Dare or Drop: Top Challenges for Marketers Set to Intensify in 2018

Justin is buying a pair of sneakers online. He gets to the checkout page and sees a coupon code box asking him if he has a coupon. He doesn’t, but thinks, “Why should I pay the full price for these sneakers when I can get them cheaper?” He leaves the checkout so he can Google a coupon. Five minutes later, Justin is buying his sneakers from a different online retailer because he found a coupon for the same shoes on that site.

This is frustrating for the retailer, who’s discounts and customer loyalty efforts have just ended up losing – rather than retaining – them a valuable customer. Justin was right there, ready to seal the deal, oh so close…but dropped off when prompted for a promo code he didn’t have, but really wanted. Who doesn’t want a discount if they see it’s an option?

The retailer was trying to encourage the purchase on their site via a promo code. Instead, this attempt caused them to lose the sale.

Also Read: Why Your CRM Is Lying to You

Clicktale analysis has clearly observed how visitors can get visibly frustrated trying to fill in promo codes with no success, and abandon at the checkout stage. One example is a major service provider’s site. In the middle of signing up for the service, a visitor tries to fill in a promo code several times. Nothing happens. With no change to price or no error message giving an explanation or alternative code, the visitor gives up and leaves the page without completing the form. The service provider has lost a new customer because their promo code process was defective.

Promo codes are becoming more widespread in digital commerce, but the jury is still out on whether their impact is positive or negative. The need has become more pressing to find the right balance between enticing digital commerce consumers with a promo code on the one hand, and on the other hand, ensuring that when they’re alerted to the possibility of a discount on their purchase, they don’t drop off to find one.

Overall, promo codes can help conversion, but with more and more people abandoning their carts to coupon hunt, you must be smart about how and when to apply them so they don’t turn into a roadblock.

Also Read: AI Primer: How Smart Technology Makes Businesses Better

Here are a few do’s and don’ts that will help you make the most out of your promo codes.

Don’t make the call for a promo code too prominent in the checkout flow. For customers who weren’t planning on using a promo code, the presence of the promo code option can backfire and instead, prompt them to leave your page in search of a coupon. As a result, they could make their purchase on a different site altogether.
Do add a link alongside the promo code field that will take visitors directly to a list of valid coupon codes from the checkout page, or add coupon promos directly to the cart page.
Do present the price and benefits more prominently, and ideally present the price as already discounted in some way (e.g., via crossed-out price to visually indicate the already-reduced pricing). Consumers are less likely to search elsewhere for a lower price if they’re presented with a discount, no matter how small.
Don’t use a large open field for the promo code. It will create a distraction for customers who weren’t necessarily looking to use a coupon.
Do add a link or present the promo field within an accordion so it will be less distracting for those not actively seeking out a promo code field – but still serve those with an active promo code at hand.
Don’t say promo codes have been accepted when eligibility for that code is very limited or no longer active. If the code is limited, be sure to explain this upfront to avoid inflating user expectations and creating further frustrations and pain points down the road.
Do hide the coupon entry field unless visitors arrive on the page via an affiliate link or email campaign, whose URL includes a parameter indicating they have a promo code stored in their session. At the checkout page, display the promo code box for that customer only, so all ineligible customers don’t see the box at all.
Don’t leave your customers hanging when their promo code is invalid. This will make them angry. Chances of them confirming their order will seriously diminish, and they could go elsewhere to buy.
Do give them any other promo code when theirs doesn’t work. This will get them over that hurdle and stop them from abandoning.
Do include a link to a list of current deals on the website and place it alongside the voucher field or in the error message for high visibility so customers don’t feel the need to abandon and look elsewhere for deals.
Don’t let these speed bumps turn into show stoppers.
Do A/B testing of presenting a promo code on the cart page directly.

Using the best practices we’ve detailed above, you can avoid the kinds of pitfalls that often send customers in a new direction, away from your site, and create additional revenue opportunities.

BIMA and Microsoft Announce a New Partnership to Deliver New-Age Transformative Technologies

By

Sudipto Ghosh

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February 1, 2018

BIMA and Microsoft Announce a New Partnership to Deliver New-Age Transformative Technologies

The Partnership with BIMA Connects Microsoft with the UK’s Thriving Digital Agency Community – Giving Them Access to Transformative Technologies Including AI and AR/VR

British Interactive Media Association (BIMA), the UK’s digital trade body, has announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft to provide the UK’s digital community with the market-leading creative technologies. Additionally, BIMA also announced new funding initiatives and input on the design and direction of future technologies.

BIMA + Microsoft (1) — *BIMA and Microsoft Partnership*

At the time of this announcement, Paul Bolt, SMB Director at Microsoft, said, “Microsoft has always been a partner-led company and we’re proud to join forces with BIMA and help the UK’s already thriving digital sector get under the hood of disruptive and game-changing technology.”

BIMA is “Buzzing with Excitement”

The partnership, effective immediately, will present BIMA members with new opportunities that already have the BIMA team “buzzing with excitement.” As Tarek Nseir, Co-President of BIMA, explains, “Microsoft created a vision for how they could engage with BIMA and the benefits of this new initiative are really exciting.”

Paul added, “I’m sure that this time next year we will be reflecting on a truly transformative partnership, for BIMA, our members and the output of the British digital industry.”

The partnership is set to deliver a range of engagement initiatives this year, from briefing events and technology roadshows, to access to Microsoft’s experts and wider partner network, and new funding incentives. BIMA members will also have early access to software in development, meaning digital agencies will now have a direct influence on how core Microsoft software, including AI and other digitally transformative technologies, are developed.

Through the partnership BIMA members will also have direct access to Microsoft customers outside the industry who may require digital support, allowing them to expand their own network, win new business and boost profits.

Microsoft Partnership Enables Digital Agencies to Contribute to UK’s Growing Economy

BIMA and Microsoft recognize the hugely important contribution that digital agencies provide to the UK’s economy, especially the creative and technology sectors. This partnership will enable Microsoft to connect with those companies at the creative cutting edge, providing market-leading technology, education, and support from a vendor they know and trust.

This new initiative opens opportunities to build genuine agency partnerships with Microsoft and utilise cloud platforms that offer significant value for the end brands they serve through technologies such as Artificial intelligence, Machine Learning , IoT, Blockchain and Conversational UI. Agencies of all sizes can benefit from our commitment to building platforms that deliver meaningful customer outcomes, with our full support, and drive the digital agenda by having disruptive, creative technology at the heart of their businesses.

Tarek Nseir added, “Microsoft has created a truly groundbreaking set of capabilities in data, cloud computing, and cognitive services. What’s more, they are making a significant investment in partnering with progressive agencies, consultancies, brands, and start-ups to make the best use of their technology.”

Tarek continued, “By partnering with Microsoft, our members can nurture their existing tech talent, empowering everyone, from employees to customers, to be more collaborative and creative. All agencies, irrespective of size, will now have access to the same market-leading technology to help positively shape the culture of the modern workplace, and the UK economy as a whole.”

Currently, BIMA is focussed on driving innovation and excellence in the digital industry.

Unleashing Digital Video’s Potential for One-to-One Marketing

By

Ray Erickson

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February 1, 2018

Technology — Unleashing Digital Video’s Potential for One-to-One Marketing

The trend in eyeballs migrating away from the traditional TV and toward video isn’t going away anytime soon. As consumers spend more time viewing digital video across their devices, forecasts indicate 82% of internet traffic will be video-based by 2021. However, many marketers have been slow to make video a larger piece of their omnichannel strategies. That’s not to say marketers aren’t taking video seriously – they know and understand its growing role in consumers’ lives – but they often lack the sophisticated data and measurement tools required to make it effective and validate their spend.

There’s significant untapped potential for one-to-one marketing with digital video.

Also Read: Addressability in OTT Is More Than Just Checking The Box

In 2018, it’s imperative that marketers evolve their approach to reflect consumer media habits and engage with them where they spend their time. For an effective video strategy that delivers results, marketers must focus on four key areas:

Acquiring the right data. First and foremost, marketers need to ensure their video advertising reaches the right consumers. In order to do so, they must have the most accurate data and understand their consumers across multiple dimensions including product interests, preferred device and viewing platform, video usage, language, etc. Engaging individuals with the highest likelihood of being interested in your message or product is much more efficient than delivering the same video ad to consumers based on broad demographical data. Acquiring consumer insights can be one of the biggest challenges for marketers, but it’s essential for having relevant one-to-one conversations with consumers via video.
Ensuring relevancy across devices. The proliferation of mobile devices has made it more difficult to reach audiences as they switch from device to device throughout the day. At the same time, consumers increasingly expect brands to provide a seamless experience and relevant content no matter which device they’re using. In order to reach the right consumer with the most relevant message, marketers need to be able to accurately recognize and match the same user across all their devices. This is particularly important for the sensory-driven experience of video – irrelevant or repetitive messages can be a big turn-off. Cross-device matching ensures brand-consumer interactions are always meaningful.
Personalizing the message. A recent Epsilon study found 80% of consumers are more likely to do business with companies that offer personalized experiences and 90% find personalization appealing. Incorporating one-to-one personalization into video can make all the difference in driving conversions, and it has to be done in real time in order to be contextually relevant to an individual. Many marketers are relying on data and machine learning to accurately predict the best offer to bring to consumers and ensure it’s personalized according to their unique preferences.
Measuring the impact. Measurement is key to any effective strategy, particularly when validating investment in digital video. To get an accurate view of its impact, closed-loop measurement is an approach that connects digital video to the online and offline sales it influenced. Closed-loop measurement illustrates the true impact of digital video and allows marketers to optimize their strategies. Marketers should focus on the platforms that can provide this type of measurement and yield return on ad spend. While content consumption is steadily shifting to OTT and connected TVs, these environments are still in their infancy and cannot provide the type of measurement that video advertising on desktop/mobile/tablet provides. OTT viewing is proliferating, but most environments are not ad-supported…yet. I highly recommend testing and learning, but encourage brands to invest video advertising budgets where their ads are scalable and measurable.

Also Read: Always On, Cross-Device Multitaskers: Understanding the Mobile Consumer

In practice

There’s a perception that digital video is only applicable for branding, but that’s not the case. If these four areas are addressed, digital video can be effective in driving both brand awareness and performance. For example, one of my retail clients used a combination of TV viewership data, purchase data and individualized profiles to find the right consumers – in their case, digitally savvy consumers who had previously purchased at their store – and deliver dynamic video ads.

These ads were personalized to each individual and redirected shoppers to their local store, which in turn increased in-store traffic and sales. In addition to metrics such as video completion rate, click-through rate, and viewability, the campaign produced meaningful insights on the consumers who received the ad and ultimately made a purchase.

In conclusion

Digital video is at an inflection point, and the marketers that test and learn will come out ahead in the long run. As digital video consumption increases, it will continue to be an important facet of any omnichannel approach as long as marketers have the right data, cross-device capabilities, personalized messaging and proper measurement.

Recommended Read: 4 Ways to Make T-Commerce Work for You in 2018

TechBytes with Jonathan Kay, Founder, Apptopia

By

Sudipto Ghosh

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February 1, 2018

Jonathan Kay
Founder, Apptopia

Mobile Growth Summit 2018 – the largest mobile marketing growth conference will kick off next week in SF, California. The two-day event, on 7 -8 February, would witness a footfall of 1000+ mobile marketers from more than 600 diversified business groups. To demonstrate how business leaders see next-gen technologies in mobile marketing in 2018, we spoke to a bunch of CEOs, Marketing Executives, Product Officers and Mobile Growth-Hackers.
We spoke to Johnathan Kay, Founder, Apptopia to learn more about cross-device experience management.

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Tell us about the vision driving Apptopia. What technologies are you particularly fond of?

The vision driving Apptopia has always remained the same. Our goal is to demystify the app economy and add transparency for developers and publishers of all sizes. The more data and information one has, the better decisions they are able to make.

How do customer intelligence, mobile app performance data, and customer experience reporting converge at Apptopia?

It’s really simple because we’re a company of 50 people, so there is no red tape and the levels of hierarchy are limited. Communication happens quickly which leads to quicker results for our customers and therefore our business. Our customer success, sale, data and product teams all speak with current and prospective customers. Those insights are shared at company meetings and we make adjustments across the board based on what we hear and what each department needs.

How do you see the Mobile Growth Summit 2018 making a difference to mobile technology ecosystem? What part of the conference are you particularly keen about?

From what I can see, there’s a lot of smart people here who know their craft well. They understand the history of the industry and where it’s going. Everyone is going to learn a lot from everyone else here and I think there are two outcomes from that. One is that competition in the space increases because we’re all going to implement better, smarter tactics after learning from each other. Two is that it leads to innovation because with tougher competition comes the need to get ahead and true innovation is born from need, not want.

Which technology marketing lessons would you like to re-evaluate at the Mobile Growth Summit 2018?

We’re not a brand marketing to consumers. We help brands market to their audience by understanding which apps their audience is already engaged with.

How should mobile tech platforms better leverage customer data and cross-device experience management technologies?

It’s difficult to be good at servicing users unless you know what other things they are into and like doing. For example, Uber can capitalize massively, and probably already does, from location data. Knowing where your users like to go and when helps Uber deliver the right features and/or push notifications at the right times to the right people.

What are your predictions for B2B mobile apps and mobile advertising trends for 2018?

They will make more inroads within an organization they are trying to sell to. As a salesperson, it’s always been important to have the right contact to go after. The typical strategy says to go for the decision maker. Advertising to various people below or around the decision maker is proving to be important as well. It has a strong effect when you build internal advocates for your business. Give these people the free trials rather than the decision maker as the decision maker is oftentimes not the end user. Building inroads through advertising will be a smart move in 2018.

Would AI/ML have a profound impact on mobile app commercialization and customer experiences? Please elaborate on your views.

Machine learning has begun to play a role in user acquisition and it will only become more helpful. With AI/ML, decisions about what shapes and colors to use with which target segments can all be done quicker and smarter than humans can. It will allow more segmented and customized advertising at a quicker rate.

Thanks for chatting with us, Jonathan.
Stay tuned for more insights on marketing technologies. To participate in our Tech Bytes program, email us at news@martechseries-67ee47.ingress-bonde.easywp.com

Also Read: TechBytes with Colette Nataf, CEO and Co-Founder, Lightning AI

Interview with Daniel Zamudio, Founder and CEO, Playboox

By

Sudipto Ghosh

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February 1, 2018

[easy-profiles profile_twitter=”https://twitter.com/Playbooks” profile_linkedin=”https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielzamudio/”]

[mnky_testimonial_slider slide_speed=”3″][mnky_testimonial name=”” author_dec=”” position=”Designer”]“A common complaint from Heads of Marketing and Sales is lack of consistency in messaging.”[/mnky_testimonial][/mnky_testimonial_slider]

Tell us about your role and how you got here. What inspired you to conceive a Sales Enablement platform?

As the founder of Playboox, we saw an unmet need in the market to enable sales organizations to more effectively and consistently execute their sales process.

To achieve sustainable, scalable and repeatable sales success, it’s essential that sales organizations excel at sales process execution. We define this as the ability to define, execute, reinforce, monitor and continually evolve a repeatable sales process based on what top performers say, ask, do and use at each stage of the sales process.

Research shows sales organizations that excel at this outperform those that don’t across key performance metrics like win rates and quota attainment. The problem is the tools at the disposal of the Head of Sales are ill-suited to the task, namely, conventional Sales Training and CRM.

Sales Methodology training is a common way to try to get everyone in the sales organization on the same page. Unfortunately, without proper reinforcement, its effects are short-lived. And CRM systems are not designed to drive consistent application of your sales process and best practices. Our application coupled with the MindTickle platform uniquely addresses this need.

How do playbooks fit into a CMOs tech stack? Do they impact the performance of a Sales CRM?

The objective of a playbook is to capture and codify what top performers say, ask, do and use at each stage of the sales process. Done right, a sales playbook can help middle-of-the-pack reps replicate a top performer’s best practices and enable new-hires to come up to speed more quickly.

To maximize their utility, it’s essential that the playbook is technology-enabled, so salespeople can easily access them and apply them to assess and advance specific leads and deals. The other benefit of technology-enabling the playbook is that the playbook authors have a way to continually evolve the playbook and easily build multiple playbooks for different vertical markets, as an example.

In 2018, how would CMOs benefit from leveraging smarter personalized content for playbooks in B2B campaigns?

Heads of Marketing care about enabling consistent and personalized messaging across the sales organization. A common complaint from Heads of Marketing and Sales is lack of consistency in messaging. Providing the playbook stakeholder, both sales, and marketing leadership, with a mechanism to ensure the salespersons have access to use case or buyer persona specific conversations and discovery talks tracks are essential.

What are the key business metrics that modern Content Marketers should have at their fingertips?

Modern Content Marketers should care about the same metrics Heads of Sales care about, namely, measures like win rates, average deal size, sales cycle duration and percentage of reps at plan.

Without Sales Enablement tools, what are the major challenges that martech customers would face in 2018?

The major challenge is messaging scalability. By this, I mean the ability to quickly and effectively execute and iterate sales messaging that drive compelling executive-level buyer conversations, especially early in the sales process. In the absence of an effective Sales Enablement system, it’s difficult to ensure the field is adopting and utilizing the most recent and proven best messaging.

Which startups in the martech industry are you watching/keen on right now?

Our primary focus is the Sales Enablement space, so we like to track what other vendors in the space are doing. Gong.io and Conversica provide innovative solutions that we see as being complementary to our own. MindTickle, our partner, is someone whose vision and values we deeply believe in. We believe that the combination of our and MindTickle’s offerings are the best way for reps and managers to quickly learn, master and consistently apply their sales organization’s best practices and tools.

Which tools does your marketing stack consist of in 2017?

We are big fans of Yesware for personalized email prospecting. We also used SalesLoft and ConnectAndSell to drive a cadenced approach to prospecting.

Would you tell us about your standout digital campaign at Playboox?

Our target audience are the Heads of Sales, Sales Enablement, and Sales Operations. We use a cadenced approach consisting of calling, emailing, and social. Our key metric is the number of meetings per week with a target buyer that meets our ideal prospect profile.

How do you prepare for an AI-centric world as a business leader? How do you leverage AI capabilities at Playboox?

Because we are a native-Salesforce application, we will explore how to leverage Einstein, Salesforce’s AI engine.

One word that best describes how you work.

Checklists.

What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?

Playboox Playmaker! Evernote, Google Docs.

What’s your smartest work related shortcut or productivity hack?

I only review email 3x per day at specific times.

What are you currently reading?

Radical Candor

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

My dad taught me to always give more than expected

Tag the one person in the industry whose answers to these questions you would love to read:

Mohit Garg Co-Founder MindTickle

Thank you Daniel! That was fun and hope to see you back on MarTech Series soon.

[vc_tta_tabs][vc_tta_section title=”About Daniel ” tab_id=”1501785390157-b58e162d-0ae25a4b-c27aca64-108e51b0-80edaf37-bd3d357a-6c46b86e-5e93″]

Daniel is the founder and CEO of Playboox, the Sales Excellence Enablement leader. He is a thought leader on the convergence of process and technology to drive sales productivity and effectiveness, and has consulted for global enterprises and fast-growth startups in the areas of sales leadership, sales process, sales messaging, and sales enablement.

[/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”About Playboox” tab_id=”1501785390320-2d44fa50-740c5a4b-c27aca64-108e51b0-80edaf37-bd3d357a-6c46b86e-5e93″]

Playboox is a Sales Enablement consultancy and software company. The company specializes in developing and delivering customized sales process playbooks and training powered by technology. It is the only Sales Enablement software vendor to offer a native-Salesforce.com sales process playbook application that enables reps and managers to instantly access and consistently apply deal, conversation, and forecast management best practices and tools at each stage of the sales process to assess and advance specific leads and opportunities. With Playboox, Sales Enablement leaders can easily build and maintain a library of sales process playbooks customized by vertical markets, market segments, or product categories.

[/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_tabs]

[mnky_heading title=”MarTech Interview Series” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fmartechseries-67ee47.ingress-bonde.easywp.com%2Fcategory%2Fmts-insights%2Finterviews%2F|||”]

The MTS Martech Interview Series is a fun Q&A style chat which we really enjoy doing with martech leaders. With inspiration from Lifehacker’s How I work interviews, the MarTech Series Interviews follows a two part format On Marketing Technology, and This Is How I Work. The format was chosen because when we decided to start an interview series with the biggest and brightest minds in martech – we wanted to get insight into two areas … one – their ideas on marketing tech and two – insights into the philosophy and methods that make these leaders tick.

On-Demand Microsoft CRM Training Now Offered in Evolve 365

By

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January 31, 2018

On-Demand Microsoft CRM Training Now Offered in Evolve 365

Enable Your End-Users to Be Self-Sufficient and Productive by Educating Them on How to Use Microsoft CRM and Your Custom Applications the Way They Were Intended

Planet Technologies, the leading services provider of Microsoft cloud, security, and collaboration solutions for government, releases Microsoft Dynamics CRM training videos on their Evolve 365 Learning Platform.

Today, most organizations use CRM and Dynamics CRM to develop and sustain automated processes like Sales Force Automation, Business Process Automation, or custom Line of Business and xRM Solutions.

With CRM for Evolve 365, your end-users will quickly learn to navigate standard application features and functionalities, as well as your business specific custom applications and processes in real-time. Empower your team to learn at their pace by giving them access to on-demand training videos and playlists, with immediate support as they need it. This allows them to stay more productive and ensure they have the latest and most relevant content at their fingertips.

Also Read: SBS Group to Launch SalesConnect 365, a New Solution for Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales

Experts will work with you to develop customized “playlists” that bundle videos together for specific job roles and product features, helping you manage a diverse sales team, track all your sales and marketing activities, or build out a custom business process. Features include:

Dynamics CRM Training Videos – designed to educate on specific features and tools within CRM, from basic to advanced
Dedicated Trusted Advisors – to help with on-going support, continued engagement and Custom Course and Playlist support
Customized Line of Business Application Training – to support your business specific apps & services
Virtual Classes – designed to walk users through specific processes and step procedures

Also Read: Research Finds UK Sales Reps Lose Six Weeks a Year To Admin Tasks

“We know that the capabilities of CRM automation can be critical to your organization’s productivity, but we also know that users need to be able to easily navigate standard application features and custom functionality. CRM for Evolve 365 makes that easy for your users. What makes this platform unique and invaluable is the ability for us to produce training videos and playlists for your specific business automation processes,” states Jennifer Mason, Planet Technologies’ Director of Innovation and Strategic Solutions.

The new addition of Microsoft CRM training videos to Evolve 365 continues to round out the already successful training platform for Microsoft Office 365 solutions.

BlueVenn Enables Single Customer View for Leading Publisher GateHouse Media

By

-

January 31, 2018

GateHouse Media, one of the largest publishers of locally-based media in the United States, has extended its relationship with Customer Data Platform vendor BlueVenn, by deploying a Single Customer View (SCV) and utilizing a collection of BlueVenn services to optimize audience growth, subscriber engagement and monetization.

GateHouse has a longstanding relationship with BlueVenn and was looking for ways to leverage BlueVenn’s software to increase subscription and advertising revenue by providing more targeted offerings to subscribers, advertisers, and other partners. This required the ability to view consumers across all online and offline touchpoints, in an effort to deliver consistent, timely, relevant and personalized experiences to them.

The implementation of the Single Customer View enables GateHouse Media to unify its online and offline subscriber data sources into a reliable, consolidated view of each customer. This gives the company a deeper understanding of customer behavior, as well as the ability to develop accurate metrics to measure the performance of various customer initiatives.

In particular, GateHouse Media wanted the ability to probe deeper than the traditional household level, to build learnings and understanding of its subscribers at an individual level.

By merging five of its data systems into the BlueVenn SCV, GateHouse will have the ability to track its customer base across print subscriptions and key digital channels such as email campaigns and online interactions.

“BlueVenn SCV gives us the ability to create digital marketing strategies for multiple people in each household,” said Irina Platonova, Director of Consumer Sales and Marketing at GateHouse Media. “More importantly, we can now track how anonymous web users convert into prospects, understand who those prospects are, and gauge the likelihood of them subscribing or consuming our services. This allows us to deliver integrated, one-on-one communication with our customers with the right message at the right time, through traditional or digital marketing channels.”

“Through the implementation of a Single Customer View and our range of LEAP Media Solutions audience engagement services, GateHouse has the tools to meet its business objectives,” said BlueVenn President Curt Bloom. “This includes creating personalized content, and the ability to develop and maximize the value of behavioral-based customer segments across the business. We’re delighted to add even more value to our already beneficial partnership.”

Also Read: How Marketers Can Optimize $682 Billion in Expected Spend in 2018

DemandLab Appoints Hayden Jackson as Director of Content Strategy

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January 31, 2018

DemandLab Appoints Hayden Jackson as Director of Content Strategy

An Experienced Content Strategist and Award-Winning Copywriter, Hayden Jackson Will Lead the Delivery of Content Strategy, Content Creation, and Content Performance Services to Demandlab’s B2B and B2C Clients

DemandLab, a technology-focused marketing consultancy based in Philadelphia, is pleased to announce that Hayden Jackson has been appointed as Director of Content Strategy. Hayden brings to the role 20 years of content marketing and copywriting experience, including 10 years of agency experience. She is tasked with leading the delivery of the firm’s content strategy, content creation, and content performance offerings.

Prior to her appointment, Hayden was a copywriter and content strategist at DemandLab for six years, during which time she worked primarily with clients in the technology and financial sectors, including Ipreo, Indeed, LLR Partners, Corcentric, CO-OP Financial, Monetate, and Stylesight. Before joining DemandLab, Hayden was a writer and client-service manager at Edelman, where she worked with government and nonprofit clients. She has also provided writing and strategic support on contract for her own clients, including a leading membership-only warehouse club, Roam Mobility, SDS USA, HRSG, CAHRC, and Simplot.

Also Read: HubSpot Revolutionizes SEO with Innovative Content Strategy Tool

Hayden’s writing has been recognized with Summit International Bronze and Silver Awards, a Killer Content Award, and an IABC Silver Leaf Award of Merit.

“DemandLab has always championed the importance of great content to fuel the marketing machine. By appointing someone of Hayden’s experience and caliber to this leadership role, we are signaling our continued commitment to excellence in content marketing, and we look forward to offering our clients expanded services that drive the customer journey,” said Rhoan Morgan, CEO.

In addition to delivering content services to DemandLab’s clients, Hayden will work closely with the CEO to enhance and expand DemandLab’s content offerings, identify partnerships and growth opportunities, and grow the company’s content delivery team.

PartnerTap Unleashes its Revolutionary Sales Collaboration and Intelligent Partnering Technology with Scribe’s Data Integration Platform

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January 31, 2018

PartnerTap Unleashes its Revolutionary Sales Collaboration and Intelligent Partnering Technology with Scribe’s Data Integration Platform

Partnertap Selects the Scribe Software Ipaas to Customize Communication between a Sales Organization Using the Partnertap Collaboration Platform and Their Channel Partners

PartnerTap, the world’s first B2B account-based partner collaboration solution, and Scribe Software, a global data integration leader, announced a partnership that will allow organizations to easily connect to PartnerTap using Scribe’s growing list of CRM connectors. The partnership allows more sales organizations to take advantage of PartnerTap’s groundbreaking and entirely practical innovation for sales/channel collaboration which provides value to the buyer throughout their journey and empowers sales professionals to reach their sales targets.

Moving forward, PartnerTap will use Scribe’s integration platform as a service (iPaaS) to integrate the PartnerTap platform with a wide variety of CRM systems, including Microsoft Dynamics 365/CRM, SugarCRM, NetSuite, SAP, and HubSpot. This enables PartnerTap to create the critical communication link between a sales organization and their channel partner and to customize the PartnerTap deployment for each of their customers.

“This partnership is about serving our customers. The Scribe iPass is powerful, flexible, and essential to getting this innovation into the hands of more organizations. In addition, this partnership allows us to focus our development team on creating more value for our enterprise customers.” said Cassandra Gholston, CEO of PartnerTap.

Also Read: How Marketers Can Optimize $682 Billion in Expected Spend in 2018

PartnerTap is unique in its ability to give modern, engaged, top-performing sales professionals unprecedented transparency into the mutual sales accounts they share. In addition, visibility to real-time in-account activity, by business partners, empowers sales pros to know precisely the right time to engage, exchange, access, and influence to optimize value for their customers. Business-to-business partnering is entirely transformed by PartnerTap and supported in a way that produces the most outstanding impact on the customer experience.

Also Read: Outreach Meetings Simplifies Scheduling Workflow With Prospects

Peter Chase, Founder, Executive Vice President, and Chief Customer Officer of Scribe Software, added, “Software buyers want their new cloud applications to integrate into an increasingly complex and diverse technology stack. PartnerTap has recognized the importance of delivering data integration solutions that work the way their customers want to work and the flexibility and control the Scribe platform provides.”

Overall, this partnership aims to allow more customer collaborations to transcend the logistical barriers associated with account-based partnering and account-based channel marketing strategies. The Scribe-PartnerTap alliance will enable forward-thinking leaders to focus on cultivating strategic relationships to engage and reciprocate to produce outstanding results.

Zoho Launches New App Zoho Flow, Unveils New Software Zoho PageSense

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January 31, 2018

Zoho Launches New App Zoho Flow, Unveils New Software Zoho PageSense

Apart From its New Version of Zoho Sites Which Helps Users Build Websites with Advanced Customization Options, Zoho Launches Cloud App Integration Platform – Zoho Flow; Unveils Zoho PageSense: A Complete Website Testing and Optimization Software

Zoho launched a new version of its DIY website builder, Zoho Sites. The new, clutter-free interface offers a range of advanced features, including pre-built website sections, dynamic backgrounds imagery (videos and parallax images), and more page elements. This update also expands the customizations available in the product, allowing users better creative control over their design.

“This major release makes Zoho Sites a true no-code platform, helping users create beautiful websites by supporting all major design elements and features. With rich design layouts, templates and customization options, the new builder provides a tailored experience that caters to the website needs of any business category,” said Raju Vegesna, Chief Evangelist, Zoho Corp.

Highlights of the New Zoho Sites:

Pre-built Website Sections: Zoho Sites now offers a selection of layout templates that help users structure and design web content. The templates cover various categories, such as Heading, Image, Icon, Newsletter, Box, Tab, Accordion and Carousel. Users can simply drag and drop the desired section into the page builder.
More Page Elements: Additions to the Elements tray provide users with more creative tools for experimenting with their page design. The new page elements include Content Containers, Icons, and Dividers.
Dynamic Backgrounds: Users can now add videos and parallax images to the background of a webpage. By placing compelling visual imagery behind static page content, users can create a more engaging and immersive browsing experience.
Access Restriction: Users can make their website private and manage their website’s visibility from both the public and within the organization.
Quick customization pop-up: Whenever users add an element or section, a pop-up offers them design and formatting options to personalize content layout and properties. The tools in the pop-up are layout-specific, which makes customization quicker and more precise.
New UI: The new look and feel of Zoho Sites strikes a balance between clean design and robust usability. Navigating within the website builder is straightforward, and all integrations are just a click away.
Integrations with Zoho and third-party products: Users can get to know their audience better by using integrations with Zoho SalesIQ, Zoho CRM, Zoho PageSense and Zoho Campaigns. These integrations allow website owners to engage with visitors via live chat, collect user data via forms, observe visitor activity via Zoho PageSense and keep visitors in the know via newsletters.

Also Read: Zoho Unveils New Sales Intelligence and Automation Capabilities; Adds AI, Sales CRM and Customer Activity Responders

Zoho Also launched Zoho PageSense — a website optimization software that provides insight into visitor behavior patterns, and assists businesses achieve higher website conversions, earn greater profits, and witness accelerated growth. Available immediately, Zoho PageSense offers a combination of A/B Testing coupled with Forecasting, Heatmaps, Funnel Analysis, and other features that empower marketers with necessary data to make decisions about the placement, content and design of every website element.

Zoho PageSense introduces industry-first functionality with Forecast. Powered by proprietary machine-learning algorithms, Forecast can estimate the trend an A/B test might take before the test’s actual completion. Forecast gives marketers the flexibility to make decisions about the web page at any given instant to boost website conversions.

Sridhar Vembu, CEO, Zoho Corp, explained, “The aim of Zoho has always been to solve complex business problems with simple software. Zoho PageSense was born of that vision. A single application that does the job of multiple tools, Zoho PageSense provides businesses with all the data they need to increase their website conversion rate.”

Zoho PageSense highlights include:

Heatmaps: This feature visually highlights the clicking and scrolling pattern of a visitor on the website. This shows if the visitors are interacting with the webpage in the desired way.
Funnel Analysis: Given the web page order (Homepage, Pricing page and Contact Us page), Funnel Analysis shows the visitor count and drop-off value of each page in this flow.
Website testing tools: A/B Testing and Split URL Testing are particularly helpful before implementing website layout changes for improving user experience and, by extension, boosting revenue. Marketers can create and test variations of website pages across desktop, tablet and mobile devices.
Forecast: This functionality traces the probable conversion rate that every variation, part of the A/B test, can achieve. It also declares the estimated visitor count, improvement in performance and statistical significance required to reach the predicted conversion rate for the successful completion of the test.
Zoho and third-party integrations: Zoho PageSense currently integrates readily with Zoho Sites. Third-party integrations include Google Analytics, Google AdWords, KISSmetrics, Mixpanel, and Clicky. More integrations with products from Zoho and other vendors are planned.
Chrome extension: With its Chrome extension, Zoho PageSense offers the facility to conduct tests and run heatmaps on pages behind login.

Zoho PageSense when combined with Zoho’s array of marketing products, makes Zoho a single ecosystem for carrying out all marketing activities. It does so by interconnecting data from multiple applications and streamlining the website optimization process.

Also Read: Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho Top G2 Crowd’s Fall 2017 Best CRM Software Rankings

Zoho Flow is a drag-and-drop integration platform that allows users to create flexible workflows between cloud applications. By automating information exchange across apps, Zoho Flow helps users cut manual tasks from their business processes.

The user interface of the product has been designed to provide a unified visual representation of its elements. Zoho Flow even offers a comprehensive set of pre-built workflow templates that users can activate straight away.

“Most companies depend on multiple apps to manage their business functions. But the integrations needed to coordinate these functions efficiently are often too complicated for them to build by themselves,” said Vembu, adding, “With Zoho Flow, we’re letting businesses build inexpensive integrations without having to depend on technical help.”

Inside Zoho Flow

User-friendly builder: The workflow builder removes most of the complexity or limitations usually faced when building integrations. Users can connect their apps by dragging and dropping them into the builder. They can make edits in their workflow, and rearrange actions to quickly adapt to their dynamic business needs. Workflows are displayed visually, helping users plan and design their processes more efficiently.
Triggers, actions, and connections: Each workflow (called a Flow) consists of a trigger and one or more actions. A trigger is an event that sets the workflow in motion, and an action is the task that follows. For example, users can set a workflow in motion when a new ticket is created in their helpdesk software (the trigger), and automatically sends an alert message to their team’s communication channel (the action).
Logic and custom functions: The powerful set of logic functions that the platform offers can be used to introduce branching, add time-based actions, and drill down to the finest variable in the workflow. To further fit their integration needs, users can code custom functions using Deluge, Zoho’s own programming language, which has 500 millions lines of code written by over 50 thousand programmers. For example, consider a workflow that’s initiated when a ticket is received. A user can insert custom code to identify the nature of the ticket (positive, neutral, or negative), and then add decision branches to forward it to a specific communication channel accordingly.
Sharing and collaboration within the organization: Zoho Flow lets users collaborate with their teams on building Flows, so teams can save time and effort otherwise spent on keeping up with each other’s progress and orchestrating their functions together. Zoho Flow allows users to be part of multiple team accounts too.
Analytics and history: The Zoho Flow dashboard presents key metrics about live, paused and draft Flows, enabling users to monitor and analyze all their processes at a glance. To further understand when and how their workflows executed, users can also view the entire history of their Flows.
Business apps and Flow gallery: Zoho Flow features over 90 web applications for users to choose from. It also offers more than 200 templates called Flows that cover important automations from across different businesses in the industry. Users can install the Flows in their account, either using them as they are or modifying them to meet specific needs.

Leading MSP Sales and Marketing Solutions Provider, Mindmatrix Partners with HTG for 2018

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January 31, 2018

Leading MSP Sales and Marketing Solutions Provider, Mindmatrix Partners with HTG for 2018

The MSP-Centric Sales and Marketing Enablement Platform Provider Will Be Gold Partner for All 2018 Events

Mindmatrix Inc., the Pittsburgh-based leading PRM Software provider, will be participating in the HTG Peer Group Q1 Meetings to be held in Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort, Phoenix, AZ from Jan 29 – Feb 2.

Recently acquired by Connectwise, HTG is a leading Consulting, Coaching and Peer Group Organization for the Technology Service Provider Ecosystem. HTG Peer Group meetings are one of the most sought-after MSP events in the marketplace because they offer participating MSPs a platform where the best practices, knowledge, latest trends and insights for growing an MSP business are shared. The HTG Peer Group Meetings also offer great networking opportunities for its participants.

Also Read: Mindmatrix Marketing Automation Software Introduces ‘Hotspots’

At the Peer Group Meeting, Mindmatrix will be represented by its Director of Marketing, Kevin Hospodar and MSP Marketing & Sales Enablement Specialist, Eric Weber. Kevin says, “MSPs and IT service providers are the primary participants in the HTG Peer Group Meetings. While the MSPs and IT service providers are very good at what they do, they are often too tied up in their business to work on growing it. HTG meetings provide their participants with the knowledge that they need to be able to effectively market and sell their products and services. Whether it is discussing the best practices in MSP sales and marketing or providing information about the latest sales and marketing tools, HTG meetings offer them all at one single event. We believe the HTG Peer Group Meeting is a great platform for us to showcase our MSP-IT Advantage Program and share how it has benefited our clients in the IT sphere.”

In October, Mindmatrix enhanced its Partner Relationship management software to make its deal registration and opportunity management features more powerful. This enhancement offers a more precise understanding of the lead status in the sales cycle and, as a result, makes lead management more efficient.

EventOPS Cements Industry Leadership Position with New Hire: Michael Fuller, Chief Strategy Officer

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January 31, 2018

EventOPS Cements Industry Leadership Position with New Hire: Michael Fuller, Chief Strategy Officer

Michael Fuller Comes with an Extensive Experience in Event Technology and the Mice Industry, Working with a Broad Range of Clients and Industries across the United States, Europe and Australasia

EventOPS, the premier online tool for streamlining event management, is delighted to announce the appointment of Michael Fuller as Chief Strategy Officer.

Fuller has an impressive background in event technology and the MICE industry, with extensive experience working with a broad range of clients and industries across the United States, Europe and Australasia. His previous roles have included VP Global for ShowGizmo, where he spearheaded their international expansion, and Strategic Communications Manager for the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux, where he helped raise the industry profile of business events in Australia and globally.

Also Read: The Fourth Annual Edition of the Mega-popular Event Technology Landscape has Been Released by Cramer

EventOPS Co-Founder Chris Roberts said, “Mike is a stellar addition to our team. Our software is gaining traction at a heck of a pace, as it’s helping event professionals realize efficiencies and automate actionable plans; Mike’s appointment is key to ensuring continuous alignment of product with customer needs, and his depth of experience in the meetings and events industry is vital to that.”

Also Read: Why The Best Marketers Are Adding Online Experiences to IRL Events

EventOPS is a member of the Event Tech Tribe, a collaborative ensemble of event tech specialists offering best-in-craft event technology. Event Tech Tribe COO, Marie-Claire Andrews, is also happy with the news: “I was lucky to work with Mike in Australasia where I was impressed with his nous – and his extensive networks!” she adds; “His global connections and industry knowledge will undoubtedly help make EventOPS #1 in the ‘business of event management’ and I look forward to working closely with him on Event Tech Tribe business.”

Also Read: Three Trends Driving the Shift From Customer Support to Customer Success

Fuller added, “ It’s an honor to join the EventOPS team – as someone that has planned major events, conferences and summits I absolutely understand the grind and how (and why) event professionals continue to make the list as one of the most stressful jobs year after year, so I feel well qualified to help take that pain away!”

The EventOPS platform allows individuals to be more strategic in all areas of the business by breaking down silos, organizing teams (and vendors), automating and streamlining pre-event planning as well as tackling event budgeting. The events industry has changed a lot over the past 20 years and the EventOPS team feels that the traditional tools and software used has lagged behind. Roberts added, “we started EventOPS with one thing in mind – how can we help event professionals create better events. This is something Mike is also very passionate about and I so welcome him to the EventOPS team.”

Nevion’s Renewed ISO 9001 and 14001 Certifications Highlight Company Transformation

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January 31, 2018

Nevion’s Renewed ISO 9001 and 14001 Certifications Highlight Company Transformation

Nevion, the award-winning provider of virtualized media production solutions, has successfully renewed its ISO 9001:2015 and 14001:2015 certifications. The new certifications underline Nevion’s corporate transformation from simply providing ’media transport and broadcast products and solutions’, to being a company focused on the ’development, sales, deployment and support of Software Defined Technologies for mission critical data networking’, including networking for media production.

Developed by the International Organization for Standardization, both ISO 9001 and 14001 standards are designed to ensure that company’s products and services consistently meeting customers’ requirements, and that quality is consistently improved. ISO 9001 is a quality management system that gives organizations a systematic approach for meeting customer objectives and delivering consistent quality, while ISO 14001 provides practical tools for those looking to manage their environmental responsibilities.

Marketing Technology News: Tray.io Unveils Unified Customer Integration Solution for Software Companies

The wording of the activities covered by the certificates, “Software Defined Technologies for mission critical data networking”, reflects the remarkable transformation the company has achieved in the past few years, as its business has shifted from baseband to IP, from products to solutions, and from hardware only to more software and services.

Geir Bryn-Jensen, CEO of Nevion, said: “As a company focused on delivering the very best products and customer service while maintaining best practices, we are very pleased to have successfully renewed both our ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications. We are all the prouder, because nowadays the ISO certification evaluates all the business processes, which in our case have evolved dramatically as we embarked on our successful and profitable corporate transformation. The ISO auditor who visited us said he had never seen a company transform so quickly in terms of ISO compliance!

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“This is also a terrific way to head into the new year. 2017 was Nevion’s best year yet from a business perspective, and we want to try and surpass expectations again this year. These ISO 9001 and 14001 renewals will keep us moving in the right direction.”

Marketing Technology News: TA Digital Earns 7th & 8th Adobe Specializations with Campaign and Marketo Badges

PandaDoc Celebrates the New Year with Key Product Updates

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January 31, 2018

PandaDoc Celebrates the New Year with Key Product Updates

Pandadoc Announces Major Product Updates, Including Enhanced CPQ and Mobile Features

PandaDoc announced key updates to its award-winning document management platform. Updates include Pricing table features that allow customers to lock content and provide optional items. Customers can also attach additional files to their quotes, proposals and contracts without adding them inside the body of their PandaDoc document automatically. In addition, PandaDoc has extended the functionality of its mobile app to include iPad and Android tablet usage.

“We have significantly ramped up our development schedule for 2019, and we are planning a steady flow of product updates throughout the year. As our customer’s needs grow, our product will continue to evolve to meet those needs. Our customers are our number one priority,” stated PandaDoc CEO Mikita Mikado.

Also Read: Technology and Transparency: The Growing Horizon of AI, Cybersecurity, Blockchain and the Battle Against Ad Fraud

The PandaDoc app offers features like eSignatures and data merge, along with data-driven feedback to build, edit, execute and track documents.

Product updates for this release include the following:

CPQ updates

PandaDoc allows customers to lock individual content blocks within a template or content library item from editing by a document creator. Based on feedback, PandaDoc has now taken this a step further by providing the same functionality within the pricing table. The most common use case for this is allowing users to edit the quantity column to prevent further discounting.

When this feature is enabled, a team member can change only the editable columns within the pricing table, and they can only add items from the catalog and remove rows if the selected column allows for edits.

Multiple choice pricing options

PandaDoc pricing tables are dynamic and offer our users a multitude of options, so they can put their best foot forward and provide their clients with options that are best fit for their business. In addition to making pricing optional, customers can now provide recipients with a multiple choice pricing option. This option allows recipients to choose pricing that is the perfect fit.

This feature is excellent for sales reps whose prospect hasn’t quite decided which pricing package they want. Now a rep can provide options so that the prospect can choose what is best suited for them.

Also Read: How Marketers Can Optimize $682 Billion in Expected Spend in 2018

Attached files

A lot of PandaDoc customers needed to attach additional documents or file to their quotes, proposals and contracts, but didn’t want to add them inside the body of their PandaDoc document automatically. Now customers can add additional attachments to their documents. The attached files feature allows customers to add a file of any type (PDF, Word, etc.) to their documents. The file size can be a max of 50MBs, and up to 10 different files can be attached to one document.

Mobile app available for iPad/Android tablet

Last year, PandaDoc made extensive updates to the PandaDoc mobile app to improve the overall functionality for users who are on the go. Many of those customers wanted to be able to sign documents outside the office, on their iPad or Android tablet device. This ability is now built into the PandaDoc mobile app.

This feature is great for sales reps who are in the field and want to get documents signed fast. The tablet app also features the PandaDoc tracking functionality, so customers can continue to monitor their documents on their tablet in addition to their mobile phone and their desktop.

To Accelerate Growth, NetElixir Expands C-Suite by Appointing Paul Wilson to New CGO Role

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January 31, 2018

To Accelerate Growth, NetElixir Expands C-Suite by Appointing Paul Wilson to New CGO Role

Apart From Wilson, Company Also Hires CTO to Head up New Product Innovation Lab

Retail search marketing company NetElixir is embarking on an aggressive growth phase for 2018. To spearhead growth, NetElixir has expanded its C-Suite with digital marketing veteran Paul Wilson, who is taking on the role of Chief Growth Officer. The company has also hired a Chief Technology Officer to lead a new Product Innovation Lab in Hyderabad, India.

In this newly created role, Wilson will oversee NetElixir’s revenue and lead generation efforts, with a focus on growing the company’s client base. NetElixir’s marketing, sales and client development teams report directly to Wilson.

“I’m excited to be joining NetElixir and look forward to helping the company maximize its growth potential. Over the past year, NetElixir has grown 50% and we’re anticipating doubling revenue over the next year by adding new clients across both our full-service offerings as well as our self-serve paid search bid technology, LXRGuide. Our reputation for delivering tremendous results for retailers is the driving force behind our growth, and we’re on a mission to continue helping retailers exceed their eCommerce revenue goals,” said Wilson.

Also Read: NetElixir Increases Team at Princeton Headquarters, Projects Fast-Paced Growth Throughout 2018

As a digital marketing leader, Paul has built consultative sales teams and created go-to-market sales strategies in delivering significant growth year over year for industry leaders including Merkle, RKG and iProspect. Previously, Wilson held the role of EVP/Client Development at Merkle and was part of the executive team at RKG when Merkle acquired RKG in 2014. Wilson led RKG’s revenue growth efforts leading to the agency being named the fastest growing search agency for 2012 and 2013 by Ad Age. Prior to joining RKG in 2011, Wilson was the Chief Revenue Officer at iProspect. Under his leadership, iProspect grew from 40 people in one U.S. office to over 700 employees in 40 offices across the world.

Also Read: NetElixir Reinvents AdWords Management for Agencies with New LXRGuide Agency Edition

Udayan Bose, CEO, NetElixir, added, “We’re thrilled to have Paul join our team and help propel us to new great heights. Especially given the current climate for retailers with consolidation and consumer behavior shifting to mobile purchasing, retailers are relying more on digital marketing to bring in sales. We have a 14+ year history of achieving success for our clients and we look forward to working with Paul on expanding our services to retailers across the U.S. through our industry-leading technologies, client relationships and strategic partnerships with companies like UPS, Bing and the Google Preferred Partner Program.”

Also Read: Interview with Udayan Bose, Founder & CEO, NetElixir Inc

In addition to expanding its C-Suite in the U.S., NetElixir has also hired a Chief Technology Officer, Kedar Chaudhary, to head up its new Product Innovation Lab in Hyderabad, India, which is focused on optimizing LXRGuide, one of NetElixir’s key product offerings. The Lab is comprised of teams devoted to developing technology in the fields of machine learning, multi-channel integration, journey analytics and voice search activation, with the overall goal of making LXRGuide an integral part of marketers working at small-to-midsize companies globally. Prior to NetElixir, Chaudhary was co-founder and CTO of Next Education India Pvt Ltd. He also held the position of Chief Software Architect at PartyGaming.

Majority Companies Do Not Respond to Customer Service Emails

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January 31, 2018

Majority Companies Do Not Respond to Customer Service Emails

For the Third Year in a Row, Superoffice Has Published Their Annual Customer Service Benchmark Report. This Year, the Company Analyzed 1,000 Companies to See How They Manage Customer Service Requests

SuperOffice, Europe’s leading Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software provider, finds that 62% of companies do not respond to customer service emails, according to a new study.

Also Read: Your Best Customers are Calling: New Industry Survey Reveals Impactful Way for Marketers to Move the Needle and Drive Revenue

Customer service studies suggest that while 80% of businesses believe they provide excellent service to their customers, only 8% experience an excellent service. SuperOffice wanted to find out if these numbers were accurate and so they conducted their own customer service performance analysis of 1,000 companies, both large and small organizations, around the world.

Also Read: Competitive Intelligence and Backlink Audits—What Marketers Need to Know from the Latest SEMrush Study

To conduct the research, SuperOffice sent a customer service request to each company with two questions and scored results on how fast the companies responded, the support content, quality, and tone of the response.

Businesses continue to emphasize how important their customers are, yet the number of companies that do not respond to customer requests has continued to grow.

Also Read: Mission Control Marketing Publishes Original Research Identifying Marketing Channels That Influence B-to-B Sales

Here are the key findings from the new study:

62% of companies do not respond to customer service emails
90% of companies do not acknowledge or inform the customer that an email has been received
97% of companies do not follow up with customers to see if they are satisfied with the response
Only 20% of companies are able to answer questions in the first reply
The average response time to handle a customer service request is 12 hours and 10 minutes

Retargeting Ad Company Zigglio Wins Facebook’s 2017 Accelerator Program

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January 31, 2018

Also Read: Behavioral Retargeting Company Zigglio, Selected by Facebook as One of Top Three Startups to Participate in Its 2017 Accelerator Program

Retargeting Ad Company Zigglio Wins Facebook's 2017 Accelerator Program

Zigglio’s Offering of Inbound Caller Retargeting for Phone Call-Driven Businesses Wins Facebook’s Accelerator Program

Zigglio, the behavioral retargeting ad company that lets brands retarget their inbound callers on social media, is Facebook’s 2017 Accelerator Program winner.

After an expansive worldwide search to find and nurture the most innovative ad-tech companies on its platform, Facebook chose Zigglio as one of three companies in September for their “Growth Track” program of the H2 2017 class. The selection criteria included companies that are “committed, fast moving and tackling a huge and relevant problem.” At the end of the program in December 2017, Zigglio was announced the winner.

“We are proud to have been in Facebook’s H2 2017 Accelerator class with our fellow graduates who are doing amazing things with dynamic creative video and artificial intelligence marketing. With this win comes further validation that our technology and vision not only work but we are eliminating what was once considered a disadvantage for call-driven industries. Now, those businesses can convert customers online with retargeted advertising on social media because Zigglio works anywhere you advertise your phone number whether it’s offline or online. We are blurring the lines when it comes to what can and can’t be done with inbound caller conversion on social media,” said Leighton Scarlett, VP of Product for Zigglio.

Globally, consumers made 85 billion phone calls to businesses in 2016, a number that will nearly double by 2020 – but research shows 70 percent of consumers end calls without being converted to customers. Zigglio is helping companies convert more callers – long after the initial call – with seamless continuity of their marketing message, giving them the same edge on social media businesses already have with website visitors.

Rayon Walker, CTO of Zigglio, added, “Industries like real estate, automotive, health, education, professional and financial services rely on converting inbound callers into clients and if that doesn’t happen on the call, many times the opportunity is lost. We’ve applied the same advertising strategy of retargeting website visitors on social media to inbound callers. Now, businesses that advertise on TV, radio and billboards can retarget inbound callers online in near real-time on Facebook and Instagram.”

Zigglio’s effective and easy-to-use technology seamlessly creates and updates segmented custom audiences using inbound caller data, allowing companies to increase conversion rates, and ultimately driving appointments and sales, by remaining in front of prospects – while they’re still in buying mode –with retargeted ads.

New Return Path Interface Provides Actionable Insights to Monitor and Improve Email Deliverability

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January 31, 2018

New Return Path Interface Provides Actionable Insights to Monitor and Improve Email Deliverability

The Return Path Platform Offers an Innovative Way for Customers to Monitor Key Deliverability and Reputation Metrics, Identify Potential Issues, and Take Action to Resolve Them

Global email solutions provider Return Path introduced the latest innovation to its industry-leading product suite: the new and completely reimagined Return Path Platform. This advanced user interface combines Return Path’s core deliverability and reputation monitoring solutions to provide customers with a comprehensive view of their email program, along with a streamlined workflow to quickly diagnose and correct deliverability issues.

Reaching the inbox is critical to driving revenue through the email channel, yet a full 20 percent of email is diverted to the spam folder or blocked altogether. So it’s crucial for marketers to have insight into where emails are being delivered. The Return Path Platform features a sleek, intuitive look-and-feel that puts all of the customer’s deliverability and reputation data in one place, making it easy to monitor performance at a glance. Simple navigation allows the customer to dig deeper into individual campaign metrics, providing meaningful and actionable insights to keep inbox placement high, correct issues as they occur, and prevent issues in the future.

Also Read: New Research from Return Path Shows Strong Correlation Between Subscriber Engagement and Spam Placement

“Data is critical to analyzing email performance, but the value of data is lost if you don’t understand what it’s telling you. The new Return Path Platform provides customers with an unprecedented view into their email data, as well as guidance on how to solve deliverability issues. The end result is better inbox placement, enhanced subscriber relationships, and ultimately, increased ROI,” said Scott Ziegler, vice president of product management with Return Path.

Also Read: Return Path Acquires ThreatWave to Scale Email Data Intelligence and Security Solutions

The Return Path Platform is the result of deep collaboration with customers from ideation through launch. For more than a year, customers have been validating with their own data and providing feedback on incremental rollouts of the redesigned interface through Return Path’s unique Early Access program.

“From the beginning, we were committed to making this a platform that marketers really want to use,” continued Ziegler, “At every stage of development, the feedback we received from Early Access users helped us to make better decisions and drive innovation that truly benefits our customers.”

“The new interface is great to work with. The design and visualizations are clean and modern, and I’m presented with the most pertinent information right up front. But then it’s also easy to dig deeper into more specific data points,” Return Path customer Ian H., Director of Technology for a leading digital media publisher, who participated in Early Access testing for the Return Path Platform

Also Read: Return Path Releases New Performance Benchmarks for the Email Campaigns Marketers Use Most

In addition, customers will find helpful resources throughout the platform, including related content and tips for solving common deliverability problems. “The new Return Path Platform represents an incredible step forward in the evolution of Return Path’s product suite. And while we’re excited to get this new platform into our customers’ hands, we view this as just the beginning of many future product innovations that will solve our customers’ biggest deliverability challenges,” said Ziegler.

The Return Path Platform is now available to all direct customers and will be automatically enabled on all new accounts going forward. Additional innovations slated for 2018 include French and Portuguese translations of the interface, as well as access to Return Path’s email service provider partners.

Verve Expands Its Premium Mobile Programmatic Solution for The UK and International Location Marketers

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