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Top Takeaways from LinkedIn’s New ‘Enlightened Tech Buyer’ Report http://bit.ly/2IM9mO1 Technology is one of the fastest-growing B2B sectors, for reasons that are self-evident. As new solutions and innovations continue to enhance the way businesses operate across every industry, every key department has increasing tech needs and buying power these days. The folks at LinkedIn* recently released a 2019 global report, The Enlightened Tech Buyer: Powering Customer Decisions from Acquisition to Renewal, and it merits attention from marketers of all stripes. As the “enlightened” descriptor implies, tech buyers (for reasons that are also self-evident) tend to be ahead of the curve when it comes to research, consumption, and purchase behaviors. Today we’ll take a deeper look at LinkedIn’s new data around this trendsetting cohort, breaking down five key revelations within. 5 Telling Trends Revealed in LinkedIn’s Tech Buyer ReportHere are some of the most eye-opening tidbits we saw based on LinkedIn’s survey of “5,241 global professionals who participated in or influenced the purchase of various hardware or software solutions at their organization within the last three months.”#1 - Tech Buying Committees are Expansive and DiverseWe all know that, in general, B2B buying committees are expanding faster than the Night King’s army of wights. This dynamic is especially pronounced in the tech space. “Where previously 3/4 of enterprise employees were part of technology decision-making,” LinkedIn reports, “today the total universe of end-users and decision-makers who impact business technology investments encompasses 4/5 of employees (roughly 86%).” As tech products and services become increasingly integrated with every aspect of an organization, more voices are coming into play. End users, external influencers, and cross-functional stakeholders all tend to have a role. This reinforces the imperative of establishing strong brand awareness throughout a business, which is a central focus of account-based marketing.#2 - The Purchase Cycle is ShorteningThe report notes that the process of reviewing, selecting, and implementing new tech solutions has accelerated over the past few years, with the average purchase cycle now checking in at about 25 months. This could be viewed as good news or bad news, depending on how you look at it. On the one hand, that’s still a fairly long timespan, providing plenty of opportunity for marketing content to make an impact. Meanwhile, the increase in velocity could suggest buyers are becoming more deliberate and urgent in identifying solutions. But on the other hand, this also means that we as marketers have a smaller window than before to engage and persuade. We now need to make each interaction count more than ever — especially if we’re pursuing a new account. LinkedIn’s study shows that shortlists are becoming more competitive than ever for vendors.#3 - Vendor Websites Are a Prime ResourceAcross every B2B tech category, vendor website/mobile app is the top research destination for buyers. In aggregate, this source is followed by blogs/forums/discussion boards, product review websites, and technology media/trade journals: In short, buyers are seeking out trustworthy information — be it from a company’s own website or from unbiased third party resources. This accentuates the importance of building credibility with best-answer content, which can satisfy a decision maker’s questions during research while also positioning your brand as helpful and knowledgeable.#4 - Buyers Want Partners, Not SellersAbove all, tech buyers value the overall quality of a product or service above all when choosing a vendor. (Duh.) But the next two factors are interesting: both the ability to consistently meet a buyer’s needs, and the ability to answer questions to a buyer’s satisfaction, rank above affordability/pricing in importance: This is why the customer experience is becoming such an overarching imperative. Effective marketing now goes beyond the scope of traditional functions. Brands need to be readily available, with the right content at the right time. Strategies must account for every touch point. Always-on approaches are becoming the norm. And this level of attentiveness should go beyond the actual purchase itself...#5 - Smooth Implementation is EssentialPer LinkedIn, “The #1 indicator of customer renewal success is successful adoption and product satisfaction.” No surprise there. But it’s another reminder of why the full customer experience needs to be addressed. “The data shows direct vendor engagement among buyers dropping off in later stages of purchase, meaning that there’s an opportunity to be more present and engaged with customers post-sale,” according to the report. “Marketers need to play an active role in the implementation and adoption process of new technology. A seamless customer experience also demands alignment with customer support in activities, training and key education resources.” How can marketing continue to shape experiences in these later stages and after the sale? It’s a vital consideration for profitability, since we all know the relative cost of acquiring new customers compared to retaining existing ones.Follow the Tech BuyersNone of the nuggets revealed in LinkedIn’s “Enlightened Tech Buyer” report are especially surprising, but they do reinforce some of the trends we see playing out at large:
The post Top Takeaways from LinkedIn’s New ‘Enlightened Tech Buyer’ Report appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®. Mobile Marketing via Hubspot http://bit.ly/2V5eKQ7 April 23, 2019 at 05:30AM
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Despite Mobile Payments, Cash Remains King http://bit.ly/2W8J63W Despite how fast technology can be created and deployed, there’s only a certain pace that consumers can absorb and adapt to new things. One of the great examples of this is mobile payments. With capabilities such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, consumers have been empowered for some time to tap their phones at a checkout terminal and be on their way. However, just because they can, doesn’t mean they will. It turns out that nearly half (45%) of smartphone owners say there’s no reason to use mobile payments, according to a new study. The majority (76%) still carry cash and 55% hate the idea of life without cash, based on the study, comprising a survey of 1,000 U.S. adult smartphone owners conducted by Origin, the research arm of Hill Holliday. Part of the reason consumers aren’t using mobile payments is that they may not be prompted to during the time of payment. Most (63%) smartphone owners say that clear and consistent visual cues around mobile pay options and how they work would increase their desire to go cashless. advertisement advertisement Word-of-mouth also is an apparent driver of mobile payments, since 51% of smartphone owners said they started utilizing in-store mobile payment methods after a family member or friend introduced them to the method of paying. Despite all the new ways to pay, cash still rules, with 78% of smartphone owners using cash at least once a week and 50% using cash daily. No one has to be taught how to do that. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile http://bit.ly/2oB2PsH April 22, 2019 at 06:28PM Sony Launches Its Own Taxi-Hailing Mobile App http://bit.ly/2Dsxxxf Sony and five taxi companies in Tokyo have created a taxi-hailing service with automatic payments, much like the systems of Uber and Lyft. The service, called S.Ride, allows consumers to summon the nearest taxi from within the largest taxi network in Tokyo. After being hailed via the app, the pickup location is automatically adjusted and the passenger can communicate with the driver via text before pickup, if needed. Passengers can pay via the Sony Payment Service or through an online service using credit cards, which Sony established. “For all taxis, we plan to expand services such as supply and demand forecasting service using AI technology within this fiscal year,” Sony states in the service announcement. “We will continue to promote collaboration with partners who have strengths in various business areas, and maintain an environment where taxi operators throughout the country can use the services provided by everyone's taxis.” advertisement advertisement Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile http://bit.ly/2oB2PsH April 22, 2019 at 06:28PM SEO Needs Lift From Social During Ramadan, Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day http://bit.ly/2IN6K2o Google in a Twitter tweet last week explained that marketers in some countries can now post automatically suggested reviews as customer testimonials in Google My Business. The suggested posts, which marketers can review and edit before publishing, are based on four or five-star reviews recently left for the business. Reviews and ratings like these boost search engine optimization performance. For example, 63% of Bazaarvoice clients rely on ratings and reviews to boost SEO performance, 53% to improve in-store sales, and 52% to foster brand loyalty. Reviews may boost SEO, but personalizing content still falls short on its own. Less than 20% of shoppers participating in the Bazaarvoice study say the product recommendations they see are relevant. advertisement advertisement Perhaps that’s why one in five consumers told Bazaarvoice that social media is still important. Nearly half of Bazaarvoice clients said integrating social media and online shopping is a top priority during the next 12 to 18 months. And there are a host of holidays coming up in May such as Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day, and Ramadan. In the U.S. as well as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region ,more than 100 million people -- including a large percentage who frequent Facebook -- are gearing up to celebrate Ramadan in May, according to performance marketing company Webpals Group, which supports mobile marketing. Webpals Group conducted a survey with one of the largest ecommerce platforms in the Middle East, revealing that during Ramadan 2018, traffic rose by 230% and conversion rates increased by 30%. Social media users were more active at night, with the highest increase in time at 3 a.m. A recent study from Damian Radcliffe, a professor at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communications, estimates there are 164 million active users in the Middle East, up from 56 million in 2013. Egypt remains the biggest market for Facebook in the region, with 24 million daily users and nearly 37 million monthly mobile users, but Saudi Arabia had the highest growth rate at about 32%. Internet World Stats estimate the Middle East internet user population in 2019 at 258,356,867, but Facebook numbers date back to 2017 at about 116,482, 942 users. Loyal users of social media in the Middle East rose by 25% compared to the month before Ramadan in April 2018. In the week prior to Ramadan, marketers also saw an increase of 40% in app installation. Ecommerce transactions in shopping apps were 35% higher during the month of Ramadan compared with the month prior, according to data from Webpals. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile http://bit.ly/2oB2PsH April 22, 2019 at 02:15PM Samsung Delays Foldable Smartphone Launch http://bit.ly/2XyuCuA Marking another major setback for Samsung, the Korean tech company just delayed the launch of its first foldable smartphone. The so-called Galaxy Fold had been set for an official release date of April 26. Samsung says the phone “needs further improvements.” Among other design issues, the “foldable” screen on some of the phones has been breaking. Apple's arch rival is attributing the issue to foreign “substances” finding their way under the screens of some phones, which is apparently causing them to weaken and break. Samsung was counting on the highly anticipated phones to spark what have been slowing smartphone sales, settig it apart from Apple and other companies without a foldable phone to call their own. Amid growing competition between smartphone makers, Samsung just predicted its lowest quarterly profit in more than two years. From the first quarter of 2019, the company is expecting operating profit of $5.5 billion, which would represent a staggering 60% decline, year-over-year. That's not a surprise to analysts; Samsung said it expected earnings to be weak for the first quarter of 2019, earlier this year. advertisement advertisement Later this year, Samsung said it expects its prospects to improve as business conditions -- particularly in the memory market -- change. For all of 2019, Samsung recently said it expects “solid” earnings growth, which it believes will be bolstered by rising demand for image sensors used in more sophisticated camera specifications. Along with the eventual release of the Galaxy Fold, Samsung aims to establish its networks business as a leader in 5G technology as it begins supplying related equipment to global markets. The company also said it plans to continue investing in other emerging technologies, including AI and automotive electronics. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile http://bit.ly/2oB2PsH April 22, 2019 at 02:11PM How Marketers Can Profit From Streaming Video Boom http://bit.ly/2Izwn7q It should come as no surprise that OTT (over-the-top media streaming services) has gone mainstream. This sea change in how consumers view video content today leaves brand marketers with little time to waste as they shift their advertising strategies away from legacy models to embrace the paradigm shift that is fundamentally changing how consumers are spending their time. No matter the generation, everyone is watching, with new research from OpenX and The Harris Poll finding that a majority of all U.S. adults now stream OTT content, and they’re streaming a lot -- more than two hours every day. advertisement advertisement Gone are the days of consumers willing to pay an arm and a leg for a cable package of 600+ channels they mostly don’t watch. Whether it is with OTT or traditional TV, the average American reports wanting to watch a maximum of 15 channels and they are willing to pay $100 total. OTT providers are creating holistic portals; this enables viewers to best fit their individual needs by building their own 15/100 skinny bundles of content all via OTT. What this means for brand marketers and media buyers Despite the massive shift in consumer attention going to OTT, of the $70 billion spent on TV ads in the U.S., just $2 billion was estimated to have been spent on targeted, addressable TV ads in 2018, according to Magna. On top of this, of all U.S. consumers who actually do watch live television, more than half do not watch any ads, giving advertisers even more of a reason to start shifting to OTT. For marketers looking to capitalize on the consumer engagement opportunity awaiting in OTT, here are four keys to getting started: Start testing. While OTT ad inventory is available today, it is early in the maturation cycle. Advertisers can use the inventory currently available to test and see what works for their brand. When the floodgates fully open, they will be ready to capitalize. Build video creative for both big screens (CTV) and small (smartphone). The average streamer watches more than two-an-a-half hours of video on his phone daily, and millennials watch more streaming video on their phones than they do traditional televisions. Additionally, a third of streamers report that screen size has no impact on what kind of content they watch (or for how long). Lean-forward, mobile devices provide the opportunity for a different experience than the traditional lean-back experience of TV. Have creative that works for both, and think outside of the box for ways to activate consumers who are ready to engage. Think about show-stopping creative, literally. Forty percent of OTT consumers have paused the content they are watching to learn more about a product or make a purchase from a streaming video advertisement. OTT ads offer the ability to target lower-funnel activity, and marketers can go beyond pure brand awareness and run creative that will inspire immediate action. Use more than a login to understand the user behind the screen. With a third of consumers sharing passwords, advertisers need to think beyond logins and create more holistic people-based marketing approaches that unify multiple data points in a privacy-compliant manner to target the actual user behind the screen. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://www.mediapost.com/publications/mobile/content/ April 22, 2019 at 02:11PM Hyundai Intros Smartphone-Based Vehicle Performance Controls http://bit.ly/2vilxtU The Hyundai Motor Group has developed a system for pairing a smartphone with its electric vehicles so that the car’s performance can be controlled via the phone. The feature allows drivers to adjust seven major performance features and is planned to be included in future Hyundai and Kia vehicles. “Drivers can use this technology to adjust seven performance features including the maximum torque output of the motor, ignition, acceleration and deceleration abilities, regenerative braking capacity, maximum speed limit, responsiveness and energy use on climate control, Hyundai stated in the product announcement. The application analyzes the remaining distance and electric energy requirements to provide optimized settings for a designated destination. Hyundai plans to deploy 44 eco-friendly models by 2025, including 23 electric vehicles, “We see the potential of technologies and services inherent in non-combustion vehicles,” stated research fellow JeongSoo Eo from Hyundai Motor Group. “By developing paradigm-shifting mobility technology like this one, we will continue to strive to improve user experience for electric vehicles customized to individual preferences.” advertisement advertisement Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile http://bit.ly/2oB2PsH April 22, 2019 at 12:58PM
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Spotify, Oracle Data Cloud Partner To Let Marketers Target Auto Buyers http://bit.ly/2UOKe0b The streaming music service Spotify and the technology giant Oracle are partnering to help automotive marketers more efficiently target potential car buyers. Spotify will integrate with Oracle Data Cloud to let marketers build custom audiences for car buyers for every stage of the buying cycle and across every car segment. Oracle Data Cloud’s solutions can be paired with Spotify’s first-party data to find and target potential buyers. Spotify is leaning into its natural relationship to cars, with users streaming music during their commutes and creating road-trip playlists. In fact, the company says analysis from Oracle Data Cloud duding Fata from Polk Measurement at IHS Markit found that Spotify users bought cars at a rate 26% higher than the national average in 2018. advertisement advertisement The company says Ford is already beginning to use “niche Polk Audiences powered by Oracle from IHS Markit’s leading automotive dataset” to target potential buyers. The Oracle partnership underscores the significant efforts Spotify is making to build out its ad-supported streaming business, and make it just as lucrative as its subscription streaming offering. The company is offering sponsorships of products that had been ad-free (such as key playlists). Earlier this year, announced a deal with Placed to measure offline attribution in the U.S. The company has 96 million users on its ad-free paid subscription tier, with about 110 million users of its free ad-supported tier. Ad-supported revenue in the most recent quarter was just shy of $200 million, but subscription revenues were nearly $1.5 billion for the quarter, implying the company’s ad-sales efforts have a long way to go. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile http://bit.ly/2oB2PsH April 22, 2019 at 09:50AM DoubleVerify To Announce Further MRC Accreditation http://bit.ly/2GoUbHE Measurement and analytics company DoubleVerify (DV) will announce Monday that the Media Rating Council (MRC) has granted it another accreditation. The accreditation is not based on standards, but is a way to measure whether or not someone viewed the advertisement on the screen, mobile device or desktop. While there are many renewed items in the audit, after 18 months the new accreditation will include the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Tech Lab’s new Open Measurement Software Development Kit (OM SDK), which launched in April 2018 to facilitate third-party viewability and measurement verification of an ad on a screen. The MRC has also granted accreditation to DV for measurement of certain custom viewability metrics that meet or exceed the MRC Viewable Impression Measurement Guidelines. It links to the metrics calculated under the Publicis Media Exchange (PMX) requirements, which mandate that 100% of pixels must be in-view on the screen for one second in a display advertisement and for two seconds in a video advertisement before the ad is considered viewable. advertisement advertisement “GroupM and Publicis each have their own viewability standard that's custom to those agencies, but accreditation comes from an industry body like the MRC," said Heather McKim, VP of marketing at DV. This "stamp of approval" by industry lead organizations expands globally in other areas based on specific countries. "We’re now compliant with many different industry guidelines,” said Nicole Priesmeyer, VP of product operations at DV. Priesmeyer said that as a global company, DV ensures its practices are accredited and certified worldwide, including ABC certification around display and video viewability, as well as fraud prevention. The company also recently became certified in Germany for programmatic advertising. Accreditation by the MRC covers metrics based on quality of impressions, such as DV Authentic Impression, invalid traffic and fraud filtration, display and video ad viewability, ad verification, and geo-target validation for DMA on desktop traffic. The accreditation centers on desktop, mobile web and mobile in-app measurement based on impressions, property-level ad verification functions, sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) detection and filtration, and viewability measurement. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile http://bit.ly/2oB2PsH April 22, 2019 at 08:16AM Earth Day Meets The Billboard Industry http://bit.ly/2VbZZ0J I cold-called the billboard industry to pitch Earth Day. The response proves an old adage in sales — you never know till you ask — and also illustrates the diverse support for Earth Day (April 22) as we approach its 50th anniversary in 2020. I asked. And the billboard industry answered by donating ad space nationwide starting April 10, displaying endangered animals and a call-to-action hashtag (#ProtectOurSpecies). In 1970, I was the principal organizer of the first Earth Day. For the last 50 years, I have sought to increase environmental visibility in newspapers, magazines, television, radio, movies, and social media. Earth Day now is observed each year by more than 1 billion people in 192 nations. A healthy, sustainable planet appeals across cultures, politics, and national boundaries. The trick is moving people to action. Always alert to the ways that people receive information, I noticed when the compelling images of Joel Sartore’s “Photo Ark” began appearing in 2017. His photographs of animals on the edge of extinction were especially riveting when they looked down at me from large-format billboards. advertisement advertisement (A year earlier, when President Obama designated Stonewall Inn in New York City as a national monument, the announcement commanded attention from the (donated) NASDAQ sign in Times Square.) When thinking about new vehicles to build support for Earth Day 2020, I found myself asking: “Why not billboards?” I decided to approach the industry’s trade association, the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA). In our first meeting, I learned the billboard industry’s top lobbyist (Ken Klein) spoke at his high-school assembly on the original Earth Day in 1970, in Portsmouth, OH. As we got to know each other, OAAA’s Klein shared a bit of his family dynamics. He loves to smoke meat in his back yard in Maryland. While he was smoking spareribs one day, his son, Eric, suggested he read “Pig Tales: An Omnivore's Quest for Sustainable Meat,” about (unappetizing) industrial pork production. I told Klein beef was an even bigger environmental problem than factory-raised pork. I gave him a copy of the book I coauthored with my wife: “COWED: The Hidden Impact of 93 Million Cows on America's Health, Economy, Politics, Culture, and Environment.” My book’s title, Klein said, was too verbose to fit on a billboard. Literary criticism aside, the next time we met, I learned he’d moderated his beef consumption. That’s how change often happens, one person at a time. As I write, news of the day is unrelenting, sometimes wearying:
Meanwhile, essentially every recent climate study is scarier than the one that preceded it. More than ever, Earth Day requires a big platform, commanding our attention in a mobile, busy world. As the ice melts today, polar bears and other threatened species are prominent on high-contrast, hard-to-miss, large-format signs, with a call-to-action. This year was a toe in the water. Next year, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, I hope even more billboards will be carrying environmental messages.
Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile http://bit.ly/2oB2PsH April 22, 2019 at 07:46AM |
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