Steve Acuna
Sometimes, 1 + 1 actually equals 3. Or 4 or 5 or more. And today I'm suggesting that if retail brands were to team up with the consumer brands they sell, they would both be able to better serve their customers and end up at that 3+ number.
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Jan 25, 2018, 14:37 PM
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Frank Grillo
Traditional segmentation and targeting are all about effectiveness and efficiency. We are all familiar with a classic use of segmentation and targeting: offering a luxury product at a high price to the affluent and a stripped-down, low-cost version to the masses.
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Jan 24, 2018, 10:21 AM
by
Mike hastings
As automakers gather this week and last in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show, they’re celebrating impressive 2017 sales—especially of trucks and SUVs that generate big profits. But the outlook for 2018 and beyond is a little less clear.
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Jan 23, 2018, 12:51 PM
by
Steve Acuna
Many brands operate under the assumption that their marketing communications and advertisements define the brand. In reality, you can tell customers what your brand is all day, but people will perceive your brand based on their own experiences with it. And if those experiences are unremarkable—or worse, negative—your customers won’t miss you when you disappear.
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Jan 18, 2018, 14:44 PM
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None
This month’s issue of Featured showcases some of our most popular articles from December. Included are 2018 marketing predictions from our Harte Hanks Marketing Advisory Board academic members—including John Deighton, Kim Whitler and others.
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Jan 18, 2018, 14:11 PM
by
Terry Arnold
This series examines a variety of myths and misconceptions that give outsourced customer care a bad rep (when, in reality, it's often a solid strategy that improves customer experience and frees up resources to focus on your core competencies). Each post also provides some suggestions on how to find a reliable contact center partner to meet your needs.
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Jan 14, 2018, 14:44 PM
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None
We’re all aware of the many challenges facing the retail industry—but what piques our interest more than the challenges is all of the opportunity. By getting to know customers more deeply and engaging them with valuable, human experiences, there is great opportunity for retail brands to stand apart from competition and secure a place in the new digital world.
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Jan 4, 2018, 09:33 AM
by
Michael Behrenhausen
We need to understand our buyers' journeys in order to add value for them every step of the way. A look through our 2017 content showcases a variety of thought leadership on the topic. Below, you'll find some of our most-read, most insightful buyer's journey pieces. Have a look:
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Jan 2, 2018, 14:07 PM
by
Jon Dome
Too often customers are forced to search through a warehouse-like environment as they comb over large amounts of inventory to find the products that meet their needs. Racks are stuffed, it's difficult to find sizes, and complementary items are all the way across the store. Helpful product experts and stylists are few and far between—if they exist at all.
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Dec 20, 2017, 09:32 AM
by
Michael Behrenhausen
As we wrap up 2017, it's a good time to reflect on the past twelve months—including some of our most-read thought leadership. Here, we take a look at retail, one of the most hotly discussed segments in marketing right now. Will brick and mortar survive? How can you best achieve an in-the-moment, omnichannel experience? Can anyone beat Amazon?
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Dec 14, 2017, 14:44 PM
by
None
In the highly competitive banking industry, regional banks face enormous challenges without the benefit of huge marketing budgets and resources that national banks enjoy. To remain profitable in a highly-connected era, this regional bank realized they had to adapt to customer needs in more relevant ways—both quickly and cost effectively.
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Dec 8, 2017, 14:55 PM
by
Frank Grillo
Our mission at Harte Hanks is to make marketing human. Not that we reject marketing technology, big data, market research, analytics, and so forth. Quite the contrary, we are expert users of all of these tools. But too often marketers let the tools do their thinking for them. They put the numbers first and people second—sometimes leaving the human element out altogether.
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Dec 7, 2017, 08:07 AM
by
Jon Dome
You have big plans for growth—customer experience improvements, increasing digital investment, creating an integrated martech stack that provides a holistic view of customer....
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Nov 29, 2017, 12:48 PM
by
Karen Puckett
Marks & Spencer CEO Steve Rowe recently explained in Marketing Week that the British multinational retailer is looking to use data to "make M&S great again." In other words, he believes data will help M&S return to its former glory of one of the world's leading retailers.
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Nov 22, 2017, 14:44 PM
by
None
In the early 2000’s, this global technology leader relied on marketing staff spread across multiple centers in Europe for its campaign execution. Services were delivered at a non-standardized, regional level with little to no reporting or management structure in place.
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Nov 17, 2017, 12:40 PM
by
Nicole Bump
The most obvious way Target’s focus on the needs of this underserved segment comes to life is with two separate entrances: “one for time-starved shoppers who only need to pick up a few items, and the other for people who want to leisurely browse the store.”
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Nov 17, 2017, 11:58 AM
by
Alan Kittle
The average heavy smartphone user checks their phone 150 times a day. 150 TIMES A DAY. On top of that, they—or more accurately, 90% of “they”—think that’s healthy. Their need to experience micro-euphoric moments again and again, all day and often at night, fuels this behavior, and it’s creating an entirely new set of expectations in the way businesses interact with them.
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Nov 15, 2017, 12:58 PM
by
JD Metcalf
The trend toward more personalized, human marketing will impact banks in a number of different ways. The first, and one of the most critical, is customer retention. About 46% of banking customers would strongly consider switching to one of the GAFA tech giants (Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon) if they offered banking products.
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Nov 10, 2017, 14:08 PM
by
Anthony Ulwick
How to apply strategy and innovation to build a rock-solid foundation for your marketing organization. After decades of analyzing innovation failures, I repeatedly isolate one factor that stands out above all others as the lead culprit. Ironically, it is the customer. More specifically, many innovations fail because they rely on what customers say they need.
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Nov 8, 2017, 14:47 PM
by
Frank Grillo
Got a loyalty program? Great. Chances are you’re seeing some incremental spend if you’re using the resulting data effectively. But true brand loyalty cannot be earned by dolling out rewards or tier status alone. It takes more than that. It takes authenticity and a reciprocal loyalty to the people that support the brand—employees and customers alike.
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Nov 3, 2017, 16:00 PM
by
Karen Puckett
Philip Kotler recently published an article on MarketingJournal.org called “Will the 4th Industrial Revolution Kill Store-Based Retailing?” In it, he asserts that the internet, mobile devices and the Internet of Things (IoT) have brought us to the point of another industrial revolution—one that is killing brick and mortar retail. He points to closures of stores like J.C. Penney, Macy’s and Toys R Us.
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Oct 24, 2017, 11:22 AM
by
Jd Metcalf
By JD Metcalf, Laura Watson and Nicole Pawluck. Several of our thought leaders have recently addressed the changing role of brick-and-mortar stores in an increasingly digital retail world. Do they still matter? Or is brick and mortar dead? Frank Grillo, CMO at Harte Hanks, explored the continued.
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Oct 23, 2017, 16:18 PM
by
Frank Grillo
Even though many agree that pushing content is unwise, we keep doing it. I wonder if the problem is rooted in the marketing term “content” itself. Do digital shoppers say to themselves, “Mmm, what I need right now is some good old-fashioned content.” I don’t think so! In that early, learning phase of the buyer’s journey, aren’t they thinking something more like “Mmm, I would like to learn more about this and how it relates to my life, how I feel, what I need, or what I want to do.”
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Oct 20, 2017, 15:44 PM
by
None
Customers in all industries now demand relevant, personal communications and exceptional customer experiences—financial services is no exception. Bank of America knew it needed to connect with its massive client base in more relevant ways, not only to maintain existing clients, but also to cross-sell and add value.
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Oct 20, 2017, 15:11 PM
by
Frank Grillo
As Ken Bernhardt, Ph.D., explains, the consumer is a lot different now than he or she was just five years ago. All consumers have more information at their fingertips, courtesy of mobile, and therefore take much different buyer’s journeys than they did in the recent past.
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Oct 18, 2017, 10:32 AM
by
Karen Puckett
In his article The shockingly sad but true story of Toys R Us' decline, Roger Hamilton explains that Toys R Us recently filed for bankruptcy after a losing battle with Amazon to be the ecommerce giant’s exclusive toy provider. While many may attribute this bankruptcy to the continued decline of brick and mortar retail, this failure is not a matter of digital versus physical or online versus offline.
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Oct 17, 2017, 15:44 PM
by
None
Welcome to our first edition of Harte Hanks Quarterly magazine, showcasing the latest marketing news and views.
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Oct 12, 2017, 10:29 AM
by
Karen Puckett
Mohanbir Sawhney and Robert C. Wolcott recently published a piece on marketingjournal.org called A New Charter for Chief Marketing Officers which explains the need for CMOs to have a broader, more strategic role with more influence in the C-suite.
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Oct 5, 2017, 15:15 PM
by
Nicole Bump
From airlines and hotels to gas stations and drug stores, customer loyalty programs abound. Scott Neslin, Professor of Marketing at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, argues that, while many brands initiate loyalty programs to generate incremental sales, the real value in a loyalty program is the data it generates.
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Oct 2, 2017, 17:36 PM
by
Nicole Bump
Think back to about five years ago. Could you have imagined that we’d already be riding in driverless cars? That Americans would be checking their mobile phones 8 billion times per day? Or that the CMO role would be spending more on technology than the CIO? Marketing is a new world from just a few years ago—which our Marketing Advisory Board discussed at our August meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.
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Oct 2, 2017, 16:02 PM
by
Nicole Bump
Agile marketing is a hot topic—and for good reason. Customers expect brands to interact with them contextually, in close to real time, and marketers are struggling to keep up with this pace of change. We showcased how Harte Hanks is trying to solve this problem at our most recent Marketing Advisory Board meeting.
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Sep 27, 2017, 15:30 PM
by
Nicole Bump
What do car insurance and travel booking have in common? Each of these industries has largely cut out "the middlemen." Insurance companies like Geico, Progressive and State Farm make it simple and convenient to buy car insurance online and are successfully reaching customers directly through traditional and digital media channels.
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Sep 27, 2017, 13:56 PM
by
Nicole Bump
According to a recent forecast on emarketer.com, spending on digital will see double-digit growth at a rate increasing from $83 billion in 2017 to $129.23 billion in 2021. This follows on the heels of digital spending passing TV for the first time in 2016. However, in having to up their focus on commitment to budget and resources, some marketers are beginning to worry about the return on investment (ROI) on digital marketing.
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Sep 19, 2017, 15:35 PM
by
None
Marketing. It has until now, been viewed as companies pushing their messaging out into the world and trying to get consumers to buy more. That just doesn’t work anymore. Customers are calling the shots. If marketing is going to have any chance at success, it must be delivering value to the consumer and helping to solve the problems this person has set out to solve, in the moment they need to be solved. This goes beyond one-to-one marketing.
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Sep 19, 2017, 15:22 PM
by
Korey Thurber
Machine learning has officially reached buzzword status. But once you separate the reality from the hype surrounding this type of artificial intelligence (AI), it becomes obvious that machine learning will be a key component for more contextual, human marketing moving forward.
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Sep 18, 2017, 09:06 AM
by
Frank Grillo
Gartner recently released a new report: CMO Strategy Survey 2017: CMOs Go All in on Customer Marketing, but at What Price? The report’s conclusions are based on responses from 359 marketing leaders, split evenly between the US and UK.
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Sep 13, 2017, 15:44 PM
by
None
This month’s Featured—a monthly digest of our four most popular marketing articles—contains insights from marketing leaders Korey Thurber, Marla Schilling and Cheryl Strauss Einhorn. Hear their thoughts on topics like how machine learning can supercharge marketing, what to do when a good strategy is not enough, and why we need to enter an era of demarketing.
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Sep 11, 2017, 13:39 PM
by
Karen Puckett
Nordstrom just announced a bold new retail concept called Nordstrom Local, which it will test in West Hollywood starting October 3, 2017. The store features a host of services, but carries no dedicated inventory. Instead, customers can access a variety of services such as: fashion consulting from a personal stylist, lounging with a handcrafted expresso or a glass of beer or wine, selecting merchandise to transfer in for inspection, trying on selections, custom fitting and alterations, or even getting a manicure.
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Sep 5, 2017, 15:35 PM
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None
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Aug 17, 2017, 15:44 PM
by
None
We’ve selected the 5 best insights and articles from MarketingJournal.org and Harte Hanks. Welcome to Featured – a monthly digest of our six most popular marketing articles. This edition contains insights from marketing leaders like Kim Whitler and Frank Grillo. Hear their thoughts on topics like what CMOs are getting wrong (and how to fix it), defining your brand’s purpose, and getting to know your customers more deeply—beyond traditional personas. Enjoy!
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Jul 26, 2017, 11:09 AM
by
Steve Acuna
Thousands of years ago, Chinese sages created a metaphor for looking at the paradoxes of the world around them. They observed Yin and Yang opposites everywhere they turned: Shadow cannot exist without light; Creative innovation cannot succeed without disciplined order; Sun Tzu’s Art of War is full of passivity being the most effective, vigorous, active strategy.
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Jul 25, 2017, 09:31 AM
by
Elizabeth Crouch
If you can deliver more contextual, relevant interactions throughout the buyer’s journey, your customer will be more likely to engage with, purchase, and renew your product or service. But for most companies, achieving this marketing nirvana of a connected, behavior-driven journey is a complicated challenge.
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Jul 13, 2017, 11:53 AM
by
Nicole Bump
On June 22, Harte Hanks CMO Frank Grillo and Marketing Advisory Board member Katherine Lemon, Ph.D., were featured as the keynote presentation at Wharton's Consumer Response to the Evolving Retailing Landscape conference.
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Jul 11, 2017, 15:35 PM
by
Frank Grillo
Marketers occasionally need a reminder that they can lose sight of their true mission, which is to discover and deliver what customers really want.1 When marketers enthusiastically tee up the objective to integrate online and offline marketing, it is easy to get side-tracked: Where is the “customer” in “media integration”?
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Jul 7, 2017, 15:44 PM
by
None
CMOs are automating multiple marketing functions at a growing rate. According to
Gartner: “CMO marketing tech spending is on track to exceed the CIO technology
spend.” The same report indicates that marketing technology budgets now surpass
advertising expenditures. These are shocking trends and reflect a sea change in
marketing, information technology, and business in general.
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Jul 7, 2017, 10:24 AM
by
Karen Puckett
A New York Times article asks, “Is there any home purchase more confusing and fraught with anxiety than buying a mattress?” Many people would answer ‘no.’ Somewhat akin to buying a new car, the process can be complicated by myriad choices of brands and models, plagued by hard selling and hidden costs (warranty, delivery), and let’s not get started with the returns process.
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Jul 5, 2017, 11:22 AM
by
Steve Acuna
The legendary Harvard Business School marketing guru Ted Leavitt says, “If you’re not doing segmentation, you’re not doing marketing.” He is pointing out that segmentation increases the effectiveness and efficiency of your initiatives. It enables you to target, communicate, and sell accurately.
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Jun 27, 2017, 16:02 PM
by
Kylie Peters
Millennials, born between 1980 and 1999, are now the largest living generation—but if you're trying to target the millennial persona, you're making a mistake. Take another look at that first sentence to see why: we're talking about a broad range of people between the ages of 18 and 37 with very different banking needs.
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Jun 16, 2017, 10:25 AM
by
Frank Grillo
A conversation between Professor John Deighton of Harvard Business School and Frank Grillo, CMO of Harte Hanks.
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Jun 12, 2017, 13:36 PM
by
Frank Grillo
The biggest risk in the growing use of personas in digital marketing is to presume too much. When this happens, you are not personalizing your interaction with the customer, you are alienating them. You are falling victim to persona myopia.
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Jun 7, 2017, 16:55 PM
by
Kylie Peters
If you speak to anyone in a client-facing financial services role you will inevitably hear about the frustration and mystification that comes with dealing with what seem to be irrational customers. When your role is to help your clients make sound financial decisions—be it regarding retirement, refinancing a home or even just opening a savings account—it can be challenging to present the best possible solution only to have them turn it down.
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May 31, 2017, 15:56 PM
by
Jon Dome
Tami Mohney, CMO of Modell’s Sporting Goods, posed this question at the latest meeting of the Harte Hanks Marketing Advisory Board—a provocative question, indeed, especially when asked by the CMO of a brand that heavily relies on brick and mortar stores. One might be tempted to think that the model is dying and that eventually everything will be replaced by online stores like Amazon. But if that was the case, Amazon would not be opening their own physical stores.
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May 25, 2017, 15:49 PM
by
Anne Balistreri
Remember when marketing was done through human interactions? It seems like it was ages ago. Although the emergence of digital has changed our methods, there is one fundamental rule that has not changed: people buy from people they like and trust.
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May 17, 2017, 11:10 AM
by
Marla Schilling
One day, our CMO Frank told a bunch of us marketers that he wanted us to create a daily “war room.” I heard “war room” and immediately thought NASA Mission Control: headsets, walls of monitors, super high security requiring those fancy retractable badges and some sort of eyeball scanner.
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May 16, 2017, 15:44 PM
by
None
This luxury auto manufacturer had a new vision of a more connected consumer experience that would meet buyers where they are across the customer journey. Initially rolling out across two European markets, they needed a partner to connect all internal silos and champion customer centricity.
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May 3, 2017, 15:04 PM
by
Paula Crerar
Content marketing is already a well-established tactic for B2B companies. According to Content Marketing Institute, 88% of B2B marketers are using content marketing. And most marketers already understand how content fits into a demand generation strategy: you create great content, promote that content across channels, encourage people to fill out a form in order to download high-value content, and then deliver those leads to your sales team for follow-up.
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Apr 20, 2017, 11:59 AM
by
Kylie Peters
Synchrony Financial understands that those big buys in life often don’t happen on a whim. Behind every major purchase are real people weighing up their options and deciding to part with their dollars to fulfill different needs based on their individual situations. For lenders, it’s important to understand this buyer’s journey so you can better guide potential customers down the path to purchase (using your dollars).
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Apr 13, 2017, 15:44 PM
by
None
Being an effective marketer is one of the most challenging – yet rewarding – jobs today. It’s become almost a cliché to refer to marketing as being in a state of flux, but it’s true. New channels come and go, media consumption behaviors shift, but ultimately, modern marketers simply can’t be successful without a sound marketing strategy based on a rich understanding of their customer. Though that’s easier said than
done, isn’t it?
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Apr 6, 2017, 13:47 PM
by
Steve Acuna
There are only a few products in the world that are designed to meet everyone’s needs equally. For the most part, if you think the whole market is your opportunity, you’re wrong.
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Mar 31, 2017, 15:44 PM
by
None
An online leader in luxury retail consignment earned $100M in its first year (2014), with plans to reach $1B by 2019. To fuel this ambitious growth, the company must continuously expand its membership of customers, who consign their high-end products for resale to other buyers.
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Mar 28, 2017, 12:11 PM
by
Michele Fitzpatrick
Let’s pretend you’ve just moved homes. You probably expect to receive a few postcards from local retailers congratulating you on your new move and welcoming you to the neighborhood with a coupon for things like new dishes and towels. You’re a “new mover,” so that makes sense, right?
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Mar 23, 2017, 14:23 PM
by
Frank Grillo
Google indicates that mobile had a 20% increase in market share, while time per visit declined 18%. eMarketer predicts that by 2020 mobile will represent 74% of digital ad spending. These and similar findings led Google to conclude that mobile consumers move through their journeys in spurts rather than sessions, and that the “micro-moment” is the new battlefield where brands achieve success or failure.
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Mar 21, 2017, 10:05 AM
by
Nicole Bump
Airbnb Super Bowl ad promotes certain values. Does the company live by them?
Elsie Maio is on a mission – to empower high performing businesses to profitably align with the wellbeing of humanity. Since 1994, she has been touted as a practical visionary in the field of high performance brand strategy – helping clients get ahead of emerging global trends in business and society, long before it became fashionable.
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Mar 20, 2017, 15:44 PM
by
None
A leading consumer electronics brand offers several rewards programs for their customers each year. However, the vendor helping this brand with ordering and fulfillment of these reward orders was taking weeks to validate and deliver items to the consumers—which feels like forever! In addition, the company didn’t offer email or chat support when customers wanted to check up on their reward status.
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Mar 20, 2017, 13:35 PM
by
Katie Sweet
Imagine that you’re a marketer currently researching a new martech solution for your team. At the beginning of your search when you land on one company’s website, what are you looking for? If you’re like me, you want to understand what the company does and whether the solution is relevant to your current needs — as fast as possible. You don’t want to wade through pages and pages of website copy and other content to make this assessment.
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Mar 16, 2017, 15:44 PM
by
None
As a leading global provider of fleet cards, FLEETCOR serves over 500,000 commercial accounts with millions of cardholders across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Africa and Asia. The company has achieved significant growth by acquisition in international markets
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Mar 10, 2017, 10:14 AM
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Alex Gill
Customer experience marketing is a proven antidote to the complex buyer journeys that characterize the B2B sector today. The goal is to serve highly relevant content to buyers in the right place at the right time, enhancing lead nurture and conversion to deliver better revenue growth.
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Mar 8, 2017, 14:28 PM
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Frank Grillo
McKinsey and Company recently published an article called The new battleground for marketing-led growth that explains in detail why marketers need to “win attention for their brands at the very beginning of a shopper’s journey.”
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Mar 8, 2017, 14:17 PM
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Frank Grillo
McKinsey and Company recently published an article called The new battleground for marketing-led growth that explains in detail why marketers need to “win attention for their brands at the very beginning of a shopper’s journey.” McKinsey’s research shows that, for shopping-driven categories (like cosmetics, personal computers, autos and financial services), the ratio of initial consideration to market share explains more than 60% of the variance in growth of market share.
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Feb 10, 2017, 10:38 AM
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Marcy Strauss Axelrod
Every CMO must take stock of where their organization is and make decisions about what’s most important for the future. This can be an overwhelming process, with priorities coming from business units, IT, customer service, and the executive team, among others.
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Feb 3, 2017, 11:36 AM
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Ryan Moats
Historically, brick-and-mortar retailers have approached development of their online storefronts fatalistically. Companies thought that increasing online business couldn’t happen without poaching from brick-and-mortar storefronts—and if anyone was going to poach brick-and-motor business, it might as well be that same company’s online business. Online and bricks-and-mortar retail were treated as two separate animals. To grow online business, many companies thought they had no choice but to sacrifice bricks-and-mortar sales. All advances in online functionality for customers meant directing those customers away from brick-and-mortar locations.
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Feb 2, 2017, 10:51 AM
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Frank Grillo
Case study from Dr. Karl Hellman.
In our 3-second attention span world, social media marketing often grabs attention with dramatic discounts: 30% off or more. But discounts erode profits and detract from brand equity: “Thirty percent off? What’s wrong with this product?”
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Jan 27, 2017, 11:39 AM
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Frank Grillo
Case Study from Dr. Karl Hellman.
We live in a cluttered marcom world: thousands of messages bombard us every day. Here’s how a professional services firm cut through and grew their business.
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Jan 25, 2017, 11:26 AM
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Ryan Moats
For years, retailers have been told that to compete in the new ecommerce world, they need to have a well-established omnichannel organization. The 2016 holiday season proves that the time has come—and it is not going away. Retailers that do not have a solid omnichannel strategy that lets customers shop whenever and however they want to shop are going to be left in the dust.
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Jan 19, 2017, 03:42 AM
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Walt Ruday
How do you get to the answer of determining how one agency sets themselves apart? In my experience in the agency world, most, if not all, advertising agencies talk like they are selling you the same thing: 50% creative idea generation plus 50% management and organization of those ideas so they can conjure up a truly innovative execution.
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Jan 4, 2017, 16:40 PM
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Ryan Moats
Many retailers are beginning to feel like competing with a dominant force like Amazon is a losing battle.
In the recent article “Can your brand win vs. Amazon?,” eBags.com CEO Mike Edwards examines the struggle for vendors and retailers to remain profitable in the shadow of the online retail giant. Amazon offers lower prices, convenience, a wide selection, product recommendations, a range of shipping options and a personalized customer experience. They’ve set the standard for customer expectations, and if you ignore that standard, you won’t succeed.
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Jan 4, 2017, 09:01 AM
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Frank Grillo
Reading through the many 2017 marketing predictions, there is one resounding theme: consumers are running the show. As Forrester says, all markets are on the move in response to consumer demands—even utility companies are launching customer experience initiatives.
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Dec 19, 2016, 14:44 PM
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None
Tony Ulwick is the pioneer of jobs-to-be-done theory, the inventor of the Outcome-Driven Innovation® (ODI) process, and the founder of the strategy and innovation consulting firm Strategyn. He is the author of “What Customers Want” (McGraw-Hill) and numerous articles in Harvard Business Review and Sloan Management Review
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Nov 14, 2016, 14:44 PM
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None
Harte Hanks (HH) and Strategyn co-developed a strategic marketing service based on the premise that just as consumers “hire” products to do specific jobs, they also hire retailers to help them execute the “buying job” as they proceed along their buyer’s journey. To test the efficacy of this new service, HH and Strategyn focused on looking for strategic opportunities to help struggling brick-and-mortar businesses fight back against the relentless pressure from online competition.
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Nov 9, 2016, 15:54 PM
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Michele Fitzpatrick
The buyer journey and customer journey mapping are the big buzz in marketing. But do you actually know what a journey map is versus an experience map? Lifecycle map? Process map? Ecosystem map? To make the matter more complex, Forrester outlines four different journey mapping methodologies, each to be used for different objectives. AND each type of agency has its own objectives and processes for mapping.
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Nov 3, 2016, 10:59 AM
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Michele Fitzpatrick
Everything you learned in school and early in your career about marketing and product promotion is now table stakes. It used to be enough to get it right with the product and you’d find buyers. Now, you must get it right with the product AND with the customer experience to be successful in marketing.
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Oct 27, 2016, 13:41 PM
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Barbara Basquill
Before a snowflake has fallen or a holiday decoration is placed, retailers and consumers indices’ have already planned on the sales expectations they want to achieve. While the digital frontier shows no sign of slowing, now is the time to prepare for 2017.
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Sep 21, 2016, 15:44 PM
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None
Explore the minds of marketing’s thought leaders.
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Sep 21, 2016, 15:44 PM
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None
Digital disruption is undeniably unpredictable. As a marketer, the digital frontier can be a dangerous place if you aren’t armed with smart technologies. But for those who do take advantage of these digital technologies, the benefits can be substantial.
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Aug 16, 2016, 15:44 PM
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None
Most of the companies we work with have a difficult time executing against a unified customer experience as different groups within the organization have different definitions and perceptions of what that experience should be. Customer Service tends to have a reactive approach, measuring performance through CSAT.
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Jul 22, 2016, 15:44 PM
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None
Through our partnerships with multiple data sources, Harte-Hanks’ New Mover Data is one of the most powerful new mover marketing data sets available. Harte Hanks utilizes sources that obtain and update residential contact information daily from more than 3,000 sources. The data is processed by applying a variety of algorithms, confirming a move, and not just a name change for example.
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Jun 20, 2016, 06:41 AM
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None
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May 13, 2016, 15:44 PM
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None
Today’s typical customer is hyper-connected and has more choices than ever before when it comes to finding the information that’s most relevant to him or her. Undoubtedly, this customer has traditional mailers coming through the post office and hundreds of TV channels with thousands of advertisements and infomercials constantly bombarding him or her. There are a multitude of blogs, product review and recommendation sites, as well as thousands of websites and comparative shopping sites just a simple finger tap away on an amazing array of devices.
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Feb 20, 2015, 12:56 PM
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Michele Fitzpatrick
What if I told you that you could get a complete picture of your customer experience, down to granular detail around each point of interaction? A picture that would identify problem areas, assess what’s broken and provide instructions for and the economic value of fixing the problems? Sounds like this would be a pretty fantastic opportunity, right?
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Dec 18, 2014, 09:30 AM
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Linda Clasen
Over the last 20 years, I’ve seen massive amounts of change in retail marketing. Company leadership is asking for new thinking to drive the business, and any new tactics need to drive measurable results more quickly than ever. Internal pressures are made greater by the pace at which the customer’s behavior is changing. It’s daunting.
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Dec 15, 2014, 13:09 PM
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Linda Clasen
MyLowe’s, PowerUp Rewards by GameStop, My Best Buy—you’ve heard about lots of successful retail loyalty programs, and you may even belong to one of them yourself. And you may be thinking, “Hey, we need a program like that!”
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Nov 18, 2014, 10:26 AM
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Seth Romanow
In my last post, I discussed how building an ideal customer profile is the first step to successful inference marketing—using data from a variety of sources to learn about the customer without requiring him or her to fill out a form. In this post, I’ll go into a little more depth about why you should take the time to build an ideal customer profile and how to get it done.
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