WHAT IS OMNI-CHANNEL MARKETING?

omnichannel marketingThis is why I fell in love with Marketing. Marketing is never boring! It is the epitome of the cliche: “The only thing that’s constant is change”.  It seemed like it was just yesterday when the internet changed the way we communicated. Now, it has totally changed the way we transact. Then, social media emerged and conquered the market. Today, the smart devices are shaking the status quo.

When I was in college, my plan was to become a fashion designer. Major in Marketing and minor in Fashion Design. Luckily, the university I attended no longer allowed a minor in Fashion Design and so I concentrated solely on Marketing. It was like love at first sight! Marketing Principles, Marketing Research, Consumer Behavior, were some of my favorite subjects.

I keep my love for marketing alive by continuously studying the trends. Different Marketing Principles fall into one or more of the following categories: Social Media Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Video Marketing, Content Marketing, Multi-Channel Marketing, and now, OMNI-CHANNEL MARKETING – a fairly new marketing buzzword in the industry.

Omni-channel marketing refers to the seamless experience of consumers via all or any device. Companies can engage with consumers using one or more channels (in store, mobile app, social media, website, or customer service) without interruption, difficulty or extra charge. As the Senior VP of Customer Care at Time Warner so eloquently stated:

“Multi-channel is an operational view – how you allow the customer to complete transactions in each channel. Omni-channel, however, is viewing the experience through the eyes of your customer, orchestrating the customer experience across all channels so that it is seamless, integrated, and consistent. Omni-channel anticipates that customers may start in one channel and move to another as they progress to a resolution.  Making these complex ‘hand-offs’ between channels must be fluid for the customer.  Simply put, omni-channel is multi-channel done right!”

Omni comes from the word Omnis which means universal. The perfection of omni-channel marketing as a form of excellent customer service.

Picture this… You saw a few outfits on your mobile phone as you browsed through the Victoria Secret mobile site. You were interested in a few products so you viewed it in different colors. A window popped up and asked you to sign in through Facebook to receive a coupon so you obliged.  You weren’t sold at the moment and got distracted. That night, when you opened your laptop, you noticed an email that said “These items are waiting for you”. Out of curiosity, you opened it and sure enough, they were the same products you were viewing on your phone. You still weren’t sold because you aren’t sure if they fit you perfectly so you planned a trip to the nearest Victoria Secret to try them on. When you walked in the store, your phone buzzed and guess what? It was a coupon that you were promised when you signed in on Facebook. The coupon said “ask one of our sales associate to scan this code to redeem your discount” and so you did. When the sales associate scanned it, she gained access to the products you were interested in so you didn’t have to look for it. She tells you to follow her and she showed you the products you were looking for. You tried them on in the fitting room and you were happy and ready to purchase. When the associate came back to check on you, she offered to ring you up using her mobile device so you didn’t have to stand in line. When you left the mall, your phone buzzed again and it was a message thanking you for your purchase with an attached coupon for your next visit and a suggested share button for you to post your recent purchase to earn more coupons.

Isn’t that amazing? I won’t be surprised if some of you found it intrusive. Well, I’m amazed and I welcome it! You may wonder, how did your phone know that you were in the store? Well that’s called a BEACON! I’ll discuss how beacons work on my next blog.

 

5 IDEAS TO CREATE CONTENT FOR YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA

wpid-received_10205593958704622.jpegIf you are like most newbies on social media, you probably feel lost and need direction on what kinds of topics to post on your page to engage your followers or friends. The trick is to share genuine thoughts…. thought provoking, if possible. Here are 5 ideas to get you started:

1. Pay attention to what inspires you and share it with your followers. Inspiration is one of the best ways to elicit emotional connection. Share how it inspires you and in turn, it will inspire your followers.

2. Have you learned something recently? A useful tip or a recent failed attempt that’s motivating you to make a small tweak or some epiphany that suddenly became clear? Share these thoughts as a tip! After all, your mistakes can be a lesson learned for others.

3. Have you read or recently saw something that really excites you? An article about new findings on how to get rid of wrinkles or perhaps a study of how drinking coffee a day can lower your risk of heart failure or maybe where to get the best sushi recipe? Share it and share your thoughts about it.

4. Did you come across a tantalizing photo? Or are you looking at a breathtaking view? Snap a quick photo and share it! Share what you love about it. Share how it moved you.

5. Do you think you found the next laughing baby viral video? Or perhaps your baby is in a giggling mood? Or maybe a celebrity is in site? A great moment in your sight? Or maybe you have a testimony you are burning to share?? Turn your video camera on your smart phone and press record. Don’t get cold feet! Press record and share your thoughts and share!!!

Notice a common element? It’s important that you share what you think. People are intrigued by your thoughts that’s why posts that express deepest and genuine thoughts get the most attention.

The last element would be to explore how any of your posts relate to your business and present it from that angle. And be consistent. Content is king, consistency is queen.

Social Media Statistics and The Top 5 Musts in Managing it!

I found this website/image as I was searching for the most current statistics for various social media channels.

As a Marketing Professional and social media marketing coach, this image is a powerful tool to explain to my entrepreneur friends and network the power of social media. Another powerful statistics would also be the amount of time people spend on pc vs. mobile on all the channels listed below.

Small Business owners often shy away from learning the basics of social media. It can be intimidating to say the least for most people over the age of 40. In the last three years or so, social media has become a huge part of business success in driving more traffic to websites and simply increasing brand publicity. When done effectively, social media can definitely boost sales, brand loyalty, and as well as cut down on advertising costs.

Yes, channels like Facebook have been more strategic with their “Pay to Play” promotional opportunities but reality remains that social media is still a much bigger bang for your buck when advertising. The biggest draw is the ability to analyze the results of the ad. Facebook offers a very comprehensive analytical function for businesses, which makes it easier to measure ROMI (Return on Marketing Investment).

Needless to say, your strategy for choosing a social media channel shouldn’t be based on the amount of users. It should be based on your target market and your effectiveness. If your target market plays evenly between facebook, instagram, twitter, and google+, you’ll have to choose which ones you are more comfortable and effective. No use of spreading yourself too thin if you cannot manage your channels. Managing it means having enough time to do these five simple things:

1. Create content consistently

2. Engage with followers

3. Analyze Data

4. Pay to play consistently

5. Convert followers to loyal customers

Social Media Active Users by Network [INFOGRAPH].

Social Media Trends

Why Some Businesses Fail In Marketing

From my personal years of experience, I have noticed two types of business owners. One who gives up after the first try or one who doesn’t. The tricky thing about marketing (advertising, promotions, social media) is that there isn’t one general way to do it right. Everything is dependent on something different. Just because a business was successful in one strategy doesn’t mean another business can use the same exact plan.

It’s important to understand the different elements that goes into perfecting a marketing strategy:

1. Target Market Demographics

2. Data Analysis

3. Product or Service

4. Channel of Communication

5. Customer Experience

6. Company History

7. Current Events

8. Timing

…and so much more! With that stated, anyone is bound to hit or miss with this many elements to consider. The reason why some businesses feel so defeated when it comes to marketing is partly because they’ve failed before and spending money to try another strategy that may fail again is just a scary road to take. Other times, businesses find a strategy that works but when they applied it the second time, they failed. Perhaps they try it one more time and either they succeed or fail, they make up their mind that it’s just too much trouble to figure out.

Some businesses buried their marketing strategy box so far below the ground that when newspaper reps, social media managers, or ad agencies approach them, they just completely shut the idea of spending money with no guaranteed results. The mystery of marketing is all in the result and no one likes that kind of mystery. 🙂

It’s important for businesses to set aside a marketing budget, which is normally 10% of the previous year’s profit. Remember that marketing expenses are write offs and “out of site, out of mind.” As a small business owner, you have to commit to never giving up after a failed trial. If your strategy doesn’t work today, ask yourself what adjustments could have made it better?” Don’t give up so easily and listen for any ideas that can give you the biggest bang for your buck.

Here are a few things you can ask the rep about advertising that can ease your worries about the strategy:

1. What is the “reach” of the ad? – they should be able to explain the distribution of the advertising by giving you a list of zip codes.

2. How will the magazine/newspaper be distributed?

3. Is there an online version and will you be included in that print?

4. Will Social Media be a part of the package and to what extent?

5. If it’s an online ad or a social media strategy, how often will they provide you with analytics?

I will share more “things to ask” on my next post. In the mean time, I hope that I have helped open your mind to invest more in Marketing and to not give up with one, two, or even three not-so-favorable results. For every failed strategy, you should build an adjusted plan that will get you closer to a result you are happy with. After all, it is a game of trial and error.

BEYONCE’S new thing on Instagram

Everyone is crazy about Beyonce’s new “thing” on Instagram called moving photos. It’s not enough that we take videos, now we take burst photos and use an app to make them look like a video. BUT it is an upcoming trend and soon you’ll see more celebrities indulging. I must admit it’s fun and eye catching so I hope you indulge too and let your followers watch your moving photos with “oooohhs and aaaahhhhs.”

I don’t want to give you too many choices but if you wanted to search for something you may like better than the choices below, just search for “Gif Maker” on both android or iphone.

What I currently have on my phones are:

* Android: Giff Me

* iPhone: Phhhoto

HAPPY GIFFING! 

10 Mistakes Vendors Make

Events in the City When producing and organizing an event with vendors, I often see the same mistakes vendors make that prevents them from making the most of any event they participate in.

The vendors that are happy with their results are the ones who have managed to avoid most, if not all of the listed mistakes below.

The ones who complain about their results are usually those who fail to avoid at least 5 of the mistakes below.

1. You are too lazy to get up from your chair and stand in front of your table.

2. You failed to look your best.

3. You didn’t prepare a strategy to collect emails.

4. You failed to share the event on social media prior to the event.

5. Your staff aren’t asking the right questions to qualify potential clients.

6. You don’t have a portfolio of samples of your products or services.

7. You aren’t providing an enticing value exclusive for the event.

8. Your display isn’t well thought out.

9. You refused to take part in the event raffle, advertising on the program, etc…

10. You didn’t take advantage or engage of the social media following for the event or use the ‘hashtag’ to connect you to other vendors and participants.

Is technology going too far?

20243580_lSo you’ve got a smart phone, a tablet/iPad, a Laptop, smart TV, and a smart Watch? It’s fun and convenient to have all of these technology as tools to communicate. Lucky for Marketing Professionals, it has now become easier than ever to quantify everything.

If you have a facebook page you can advertise to your select target market and receive analytics report. Mass e-mails provide a click-through report, and targeted ads now calculate CPMs (Cost Per Thousand (clicks)).

So here’s the kicker, market researchers are using your cell phones and WiFi connection to determine foot traffic. If you are in a theme park, for example, marketers can find out where you parked, what entrance you used, what rides you stood in line for, what rides you skipped, how much time you spent in the retail stores or the food court, and finally, if you are a return customer. Isn’t that amazing?

Oh wait, there’s more! The (example) theme park, can also track if you drove by their location and went to another theme park instead. Talk about “Big Brother?!?” – almost!

I notice so many people are against being “tracked” but unfortunately, because these tracking systems technically cannot access personal information, they are able to keep tracking. With that said, is technology going too far?

How to make buyers THINK that they’re destined to buy your product

Behavioral AdvertisingAdvertising is getting more and more convenient for Marketers! The smart technology is making it very easy for companies to invest marketing dollars more wisely than before. Small to medium business often times shy away from advertising and marketing plans but I assure you that it is so easy to get exactly what you want for more bang for your buck!

Take for example, behavioral based advertising. Several agencies (i.e. newspaper companies with online presence, online advertising companies, etc) are able to offer online advertising that utilizes browser’s cookies and caches. Your ads can be targeted to a specific audience with your requested criteria.

Let’s say for example, that you are a Los Angeles based swimwear boutique with an online shopping cart. You can request that your ads appear on the screens of those who have recently visited your website along with Nordstrom’s swimwear pages, Tommy Bahama, Expedia beach vacations, and Cruise vacations who are within your targeted region (targeted by zip codes, cities, or distance). The next time internet browsers go to a page where there are ad spaces, there’s a chance that your ad will appear.

In the consumer’s point of view, it is not by coincidence that the product you were just researching about happens to show up on the corner of another website you are visit. It is not serendipity that the Jimmy Choo shoes you were looking at showed up on the ad spaces when you logged on facebook. The truth is, your online behavior is being tracked and marketers can finally get a decent ROI with an ad that can be tracked and analyzed.

Needless to say, I am no longer in the market for print advertising.

CREATIVE MINDS BELIEVE IN GREY AREAS

I usually blog about business, marketing, and events. Seldom will I share sentimental thoughts but I think this one can also be relative to all walks of life, not just in love. My comment was derived from the post realization that this video is a perfect example of believing in “grey areas.”

You shouldn’t give up on people especially when they need you the most. Some selfish minds may think “get out now, no kids, not married… no ties… just leave.” But those are advice from people who understand less the grey areas of life. Some things aren’t that simple. Will the sacrifices feel better if marriage and kids were in the picture? Do you need to say your vows first before you make ultimate sacrifices? If you can’t be there for the person you love now, then how can you expect a lifetime together? I think that the events prior to the vows are just as important. It’s not always about black and white. To think that you aren’t meant for each other because life got a little challenging is exactly the mentality that divorced couples suffer from.

Life got tough, let’s break up! We don’t feel the fire anymore let’s give up! You are not the man/woman I married, let’s give up! WRONG! When things aren’t the way you want them to be, you can either accept the change or change with it. I’m sure plenty of people are on the verge of giving up and their friends and family aren’t supporting “togetherness” because selfishly, whether people admit it or not, they hate to see victory. Stop advising separation and start advocating for togetherness. If you are the friend who gives the separation advice, let me ask you, will you be willing to really be there for your friend through thick and thin? Or perhaps only when she calls you because you have your own life, too? Don’t let your first advice be about separation. Be cognizant of the message you are sending… hold your friends hand and tell her to be strong and to be there for her spouse or other half. Support what the heart truly desires.

Marriage and kids need not come first for people to decide to make ultimate sacrifices for their other half. Perhaps, their love isn’t following your own chronological ideas of relationships but it’s still a valid relationship. Needless to say, I believe in the existence of grey areas.

How does this relate to business you ask? Let’s replace the idea of “spouse” in this blog with the idea of a “dream.” DON’T LET ANYONE TALK YOU OUT OF YOUR DREAMS! It’s your right to make the necessary sacrifices to accomplish the feeling of success the way you measure it.