Our Take On: Unveiling the Key Components of Today's Dynamic Marketing

In the ever-evolving realm of business, marketing continues to shape itself around innovative strategies and consumer-centric approaches. While traditional marketing concepts once revolved around the static framework of Product, Price, Place, Promotion, today's landscape has seen a shift toward a more dynamic and comprehensive approach to engaging with consumers.

Let's explore the essential components that constitute a strong Marketing mix in today's world:

Table of contents:

1. Customer-Centric Strategy
2. Content and Storytelling
3. Omnichannel Presence
4. Data-Driven Decision Making
5. Personalization and Customization
6. Influencer and Community Marketing
7. Continuous Adaptation and Experimentation
8. Educating the Customer

1. Customer-Centric Strategy
   Today's Marketing revolves around understanding and catering to the everchanging needs and desires of the customers. It’s no longer just about having a product or service to offer but understanding the customer journey, preferences, and pain points. This involves gathering data, analyzing consumer behavior, and personalizing experiences to build lasting relationships with the audience.
   
   
2. Content and Storytelling
   Storytelling has become a driving force necessary in today's Marketing mix. It's about creating compelling narratives that resonate with the audience. Content marketing, through various forms such as blogs, videos, podcasts, short-online informercials, and social media, has become a significant avenue for brands to connect with their audience authentically.
   
   
3. Omnichannel Presence
   With the rise of digital platforms, brands now have the opportunity to meet their audience where they are. An omnichannel approach allows businesses to engage customers seamlessly across various touchpoints, whether it's through social media, websites, mobile apps, geo-location advertising, or physical stores. The focus is on creating a unified and consistent experience throughout the customer journey.
   
   
4. Data-Driven Decision Making
   Data is the fuel that drives Marketing today. The ability to collect, analyze, and interpret data helps in making informed decisions. It enables businesses to understand consumer behavior, preferences, and market trends, allowing for more targeted and effective marketing campaigns.
   
   
5. Personalization and Customization
   Tailoring marketing efforts to individual preferences has become a game-changer. Through the use of AI, machine learning, and customer data, businesses can personalize their offerings, recommendations, and communication, providing a more relevant and engaging experience for their audience. Have you tried chatGPT, yet? Your should!
   
   
6. Influencer and Community Marketing
   Influencers and communities hold immense power in shaping consumer opinions. Collaborating with influencers and building communities around shared interests or values has become an influential marketing strategy. It's about leveraging the trust and credibility these figures have established with their followers.
   
   
7. Continuous Adaptation and Experimentation
   Marketing today is not a static process. It involves a constant process of adaptation and experimentation. Staying abreast of the latest trends, technology, and consumer behavior is crucial. Marketers need to be agile, willing to experiment with new strategies, and quick to adapt to changes in the market. For instance, check out this mobile targeting and retargeting tactic.
   
   
8. Educating the Customer
   In today's marketing landscape, educating the customer plays a critical role. Beyond selling a product or service, businesses aim to empower consumers with valuable information. Providing educational content, tutorials, and insightful resources helps customers make informed decisions and fosters a deeper understanding of the brand's offerings. Here at HEEDGROUP, we emphasize how important this strategy of educating the customer is to the bottom-line.

Conclusion

The essence of today's Marketing lies in its adaptability, consumer-centric focus, innovation, and the pivotal role of educating the customer. Integrating these contemporary elements into a well-balanced marketing strategy allows businesses to resonate with their audience in an ever-evolving marketplace. Let us know your favorite dynamic Marketing strategy, we are always eager to learn.

Our Take On: The World of Marketing Acronyms 

In the dynamic realm of marketing, acronyms stand as foundational abbreviations representing key Marketing actions, tools, processes, metrics, and more. These abbreviated terms, from SEO to PPC, CRM to CTR, represent a comprehensive language empowering marketers with short speak around their craft.

We have decided to keep a list of Marketing Acronyms for ourselves, our clients, our partners, and anyone else who is interested. Honestly, it’s just kind of fun to have this growing list around. Hope this helps you if you ever find yourself scratching your head when the Marketing acronyms start flying. 

• A/B Testing: A/B testing, also known as split testing, involves comparing two versions of a webpage or marketing element to determine which one performs better. It's a method to optimize performance based on user response. 

• API: Application Programming Interface: APIs enable different software applications to communicate and share data. In marketing, they allow platforms and systems to integrate and share information, facilitating automation and data exchange. 

• B2B / B2C: Business-to-Business / Business-to-Consumer: These terms categorize the type of commerce that exists between businesses or between a business and individual consumer, respectively. 
  
• CAC: Customer Acquisition Cost: CAC is the cost a company incurs to acquire a new customer. It's calculated by dividing the total cost of acquiring customers (marketing and sales expenses) by the number of new customers gained during a specific period. 
• CMS: Content Management System: A CMS is a software application or set of related programs used to create and manage digital content. It enables multiple users to collaborate on content creation and modification. 
• CPC: Cost Per Click: CPC is a pricing model used in online advertising, where the advertiser pays a publisher (such as a website owner or a network of websites) a certain amount each time their ad is clicked. 
• CPM: Cost Per Million (Cost Per Thousand): CPM is a pricing model used in advertising, referring to the cost an advertiser pays for one thousand impressions of their ad. 
• CRM: Customer Relationship Management: CRM refers to a technology and strategy used to manage a company's interactions with current and potential customers. It involves storing customer and prospect contact information, identifying sales opportunities, managing marketing campaigns, and providing customer support to enhance relationships and drive sales. 
• CRO: Conversion Rate Optimization: CRO focuses on improving the percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action, whether it's making a purchase, filling out a form, or subscribing to a newsletter. This involves analyzing user behavior, testing different elements on a website, and making adjustments to enhance the conversion rate. 
• CTR: Click-Through Rate: CTR is a metric that measures the ratio of users who click on a specific link to the number of total users who view a page, email, or advertisement. It's commonly used to evaluate the effectiveness of an online advertising campaign. 
• CVRM: Customer Value and Relationship Management: CVRM refers to strategies and systems used to manage and maximize the value of customer relationships. It encompasses methods to enhance loyalty and satisfaction while maximizing the profitability of each customer. 
• CVR: Conversion Rate: CVR measures the percentage of users who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or completing a form, out of the total number of visitors or interactions. 
• DMP: Data Management Platform: DMP is a centralized system for collecting, organizing, and managing large sets of data from various sources. It's frequently used in digital advertising to analyze and segment audiences, helping marketers make data-driven decisions and execute targeted and personalized campaigns. 
• DSP: Demand-Side Platform: A DSP is a technology platform used by advertisers to buy ad inventory in an automated fashion. It allows advertisers to manage multiple ad exchange and data exchange accounts through a single interface. 
• GA: Google Analytics: GA is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. It's widely used by marketers to understand user behavior, website performance, and campaign effectiveness. 
• GDMA: Global Data Protection Regulation: Similar to GDPR, the Global Data Protection Regulation encompasses rules and regulations that aim to protect individuals' data privacy globally, beyond the boundaries of a specific region or country. 
  
• GDPR: Global Data Protection Regulation: Regulations around the storing and usage of Personal Identifiable Information (PII) another acronym :-)
• IMC: Integrated Marketing Communications: IMC involves coordinating and integrating various promotional elements and communication channels within a marketing campaign to deliver a unified message to target audiences. 
• IoT: Internet of Things: IoT represents a network of interconnected devices that communicate and share data. In marketing, IoT can be leveraged for data collection and targeted advertising. 
• IQL, MQL, SQL: Inbound Marketing and Sales Qualification: These stand for different levels of lead qualification in the marketing and sales funnel. IQL (Inquiry or Information-Qualified Lead) represents initial interest, MQL (Marketing-Qualified Lead) shows leads more likely to become customers, and SQL (Sales-Qualified Lead) represents prospects that sales deem ready for direct contact. 
• IVR: Interactive Voice Response: IVR is an automated telephony system that interacts with callers, gathers information, and routes calls to the appropriate recipient. It's often used in customer service settings. 
• KOL: Key Opinion Leader: A KOL is an influential individual who has authority and expertise in a particular industry or niche. They are often leveraged in influencer marketing strategies to promote products or brands. 
• KPI: Key Performance Indicator: These are measurable values that demonstrate how effectively a company is achieving its key business objectives. KPIs differ based on the organization's goals, such as sales growth, customer acquisition, or website traffic. 
• LBS: Location-Based Services: LBS utilizes location data to provide services relevant to a user's location. In marketing, this could include targeted advertising based on a user's geographic location. 
• LPO: Landing Page Optimization: LPO focuses on enhancing the elements of a website's landing page to increase conversions. It involves testing different designs, content and calls to action to improve user engagement. 
• LTV: Lifetime Value: LTV is the prediction of the net profit attributed to the entire future relationship with a customer. It helps businesses understand the long-term value of their customer base. 
• MAU: Monthly Active Users: MAU is a metric that measures the number of unique users who engage with a service or app within 30 days. It's commonly used in the context of social media platforms and mobile apps. 
• NPS: Net Promoter Score: NPS is a metric used to gauge the loyalty of a company's customer relationships. It measures the likelihood of customers recommending a company's products or services to others. 
• PID: Proportional-Integral-Derivative (Control): In digital advertising, PID can refer to a model used in controlling and optimizing certain ad-serving algorithms to achieve specific goals, like a target cost per acquisition or return on ad spend. 
• PII: Personal Identifiable Information: Any type of data that can be used to identify someone, from their name and address to their phone, etc, etc.
• PR: Public Relations: PR involves managing the spread of information between an individual or organization and the public. It focuses on maintaining a positive public image, managing crises, and establishing and maintaining relationships with various stakeholders, including customers, investors, and the public. 
• PRM: Partner Relationship Management: PRM refers to strategies and software systems used to manage relationships and collaborations with business partners or affiliates. 
• PPC: Pay-Per-Click: PPC is an online advertising model where advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. It's a way of buying visits to a website rather than earning them organically. Google Ads and Facebook Ads are examples of platforms where PPC campaigns are commonly utilized. 
• PQL: Product-Qualified Lead: PQL refers to a lead generated from users who have already experienced value from a product or service, making them more likely to convert into paying customers. 
• PRM: Partner Relationship Management: PRM refers to strategies and software systems used to manage relationships and collaborations with business partners or affiliates. 
• ROI: Return on Investment: ROI is a measure used to evaluate the efficiency or profitability of an investment. In marketing, it helps assess the return on the money invested in advertising or other marketing efforts. 
• ROAS: Return on Advertising Spend: ROAS measures the revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising. It's calculated by dividing the revenue generated from ads by the cost of those ads. 
• RFP: Request for Proposal: An RFP is a business document requesting detailed proposals from potential suppliers to meet a specific business need. In marketing, agencies may respond to RFPs from companies seeking marketing services. 
• SEM: Search Engine Marketing: SEM includes strategies to increase a website's visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) through both organic means (SEO) and paid advertising. It involves paid search advertising, like Google Ads (formerly known as Google AdWords) and Bing Ads, and also includes techniques like pay-per-click (PPC) and contextual advertising to attract visitors to a website. 
• SEO: Search Engine Optimization: SEO involves strategies and tactics used to increase the visibility and ranking of a website in search engine results. This includes optimizing content, using relevant keywords, improving website structure, and acquiring backlinks to enhance organic (non-paid) traffic from search engines like Google. 
• SERM: Search Engine Reputation Management: SERM involves strategies used to manage the online reputation of a brand or individual in search engine results pages. It includes tactics to respond to and influence search engine results. 
• SERP: Search Engine Results Page: SERP refers to the page displayed by a search engine in response to a query. Marketers aim to rank their web pages higher on SERPs to increase visibility and attract more organic traffic. 
• SaaS: Software as a Service: SaaS is a software distribution model where applications are hosted by a third-party provider and made available to customers over the internet, usually on a subscription basis.  
• SMM: Social Media Management: SMM involves the creation, curation, and management of content on social media platforms. It includes posting, scheduling, engaging with audiences, and analyzing social media performance. 
• SMM: Social Media Marketing: SMM involves marketing efforts focused on social media platforms to connect with audiences, build brand awareness, drive traffic, and generate leads for businesses. 
• SSP: Supply-Side Platform: An SSP is the counterpart to a DSP. It's used by publishers to manage and sell their ad inventory to advertisers via ad exchanges, often optimizing the revenue potential of their advertising space. 
• SSL: Secure Sockets Layer: SSL is a security technology used to establish an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. It ensures that data passed between the server and browsers remain private and integral.
• TAM: Total Addressable Market: TAM, also referred to as total available market, is the overall revenue opportunity that is available for a product or service when looking at the total available users/companies that can purchase that product or service.
• UI/UX: User Interface/User Experience: UI and UX are design concepts focusing on how users interact with and experience a product or service. UI pertains to the interface's look and feel, while UX involves the overall experience and usability. 
• UTM: Urchin Tracking Module: UTM parameters are tags that can be added to a URL to track and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. They help in understanding which specific marketing efforts are driving traffic and conversions. 
• UGC: User-Generated Content: UGC refers to content created by users or consumers rather than by a brand. It includes reviews, social media posts, videos, and other content that users create and share about a product or service. 
• UGC: User Growth Campaign: In some contexts, UGC can also stand for User Growth Campaign, which refers to marketing campaigns focused on increasing the number of users or customers.

The realm of marketing is diverse and constantly evolving, the acronyms are standard abbreviations we run into all the time.

I am sure we missed some and the list just keeps growing with every innovation, reach out if you would like us to add an Acronym to our growing list. We'd be happy to credit you.

Our Take On: Why Do You Need Brand Consistency In The Online Universe?

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Section 1: The Online Universe
• Section 2: Branding and Identity
• Section 3: User Experience
• Section 4: SEO and Online Visibility
• Section 5: Reputation and Trust
• Section 6: Social Media and Content
• Section 7: Practical Tips for Consistency
  
• Conclusion

Our Take On: Why Do You Need Brand Consistency In The Online Universe?

Introduction

In a world where the digital realm is expanding at an astonishing rate, the online universe has become a vast and intricate ecosystem. Imagine this, as of September 2023, there are a staggering almost 1.5 to 2 billion websites on the World Wide Web. However, only about 200 Million of them are actively maintained and visited according to various resources – the point is there are a lot and more being created all the time. Every three seconds, a new website is born, adding to the already colossal digital landscape. With 175 websites being created every minute, the internet is an ever-evolving entity.

But amidst this digital chaos lies a crucial factor that can set individuals and businesses apart: consistency. In this article, we'll delve into the significance of maintaining consistency in the online world. We'll explore the profound impact it has on branding, user experience, SEO, reputation, and trust. By the end, you'll be armed with practical tips to navigate the digital labyrinth and establish a consistent online presence.

Section 1: The Online Universe

The online universe is vast, complex, and ever-expanding. With nearly 200 million active websites and counting, it's a digital realm teeming with opportunities and challenges. Navigating this massive landscape filled with websites, social media platforms, and diverse online communities can be a daunting task. Individuals and businesses alike must grapple with the question of how to stand out amidst this vast digital realm. Understanding how to bring brand consistency to this ever exploding universe can be the key to positive brand perception, increasing your topline revenue opportunities and even keeping customers loyal.

Section 2: Branding and Identity

In this digital wilderness, branding becomes a beacon of recognition and trust. Consistency in branding is the glue that holds your online identity together. It's what builds trust and fosters recognition among your audience. Think of brands like Coca-Cola or Apple, who have mastered the art of maintaining a consistent brand image everywhere and especially online through every interaction, resulting in unwavering customer loyalty.

As a business, your Marketing practice is at the center of creating the brand experience and keeping it consistent. Marketing should: 

1. Define Your Brand Guidelines: Develop clear brand guidelines that cover your logo usage, color schemes, typography, and tone of voice. Make sure every piece of content adheres to these guidelines.
2. Create a Style Guide: Establish a style guide for your content, including formatting, grammar rules, and writing style. This ensures that all written material maintains a consistent tone and quality.
3. Utilize Templates: Design on-brand templates for social media posts, email newsletters, and other content formats. Templates make it easy to maintain visual consistency while saving time in content creation.
4. Regularly Audit Your Branding: Periodically review your branding materials to ensure they remain current and aligned with your business goals. Update them as needed to stay relevant.

Section 3: User Experience

Consistency isn't just about aesthetics; it's about user experience too. A seamless online presence creates a sense of reliability and trust in your audience. Whether it's your website design, content style, or the tone of your social media posts, consistency enhances user satisfaction and builds trust through a predictable presentation of your company to the Market.

Ways you can build brand consistency with User Experience:

1. Responsive Design: Ensure that your website is responsive and accessible on various devices, from smartphones to desktops. A consistent user experience across all platforms is crucial.
2.  Navigation Consistency: Maintain consistent navigation menus and structures throughout your website. Users should easily find their way around without confusion.
3.  Content Organization: Organize your content logically with consistent headings, subheadings, and categories. This helps users quickly locate information and improves the overall user experience.
4. Test the experience: Just don't design it, build it, hit publish and go home. Test the experience across various devices and browsers. You will be happy you  did! Nothing is worse than spending a lot of resources on designing a brand experience only to know that it went live broken. Testing will always fix this scenario.

 
Section 4: SEO and Online Visibility

Search engines are the compass that guides users through the online wilderness. Inconsistent, lacking and/or unorganized information on your website can lead to confusion and negatively impact your search engine rankings. We'll explore how consistency is a cornerstone of effective SEO and provide strategies to optimize your online visibility.

1. Keyword Research and Implementation:
   1. Comprehensive Keyword Research: Start with thorough keyword research to identify the most relevant and high-performing keywords in your niche. Tools like Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush can help. Make sure your keyword research stays true to what is congruent with your brand, your brand promise, the words your target audiences use, and what you have to offer the Market.
   2. Long-Tail Keywords: Incorporate long-tail keywords that are specific to your products or services. These often have less competition and can attract highly targeted traffic. Long-tail keywords are more specific phrases that your target audience uses when truly searching for a solution. Long-tail keywords bring in less search traffic but they will actually bring in more qualified traffic to your website who are looking for a solution and closer to conversion.
   3. Keyword, Title and Meta Description Mapping: Create a keyword map that outlines which keywords should be used for different pages or sections of your website. This ensures consistent keyword usage across your content. Same with page titles and meta descriptions, each page title should be unique and relevant to the page content. And, Meta descriptions should be written as a call-to-action to the page content.
   4. Content Optimization: Optimize your content with keywords naturally integrated into headings, subheadings, and body text. But remember, avoid keyword stuffing, as it can harm your rankings. Instead, think about how you would naturally explain a product or service in your business. Use contextual descriptions, consistent words and synonyms to draw understandings – the Search Engines are sophisticated and getting more sophisticated – keyword stuffing is a relic of the past. Use your own natural language just as you would if you were speaking to another person.
      
      
2. Content Quality and Freshness:
   1. High-Quality Content: Produce and publish on your website and your landing pages high-quality, informative, and valuable content that addresses the needs and questions of your target audience. Google rewards quality with higher rankings.
   2. Regular Blogging: Maintain a blog with a consistent publishing schedule. Fresh blog posts signal to search engines that your website is active and authoritative. We admit this is not always easy if you're a smaller company or Marketing team. For instance, HEEDGROUP’s goal is to develop 1 - 3 useful Marketing blogs every month, sometimes it is 3 and admittedly sometimes we only get one out due to our client workload. But we are committed every month to get at least one really useful blog out and share it with our database.
   3. Evergreen Content: Invest in creating evergreen content that remains relevant over time. This type of content can continue to attract organic traffic for months or even years.
   4. Update Existing Content: Periodically revisit and update existing content to reflect current trends, statistics, and developments in your industry. This shows your commitment to accuracy.
      
      
3. Meta Tags and On-Page SEO:
   1. Optimize Title Tags: Craft compelling and concise title tags (typically under 60 characters) that accurately represent the content of each page. Include the primary keyword.
   2. Meta Descriptions: Write persuasive meta descriptions (around 150-160 characters) that entice users to click while summarizing the page's content. Use relevant keywords naturally.
   3. Alt Tags for Images: Add descriptive alt tags to images, incorporating keywords where applicable. Alt tags improve accessibility and can contribute to SEO. And, make sure your image names are descriptive as well.
   4. Header Tags (H1, H2, etc.): Use header tags to structure your content logically. The main title should be in H1, with subheadings in H2, and so on. Include keywords where relevant and appropriate but remember don’t overuse them, use keywords naturally. Using Header Tags appropriately and consistently throughout your website also tells the search engine spiders and bots the hierarchy of the information on the page.
      
      
4. Internal Linking and Navigation:
   1. Logical Site Structure: Organize your website with a clear hierarchy and logical navigation. This helps users and search engines find content easily.
   2. Internal Links: Use internal links to connect related pages and guide users to relevant content. Anchor text for these links should be descriptive and keyword-rich.
   3. Sitemap: Create and submit an XML sitemap to search engines. This file provides a map of your website's structure and helps search engines index your content efficiently.
      
      
5. Mobile Optimization:
   1. Mobile-Friendly Design: Ensure that your website is responsive and mobile-friendly. Google prioritizes mobile usability in its search rankings.
   2. Mobile Page Speed: Optimize the loading speed of your website on mobile devices. Slow-loading pages can harm your SEO and user experience.
      
      
6. Local SEO Consistency (For Local Businesses):
   1. Google My Business: Maintain an up-to-date and consistent Google My Business profile. Ensure your business name, address, phone number, and business hours are accurate.
   2. Local Citations: Consistency in your business information across online directories and platforms (known as local citations) is vital. Ensure accuracy in listings on Yelp, Yellow Pages, and other relevant sites.
      
      
7. Monitor SEO and always be ready to Adapt:
   1. Regular SEO Audits: Conduct regular SEO audits to identify areas for improvement. Tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and SEO audit tools can help.
   2. Competitor Analysis: Keep an eye on your competitors' SEO strategies and adjust your own accordingly. Identifying gaps or opportunities can give you an edge.
   3. Algorithm Updates: Stay informed about search engine algorithm updates (e.g., Google's Core Updates). These updates can impact your rankings, so adapt your strategy as needed. Stay up to date on Google’s Core updates. The latest core update took place August 2023, Search Ending Land covers it in a great article.

Remember, SEO is an ongoing process, and results may take time to manifest. Consistency in these practices, combined with monitoring and adaptation, will help you steadily improve your online visibility and climb the search engine rankings.

Section 5: Reputation and Trust

Your reputation in the digital world hinges on consistency. Inconsistencies can lead to reputational crisis, eroding trust in your brand.

1. Authenticity: Be authentic in your online interactions and communications. Authenticity builds trust, and consistent authenticity reinforces it.
2. Prompt Responses: Respond promptly to customer inquiries, comments, and reviews. Consistently addressing customer concerns shows that you care about their satisfaction. If you have a Marketing Automation Platform such as HubSpot, look to build automated workflows that keep any hand raisers engaged with your brand until your sales team has the opportunity to assess the hand raiser and reach out to them.
3. Transparency: Be transparent about your business practices, policies, and any potential issues. Honesty builds trust, while inconsistencies can lead to suspicion.

Section 6: Social Media and Content

Consistency extends to your social media presence and content strategy as well as it is a brand touchpoint with the ability to amplify your brand to broader audiences. We'll highlight the role of consistency in social media branding and discuss best practices for maintaining a cohesive online presence across various platforms.

1. Social Media Content Calendar:
   1. Platform Selection: Begin by identifying the social media platforms that align with your target audience and business goals. Focus on platforms where your audience is most active.
   2. Content Types: Diversify your content types. Plan for a mix of posts, including informative articles, visuals, videos, infographics, polls, and even user-generated content.
   3. Posting Frequency: Determine how often you'll post on each platform. Consistency is key, but it's also essential to avoid over-posting, which can lead to audience fatigue.
   4. Content Themes: Develop content themes or categories to guide your posts. This ensures that your content is aligned with your brand's messaging and appeals to your audience's interests.
   5. Automation Tools: Consider using social media management tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, or Sprout Social to schedule and automate your posts. These tools can help you maintain a consistent posting schedule.
   6. Content Review: Before scheduling posts, review them for accuracy, relevance, and alignment with your brand's voice and values. Make sure they're error-free and well-optimized for each platform. Every platform is different and you can’t always edit or delete a post. Know how the platforms work before posting.
      
      
2. Social Visual Consistency:
   1. Branding Elements: Your social media profiles should be an extension of your brand identity. Use the same profile picture, cover photo, and bio information across all platforms.
   2. Color Palette: Stick to a consistent color palette that aligns with your brand's guidelines. This helps in immediate recognition and reinforces brand association.
   3. Graphics and Images: Maintain consistency in the style of graphics and images you use. Whether it's the use of filters, image types (e.g., illustrations, photographs), or image dimensions, create a uniform look.
   4. Font and Typography: If you use text in your visuals, ensure that you use the same fonts and typography styles consistently. This reinforces your brand's visual identity.
   5. Templates: Create templates for graphics and images that include your branding elements. These templates make it easy to produce consistent visuals quickly. At HEEDGroup, we keep a social media design template for every client.
      
      
3. Engagement Patterns:
   1. Analytics Tools: Use analytics tools provided by social media platforms (e.g., Facebook Insights, Instagram, LinkedIn, X Analytics) to monitor engagement patterns. Pay attention to metrics like followers (adds or drops), likes, shares, comments, and click-through rates.
   2. Peak Posting Times: Identify the peak posting times for each platform based on when your audience is most active. Schedule your posts during those times to maximize engagement.
   3. A/B Testing: Experiment with different types of content and posting times to understand what resonates best with your audience. A/B testing can help you refine your content strategy.
   4. Audience Interaction: Respond promptly to comments and messages from your audience. Engaging with your followers fosters a sense of community and can boost your reach.
   5. User-Generated Content (UGC): Encourage UGC by running contests, challenges, or featuring customer stories. UGC not only provides valuable content but also strengthens community engagement.
   6. Consistent Tone: Maintain a consistent tone of voice in your social media interactions. Whether it's friendly, informative, or professional, your tone should reflect your brand's personality.
   7. Hashtags: Use relevant and trending hashtags, but do so sparingly and consistently. Create a branded hashtag to encourage user participation and brand recognition.

By implementing these strategies, you'll not only maintain consistency in your social media and content strategy but also create a strong and recognizable online presence. Remember that building and maintaining consistency takes time and dedication, so be patient and adapt your approach as needed to better engage your audience and achieve your goals.

Section 7: Practical Tips for Consistency

To navigate this digital jungle, you need to create repeatable processes to help you achieve and maintain consistency. Here are some final tips to maintain a consistent brand experience in the Digital Universe:

1. Automate When Possible: Use scheduling tools for social media posts and email campaigns to ensure regular content distribution, even during busy times. 
2. Employee Training: If you have a team managing your online presence, ensure they are well-trained in your brand guidelines and consistency expectations.
3. Monitor and Adjust: Regularly monitor your online presence and adjust strategies as needed. Analyze data, listen to feedback, and make improvements accordingly.
4.  Seek Professional Help: If maintaining online consistency feels overwhelming, consider hiring professionals like digital marketers or branding experts. Their expertise can be invaluable in crafting a consistent and effective online strategy. 

Conclusion

In a digital landscape where 252,000 websites are born every day, consistency emerges as the secret weapon for success. We've explored the enormity of the online universe and the challenges it presents across all the digital touchpoints. From branding to user experience, SEO to reputation, and social media to content, consistency is the thread that weaves your online presence together.

As we conclude, remember this: In just 0.05 seconds, users form an impression of your website. That's the blink of an eye in the vast online universe. Prioritize consistency, and you'll not only navigate this digital wilderness but thrive in it. Consistency is the compass that guides you through the digital labyrinth, helping you build trust, recognition, and success in the ever-expanding online world. It's time to embrace the power of consistency and make your mark in the digital cosmos.

Our Take On: How to Recognize an Opportunity and Turn it into Strategy and Implementation

In today's fast-paced world of global digital marketing, seizing the right opportunities can be a daunting task. Amid the constant noise and ever-evolving online landscape, recognizing a "favorable juncture of circumstances" (as defined by Webster) can seem elusive. However, by understanding how to identify and harness these opportunities effectively, you can transform them into marketing triumphs.

Embracing Change: The Catalyst for Opportunity
One of the most reliable indicators of a marketing opportunity is change. This change can take various forms, from launching a new product to executing a merger or acquisition, or expanding your service offerings. However, it can also be more subtle, like rebranding to cater to a new and emerging target audience.

For instance, consider a scenario where your natural supplement line, initially designed for athletes, demonstrates unexpected benefits for seniors. This newfound insight presents a golden opportunity to enter the vast senior health market. The key lies in your ability to adapt and capitalize on such changes.

Crafting a Strategic Blueprint
Once you've identified a potential opportunity, the next step is to develop a robust and comprehensive strategy. Think of it as preparing for battle – no army goes into war without a well-crafted plan. Your marketing strategy should encompass various tools and techniques from the digital marketing arsenal, tailored to suit your specific needs.

Here's what every solid marketing plan should include, whether you're launching a micro campaign or an extensive macro initiative:

1. Target Audience: Clearly define your intended audience and understand why they should care about your message. Determine the type of message that resonates with them and, most importantly, establish the desired action you want them to take.
2. Tactics: Identify the tactics to employ for inbound marketing, including organic, paid, influencer, database, media, PR, and more.
3. Schedule: Create a timeline that outlines the launch date, tactical execution schedule, and campaign end date.
4. Budget: Allocate a budget and establish expected outcomes for your marketing spend. Be flexible enough to reallocate funds to successful components as needed.
5. Goals and KPIs: Set clear goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) while implementing the necessary tools and dashboards to measure the effectiveness of your tactics and the overall campaign.
   
   Turning Plans into Action - Implementing the Strategy
   The final and crucial step is the implementation of your strategic plan. This phase requires a willingness within your organization to explore uncharted territory, allocate the necessary funding, and secure the right staffing. While you should have a dedicated point person within your organization, consider partnering with a high-performing digital marketing firm.
   
   Collaborating with a reputable agency can help you navigate the complexities of the digital marketing landscape and leverage opportunities more effectively. Building this relationship can be an opportunity in itself, as it positions your business to continually discover and capitalize on marketing opportunities in the evolving digital age.
   
   In conclusion, in the bustling world of digital marketing, recognizing and seizing opportunities is the key to success. By staying attuned to change, crafting a sound strategy, and taking decisive action, you can transform fleeting moments into enduring marketing and business victories. 

Our Take On: It's Not Always About the Likes

Yesterday I read an article that my boss sent over to our team that in turn, inspired me to write this blog!

It's something I have always thought in the back of my mind but never really said out loud because it may be deemed as a tad “controversial” and different from what clients wholeheartedly believe.

In summary, the article talks about how LinkedIn has been changing its algorithm. 

“Instead of merely counting likes, shares, or comments, LinkedIn is placing substantial weight on the quality of your interactions. Encouraging in-depth discussions on your posts can significantly improve engagement and visibility. It is our opinion that LinkedIn is trying its hardest to be viewed differently to other social media platforms that have a strong emphasis on going viral and gaining followers.” - Luke Horsfall, Author of LinkedIn’s Algorithm Changes - Do You Need To Adapt Your B2B Social Strategy?

BRILLIANT! YAY! YIPPIE! WAHOO! ICONIC! 

Oftentimes clients and let's be real, us as humans, get overpowered by this sense to chase likes and not focus on the quality and intent of the content itself. For the last couple of years, and especially in 2023, everyone from brands to individuals wants to go viral. I mean, yes, of course, there are benefits to going viral like the potential to increase your bottom line due to an increase in brand awareness, media picking you and your brand up, and things like that. Given the option, if someone said my client's next social media post had the option to go viral, of course, I would say h*&^ yeah! 

But what about meaningful interactions? I would rather have 5 people engage in a meaningful discussion, ask questions, and tag their friends because they know they would be interested in a post/video than have 20 people simply click a button that gives me a like. 

I mean seriously, what does that even mean? A like? I mean, yes, I obviously know what it literally means, but what does that mean for you or your brand? How many brands out there have purchased followers to increase the like count on their posts? I do not have an exact number, but I am sure there are quite a few. Also, think of this…

I have my personal IG account, and I recently created one where I post food pictures so I can save some of my phone storage. I actually got caught up in my own demise and noticed one of my pictures did not have that many likes vs. some of my other food pictures. So what did I do? I switched to my personal account and liked my own photo! How embarrassing! I am committing the first social media sin aka liking your own post. But it’s because for a second, I forgot what I preached - that it is not just about the likes. I know I cannot be the only person to ever do that, so what about the big brands who are doing that, but on a way bigger scale than me liking my own food post. 

Social platforms like Instagram and TikTok have made it more about likes, because the more people like your content, the more the algorithm will push it out to a larger audience. But what about posts that have fewer likes, but are inspiring a conversation below in the comments? Where is the push for those to go “viral”? There may only be 10 likes vs. 500, but there is valuable engagement going on in terms of a conversation, and those are the people who are likely going to continue to engage with your brand and do things like purchase your product, refer a friend to your service, explore your website, sign up for your email blasts. 

So thank you, LinkedIn! Thank you for helping people (hopefully) remember that social media is about connecting with people and not just chasing likes.

To read the full article that sparked my interest in this blog, click below! 
https://www.hrs-ignite.com/post/linkedin-algorithm-changes-do-you-need-adapt-b2b-social-strategy

Up Next is Our Take On: How to Recognize an Opportunity and Turn it into Strategy and Implementation

Our Take On: Working with Micro-Influencers vs Influencers

Alright, I am going to come right out and say it: it's better to work with micro-influencers or even with customers who are simply passionate about your product but have little to no social media presence, rather than the bigwigs with hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of followers.

Phew, there, I said it, and boy do I feel relieved!!!

Controversial as it may sound, we have had more success working with micro-influencers (or as we like to call them, collaborators) than we have had when working with those who have a large following. Think of micro-influencers as people who have a small or even a very small social media presence. Here are the primary reasons we like to work with the micro-influencers:

1. They are more eager to work and provide content in a timely fashion as they are trying to make a name for themselves.

2. They do not have that sense of entitlement that comes with a large following (sorry but it’s true) and tend to be more down to earth and easier to work with, making it easier to build an authentic relationship together.

3. In many of our experiences, they provide more authentic content than those with a larger following because they genuinely love the product/brand they are working with, rather than just being interested in another paycheck or brand logo to boast about.

 4. You are able to work directly with the collaborator themselves and not their manager/team, which makes the overall process more seamless. When working with big names, we have had instances where a manager has quit/been fired, and because of this, the creator was not able to deliver content, leaving us out of thousands of dollars of product and money with no content in return.

5. Content does not come with a hefty price tag. In 2023, some content creators are asking for $40,000+ for 10-minute or less videos. In THIS economy? Are you kidding?! That must be a joke! Or you could work with micro-collaborators and give them gear in return or even a couple of thousand dollars… I know which one I would choose.

By no means are we saying that everyone on social media with a large following is not genuine and of value. All we are stressing is that sometimes, a smaller bite at the apple gives you a bigger return and longer partnership. We have experienced first-hand that if you want to create more authentic content for your brand and save money at the same time, consider collaborating with someone who has 2,000 followers rather than 900,000 followers. Just a thought!

Next up: Our Take on: It’s Not (Just) About the Likes!

Our Take On: Creativity is EVERYTHING in Marketing & Media - Unleashing the Power of Imagination

Introduction:

Recently, I experienced one of the most gratifying moments in my career when my longest-standing client partner paid me the ultimate compliment. He acknowledged that I had taught him the indispensable role of creativity in the realms of Marketing & Media. This accolade resonated deeply with me, as it reinforced the fundamental principle that has guided my entire professional journey: the profound value of creativity in every facet of my work and the innovative solutions my agency strives to deliver.

In a world characterized by constant change and ever-evolving consumer preferences, standing out from the crowd has become a paramount objective for marketers and media professionals. In this blog article, we delve into the compelling reasons why creativity is the lifeblood of success in Marketing & Media. From reimagining marketing campaigns to crafting engaging content and building powerful brand narratives, creativity holds the key to unlocking boundless opportunities for growth and influence in the digital age.

Here are 5 reasons creativity really matters in business:

1. The Art of Capturing Attention:

In a sea of advertisements, social media posts, and multimedia content, capturing the attention of our target audience has become an arduous task. Creative campaigns that dare to be different and tap into the essence of human emotions stand a far better chance of breaking through the noise and making an impact. Whether it's a thought-provoking video, a witty tagline, or an eye-catching visual, creativity fuels our ability to evoke emotions and forge a genuine connection with our audience.

2. Nurturing Authenticity and Brand Loyalty:

In an era where consumers crave authenticity and meaningful experiences, creativity plays an instrumental role in fostering lasting connections between brands and their customers. By showcasing a brand's unique personality through creative storytelling, businesses can engender trust and loyalty that goes beyond mere product satisfaction. When we use creativity to express the values and vision behind a brand, we transform customers into brand advocates, creating a tribe of dedicated supporters who champion the brand at every opportunity.

3. Adapting to an Ever-Changing Landscape:

The marketing and media landscape is dynamic and constantly evolving, with new technologies and platforms emerging regularly. Embracing creativity allows us to adapt swiftly to these changes and capitalize on new opportunities. Whether it's creating viral content for the latest social media platform or leveraging augmented reality for immersive brand experiences, creativity enables us to be agile and innovative in navigating the digital frontier.

4. Breaking Barriers and Inspiring Innovation:

When we allow creativity to flourish in our campaigns and strategies, we inherently embrace a culture of innovation. Creativity empowers us to challenge traditional norms and venture beyond our comfort zones, ushering in groundbreaking ideas that have the potential to revolutionize any industry. Moreover, it inspires our teams to push boundaries, experiment fearlessly, and continually seek novel solutions that keep our clients at the forefront of the market.

5. Data-Driven Creativity: Merging Art with Science

The marriage of creativity and data is a powerful combination in modern marketing and media endeavors. By harnessing data insights and analytics, we can identify audience preferences, anticipate trends, and fine-tune our creative endeavors for maximum impact. Data-driven creativity ensures that our imaginative pursuits are not just shots in the dark but are guided by informed decisions that align with our clients' objectives and KPIs.

Conclusion:

As I reflect on the profound compliment bestowed upon me by my client, I am reminded of the intrinsic connection between creativity and success in the realms of Marketing & Media. Creativity is not a mere embellishment; it is the lifeblood that sustains and invigorates our campaigns, content, and strategies, breathing life into brands and forging deep connections with our audiences. In a rapidly evolving landscape, those who dare to embrace creativity as the driving force behind their endeavors will be the torchbearers of innovation, setting new standards for excellence and leaving an indelible mark on the industry. So, let us unlock the full potential of our imaginations and infuse our every pursuit with the magic of creativity, for therein lies the key to unbounded success, at least in my opinion. What about you? How high do you think your company holds the act of being creative?

Next up: Our take on why we think it’s best to work with micro-influencers.

Our Take On: Are Ideas or Execution the Grail of Marketing? Spoiler Alert - It's Both!

Introduction 

In the world of Marketing, there has always been an ongoing debate about what holds the key to success: the brilliance of ideas or the precision of execution. Some argue that a groundbreaking concept can make or break a campaign, while others believe that flawless execution is the secret to turning ideas into tangible results. As the owner of a full-service strategic and creative Marketing agency, we firmly believe that the magic lies in the seamless integration of both elements. In this blog, we explore why ideas and execution are equally vital to achieving marketing excellence and generating revenue for our clients. 

The Power of Ideas 

Every great marketing campaign starts with a compelling idea. Ideas are the seeds of creativity that have the potential to resonate deeply with the target audience. A unique concept can capture attention, evoke emotions, and spark conversations. An innovative idea can differentiate a brand from its competitors and set it on a path to success. 

Here are some reasons why ideas are essential: 

1. Differentiation: In a crowded marketplace, a fresh and original idea stands out, making your brand memorable and distinct from the rest.
   
   
2. Emotional Connection: Ideas that tap into emotions create powerful connections with consumers, leading to brand loyalty and advocacy.
   
   
3. Virality: Unique and captivating ideas have the potential to go viral, spreading like wildfire across social media and amplifying the campaign's reach.
   
   
4. Longevity: Strong ideas can form the foundation for long-lasting marketing strategies, continually engaging and attracting new audiences over time. 

However, as critical as ideas are, they are just the beginning of a successful Marketing journey. 

The Impact of Execution 

An exceptional idea alone cannot guarantee success; it's the execution that breathes life into the concept. Execution involves meticulous planning, attention to detail, and the ability to translate ideas into reality effectively. It is the driving force behind turning a vision into measurable outcomes. 

Here's why execution matters: 

1. Precision: A well-executed campaign ensures that the intended message reaches the right audience at the right time through the right channels.
   
   
2. Consistency: Consistent execution strengthens brand identity and builds trust among consumers, ensuring a unified and coherent experience.
   
   
3. Adaptability: Effective execution involves continuous monitoring and adaptation to capitalize on emerging opportunities or address unforeseen challenges.
   
   
4. Measurable Results: Execution allows us to measure the success of a campaign, analyze data, and make data-driven decisions to optimize future efforts. 

The Symbiotic Relationship Is The Key To Great Marketing 

To achieve the best results, ideas and execution must work hand in hand. An excellent idea without proper execution might remain a brilliant concept on paper, never fully realized. On the other hand, flawless execution without a compelling idea lacks the power to resonate with consumers and make a lasting impact. 

At our marketing agency, we approach every project with a holistic perspective, recognizing that the synergy between ideas and execution is the key to unlocking the full potential of our clients' brands. Here's how we do it: 

1. Collaborative Ideation: We foster an environment that encourages collaboration, allowing our team members to pool their diverse skills and experiences to generate unique and innovative ideas.
   
   
2. Planning and Strategy: Once we have a winning idea, we develop a detailed plan and strategy to ensure seamless execution across all marketing channels.
   
   
3. Attention to Detail: We believe that the smallest details can make the biggest difference. Our team focuses on the finer points of creativity and execution to ensure a flawless delivery of the marketing campaign. 
   
   
4. Data-Driven Optimization: Throughout the campaign's lifecycle, we continuously analyze data and consumer behavior, making real-time adjustments to optimize performance. 

Conclusion 

In the dynamic world of marketing, the eternal question of whether ideas or execution takes precedence can be misleading. Our experience as a full-service marketing agency has taught us that both elements are crucial cogs in the success of any campaign. It is not a matter of choosing one over the other but rather embracing the powerful synergy between ideas and execution. 

Ideas ignite the spark of creativity, allowing brands to stand out, connect emotionally with their audience, and leave a lasting impression. On the other hand, execution brings those ideas to life, ensuring that they reach the right people at the right time, consistently and effectively. 

In the end, the true grail of marketing lies not in favoring ideas over execution or vice versa but in recognizing their inseparable connection and using them together to craft remarkable and impactful campaigns. Through this approach, we aim to inspire, engage, and make a meaningful difference for our clients, helping their brands thrive in an ever-changing marketing landscape. 

Stay tuned for our next article where we dive into how to be great at creativity: “Creative in this space rules the World!” 

Our Take on: Working Effectively With a Multi-Generational Staff

If you’re like a lot of marketing operations these days, you are working with a hybrid staff of Millennials, Gen Xers and Gen Zers, with a few Baby Boomers still reporting in as well. It can be a challenge to create a smooth-running marketing machine from these diverse elements. It takes an understanding of what staffers from each group bring to the table, and the determination to meld those qualities into a cohesive and effective whole.

The Benefits of a Multigenerational Staff

If you’re operating a digital marketing team these days you should be awarded a medal for bravery. Today’s constantly churning global marketplace, stiff competition and limited budgets demand ultimate creativity and follow-through from your team. By combining the best qualities of people in various generational groups you can combine new, fresh ideas (courtesy of Gen Zers, for example) with the experience to build context around proposed new approaches (thanks to input from Millennials or Gen Xers.) You might say that younger people have a window on culture, while more seasoned professionals are tuned in to history. (For example, just ask a Millennial or Gen Xer what they think of a planned campaign and they’ll be more than happy to tell you why something similar succeeded or failed.)

By bringing those two points of view together, you can create a multi-faceted approach to creating campaigns and solving problems. Employees of different ages present unique opportunities to share experiences, ideas and thoughts. Combining multiple generations is an excellent way to problem-solve effectively and devise creative solutions to your team’s challenges. It just stands to reason that diverse experiences lead to diverse ideas. With four generations’ worth of different life experiences and worldviews, everyone on your staff is bound to have a unique point of view for every challenge you face.

How this creative combo can play out: For example, for one client we needed to solve a problem of how to bring years of expertise in a niche industry to the Market to compete against competitors' thought leadership. Our client team had every generation in it and so did our agency team. Our agency team was able to talk about the benefits of a thought leadership content marketing practice in terms the Baby Boomers would understand sitting across the table from us (the word infomercial was even bantered about)... while the agency Gen Zers sitting across the table from the client Gen Zers could immediately collaborate on ways to showcase the company on social media. Meanwhile, back at the agency, our different internal generations shared client notes and we were able to create a successful campaign that spoke to all levels at the client. 

Some Road Hazards We Have Learned To Avoid

• It’s tempting to favor approaches and viewpoints of teammates from your own age group - let's face it, they just get you and your jokes. In the interest of diversity, try to resist any such prejudices.
• Steer clear of stereotypes in your thinking. For example, you may think older colleagues will be resistant to change. But I have found experienced staffers are secure enough in their skills to be open to new ideas.
• Respect peoples' communication preferences. You may find some are most comfortable with face-to-face or technology-light communications, while others are adept at using the latest tech tools. What's interesting is that we see that some older colleagues prefer using more technology and some younger teammates like less tech. Completely the opposite of a lot of stereotypes. So it is best to just avoid stereotypes altogether.
  
  The point is to respect the individual no matter their generation and I guarantee you will have more interesting ideas come out of your Marketing.

Up Next: Are Ideas or Execution the Holy Grail of Marketing?
Spoiler alert: It's Both.

Our Take on: Focusing on Your Macro Goals with Micro Campaigns - Keeping Your Eye on the Gold Prize at All Times

As layoffs and budget cuts ripple through the economy, you may be working with smaller budgets and skeleton crews in your marketing operation. So now is the time to maintain a laser focus on goals that really matter. That means using your precious dollars to boost the bottom line in one way or another. Now, more than ever, your eye should be on the golden prize of bringing in more customers and keeping the customers you have in the fold.

Deciding What Really Matters

If your budget is getting squeezed, then you may not have the luxury of running campaigns with pure brand awareness and brand perception goals. In that case, from the moment you begin planning a campaign, you need to have your macro goal in sight - which is always about growing the business. Whether it is selling more widgets or reaching $10 million in sales? And, as they say in the restaurant industry, “It’s all about putting butts in seats.” You need to know what that macro goal means for your business.

In the end, it should be all about fulfilling your company's macro goal -- which is always bringing in the next customer.

It Should Always Be About Intense Focus

No one needs to tell you that the marketing budget is often the first to be cut when money gets tight in a business. However, you should not wait to focus your efforts on your business' ultimate goal which for any business is growing. I have a dear friend that says, "If you are not growing, you are dying." So a decrease in budget means you may have to get more creative and certainly more focused in your Marketing efforts but not do less. In fact, this is when you should get yourself and your team intensely focused on micro-campaigns that are entirely about getting that next conversion to customer. Stop think ToFu, MoFu and BoFu -- start looking at all the drivers in BoFu and build discrete maybe even 1:1 campaigns with the next best conversion. You will be happy you did.

Should you always ignore ToFu and MoFu always? NO, of course not...

Clearly, it’s vital for small businesses, with their severely limited budgets, to always keep their eye on the macro goal of increasing profit one way or another. And, clearly no business can grow if no one knows about them. So, obviously you will need to grow your brand awareness which is different than what we are talking about above regarding a concentrated effort in the bottom of the funnel. The winners of the Gold Prize will be the Marketing Teams that can pivot according to what best supports the Macro goal of the business when needed.

There are signs of positive growth in the economy...

If you are feeling really pinched as a business, I would like to end on some good news. There are signs of Small businesses are actually forming in record numbers, banking on the current climate to boost growth. According to a February 2023 article on Entrepreneur.com: “Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau on Business Formation Statistics found that the pandemic's burst of entrepreneurship was no one-time fluke: Americans formed more than 5 million new businesses in 2022, representing a 44% increase in new business formations compared to 2019…And  there are strong signs that 2023 might be an even better year for entrepreneurs to start a business — especially in the online small business space.”

The bottom line: By undertaking targeted micro campaigns, with your macro goal always in mind, you can ensure that your business—no matter its size—can not just survive, but thrive through uncertain times until those times get better -- much better.

So keep your eyes on the golden prize and stay positive :-)

Up Next: Working successfully with a multigenerational staff by combining the best attributes of each age group.

Our Take On: How to Jumpstart Marketing After a Buyout

Introduction:
A buyout can bring significant changes to a company, including mergers, acquisitions, or private equity investments. Amidst the transitions and adjustments, it's crucial to prioritize jumpstarting marketing efforts to maintain brand visibility, attract new customers, ensure loyalty with existing customers, and drive revenue. In this article, we will explore effective strategies for revitalizing marketing after a buyout, empowering businesses to navigate the post-buyout landscape with confidence and success.

Establish a Clear Brand Vision:
One of the first steps in jumpstarting marketing after a buyout is establishing a clear brand vision. While a CMO may not be in place yet, it is vital to identify someone who can serve as the visionary of the new brand. This individual should possess a deep understanding of the business and possess the innate ability to build a marketing practice that drives revenue. They can be operationally, creatively, or analytically focused. However, having a more creative and visionary leader is often beneficial, as they can recognize the need for a strong marketing operations person and a marketing analytics expert. This combination helps bridge the sales and marketing teams through prospect and customer data analysis.

Prioritize Marketing Operations:
Regardless of the construct of the new marketing team, prioritizing marketing operations from the start is essential. Even in the absence of a visionary CMO, having marketing operations in place ensures smooth functioning amidst the influx of requests coming from various departments within the organization. From website changes and new campaigns to sales enablement tools and rebranding of every single department like HR and Finance. A well-structured marketing operations team can efficiently handle the planned and ad-hoc demands.

Leverage Subject Matter Experts in the Firm:
A successful marketing strategy requires insights from subject matter experts within the newly merged organization. Collaborating with experts from different departments such as operations, technology, finance, and HR can provide valuable knowledge and perspectives that can be leveraged in marketing efforts. This collaboration ensures that marketing strategies align with the overall business goals and delivers cohesive messaging across various touchpoints.

Gain Executive Support:
For marketing to thrive after a buyout, it is crucial to gain support from the executive suite. Executives must understand and appreciate the commitment required to build a new brand successfully. By obtaining their endorsement and involvement, marketing initiatives gain the necessary resources and visibility. Executives who actively champion marketing efforts can help align the organization, drive collaboration between departments, and secure the required budget and resources for marketing activities.

Marketing Infrastructure:
A robust marketing infrastructure is the foundation for jumpstarting marketing after a buyout. Consider the following key components:

a. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System: Implementing a robust CRM system allows for effective management of customer interactions, lead tracking, and segmentation. It enables the marketing team to nurture customer relationships, track sales pipelines, and identify growth opportunities. And when done right, it facilitates the necessary partnership between Sales & Marketing.

b. Marketing Automation Tools: Marketing automation tools streamline campaign management, lead nurturing, and workflow automation. These tools automate repetitive tasks, such as email campaigns, lead scoring, and personalized communications, enabling the marketing team to focus on strategic initiatives.

c. Analytics and Reporting Tools: Leveraging analytics and reporting tools provides valuable insights into campaign performance, lead generation, customer behavior, and return on investment (ROI). This data-driven approach helps optimize marketing strategies and enables data-backed decision-making.

d. Website Development and Design: A well-designed and user-friendly website with clear branding and messaging is crucial for a successful marketing presence. Ensure the website is optimized for search engines, mobile responsiveness, and provides an exceptional user experience. Implement lead capture mechanisms and clear calls-to-action to convert website visitors into leads.

e. Integration with Business Systems: Integration of marketing systems with other business systems such as sales, finance, and customer support platforms

Jumpstarting marketing after a buyout is a critical endeavor that requires careful planning, strategic thinking, and effective execution. By implementing the strategies outlined in this article, businesses can navigate the challenges of a post-buyout landscape and position themselves for success.

Establishing a clear brand vision, even in the absence of a CMO, ensures that the marketing team has a direction and purpose. Prioritizing marketing operations from the start allows for efficient handling of requests and seamless integration of marketing efforts with other business functions. Leveraging subject matter experts within the organization provides valuable insights and ensures alignment with overall business goals. Gaining executive support is crucial in securing the necessary resources and commitment for building a new brand.

A strong marketing infrastructure, encompassing CRM systems, marketing automation tools, analytics and reporting capabilities, and a well-designed website, forms the backbone of successful marketing efforts. Integration with other business systems fosters collaboration and data sharing across departments, enabling a unified view of customer interactions.

In conclusion, jumpstarting marketing after a buyout requires a wide and collaborative approach that considers both strategic and operational aspects. By adopting these strategies and focusing on building a strong marketing foundation, businesses can establish their new brand, drive revenue, and thrive in the post-buyout landscape. Embrace the opportunities that arise from the buyout and leverage them to create a powerful and impactful marketing presence that resonates with customers and propels the business forward.

Our Take On: Continuing to Market Through a Declining Market

You Simply Can’t Afford Not to Stay on Your Charted Path

When it comes to the current state of the economy, the old saying what goes up must come down has never seemed truer. Ever since the Federal Reserve flooded the economy with cash and near-zero interest rates to counter the effects of the pandemic, it has seemed that markets would continue to soar to unimaginable heights. (As a New Yorker, it was a joy to watch as previously boarded-up businesses re-opened and new boutique businesses took over spaces that had lain dormant through the height of the pandemic. And it was even better to watch the optimism spread to small cities and towns across the country.)

But the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (in a mere 48 hours) and the spreading virus of tech industry layoffs are unmistakable signs that the economic pendulum may be swinging. What does that mean to you as a businessperson? It is more important than ever before to stay on your charted and well-considered marketing path. The health—and maybe the very survival—of your business depends on it.

The High Cost of Losing Customers

According to a December 2022 article in the Harvard Business Review, customer retention, enabled by consistent marketing, is vital to surviving a downturn in the economy. The author notes, “Not only is retention less vulnerable than acquisition to the short-term swings of a bad economy, but the rule of thumb that it costs five times more to win a new customer than to keep a current one becomes even more extreme in a downturn. As new business slows, and new leads are harder to come by, the multiple expands.”

Let’s reflect on that for just a moment: If a sudden scarcity of resources prompts the reaction of slashing your marketing budget, you are in serious jeopardy of losing current customers. And remember that long-term, loyal customers will always be the backbone of your revenue stream. Again, according to the Harvard Business Review, companies that focus on customer loyalty grow revenue roughly 2.5 times faster than their peers.

The bottom line: Your insurance policy for ensuring that those invaluable customers stay with you is to stick with your marketing plan and remain consistently in front of your existing customers and prospects. Continuing with all the touch points your customers and the market have come to expect because as the HBR has explained, it may end up costing you more than just saving on your Marketing budget over the next year.

Up Next: How to jumpstart marketing after a buyout. A buyout can be disruptive to every area of your business, including the marketing that will help you retain your customer base. Here’s how to deal with that disruption.

Our Take On: The Upside of Moving Beyond Your Comfort Zone - Welcoming Small Creative Feats into Your Marketing Approach

It happens all the time. We present a new and slightly different marketing approach to a client and are met with firm resistance. It is, of course, human nature to sometimes meet anything new and different with suspicion and fear. (After all, our stone age ancestors survived by staying alert to and avoiding anything new in their environments.) But unless you are able to move beyond that basic response and take a leap of faith, you could miss a golden opportunity to dramatically expand your presence.

Think Small and Gain a Bigger Footprint

When you feel fear of a new approach take over, it helps to remember this important fact: in the overcrowded digital universe posts have an incredibly short lifespan. In fact, a tweet is considered alive and viable for all of 15 minutes, if even that. That means you must be constantly adding to your marketing repertoire to retain current customers, while also reaching out to new and different audiences.

That move to attract new audiences doesn’t always require a huge leap away from familiar territory. If planned well, a micro-campaign (or ongoing series of micro-campaigns) limited in scope, timespan and expenditure can prove extremely effective. For example, a media client wanted to drive digital traffic to a new podcast hosted by two of their media personalities. So we suggested a one-day micro-campaign where the podcast's hosts went on a live Instagram & Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) and the approach was a huge success.  It resulted in a massive increase of podcast views and subscribers. No only did their original fan base attend the AMA making it a lively event but there were many others that knew the hosts but didn't know about the podcast that attended too. And, there were even net new eyeballs for the hosts and their podcast that attended the AMA.

Measuring the Goodness of Micro-campaigning

As the example above illustrates, results matter in any campaign. For instance, tracking such indicators as increases in views and subscribers in this case was crucial to effort of putting on a one-day live event on two platforms.

In fact, there is a ton of benefit to micro-campaigning because your fear factor of leaping into doing something new and different is on a much smaller scale and when planned effectively it has:

• Limited Risk
• Limited Expenditure, but
• Unlimited Success!

The bottom line: Instituting a consistent flow of innovative micro-campaigns can result in the exposure your brand and product line deserve and let's face it, get you the results you are craving...

Up Next: The Importance of Marketing in a Down Market. Why it’s critical to continue in your marketing groove when the economy dips. If you don’t, you’ll be spending a lot more precious dollars to engage with new customers and re-engage with those who wandered away.

Our Take On: Why Every Company Needs A Must Have Brand Essence Book & How to Get Started

What is in a Brand Essence Book?

The following sections are integral to creating a successful brand essence book.

Brand Glossary: A brand glossary defines the key terms and concepts that are associated with a brand. This section clarifies any potential confusion and ensures that all team members understand and use the brand's language consistently.

Brand Story: A brand story tells the narrative of a brand's evolution and its mission. This section outlines the brand's history, purpose, and vision, creating an emotional connection between the brand and its audience. The brand story is also the lore that unites employees together with a common heritage that they all can speak to about the company.

Passion & Niche: The passion and niche section highlights what drives the brand and its unique selling proposition. It defines what sets the brand apart from its competitors and helps to create a compelling brand identity. Pasion & Niche can also be expressed as your Mission & Vision. Each company is different - choose what is right for you.

Core Values: A brand's core values define its ethical principles and guide its decision-making process. This section outlines the brand's beliefs and principles, creating a foundation for its identity.

Brand Objective: A brand objective outlines the brand's short and long-term goals. This section helps to keep the team focused on achieving specific targets and objectives.

Target Market: Identifying the brand's target market is essential for creating an effective marketing strategy. This section outlines the brand's ideal customer persona and helps to create a marketing approach that resonates with the target audience.

Engagement Drivers: Engagement drivers are the elements that create emotional connections between the brand and its audience. This section outlines the brand's approach to engagement, including its marketing channels, messaging, and customer experience.

Brand Attributes: Brand attributes are the characteristics that define the brand's personality and tone. This section outlines the brand's key attributes, creating consistency across all marketing channels and touchpoints.

Positioning: Brand positioning refers to the brand's position in the market and its unique selling proposition. This section outlines the brand's value proposition, differentiating it from competitors and creating a strong brand identity.

In our brand essence documents, we introduce the reader to some visual expression of the brand but the brand essence document does NOT include all the brand style information that you would find in a brand guideline.

Visual Style - Image Attributes: A brand's visual style includes its image attributes, such as its logo, imagery, and design elements. This section outlines the brand's visual style, by introducing the logo, the tagline, and a sample of how imagery should be used with the brand. This is a descriptive style of Image Attributes rather than the design rules to using imagery or design elements.

Visual Style - Brand Colors: Brand colors are a critical element of a brand's visual identity. This section defines the brand's color palette, ensuring that all visual branding elements use the same colors consistently.

Visual Style - Typography: Typography is another essential visual element of a brand's identity. This section introduces the brand's typography, ensuring consistency across all visual branding elements.

Brand Voice: A brand's voice refers to its tone, language, and style of communication. This section outlines the brand's voice, ensuring consistency across all marketing channels and touchpoints.

Finally, your brand essence book should be designed in your brand's style to convey the feeling and personality of your brand. This book describes and reflects the core identity of your company.

In summary, creating a brand essence book is a vital aspect of a successful marketing and design strategy. Each section of the brand essence book outlined above plays a crucial role in establishing a compelling brand identity that resonates with the intended audience. By investing in a comprehensive brand essence book, HEEDGROUP helps our clients' brands differentiate themselves in a competitive market and cultivate enduring customer loyalty.

So then, what is the difference between the brand essence book and a brand guideline / brand style guide?

A brand guideline, also known as a brand style guide, is a comprehensive document that outlines the rules and guidelines for how a brand should be presented visually and verbally. It includes details on the brand's logo, typography, color palette, imagery, and other design elements. It also includes guidelines for the brand's messaging and tone of voice. The purpose of a brand guideline document is to ensure consistency in how a brand is presented across all channels and touchpoints.

On the other hand, a brand essence book is a comprehensive guide that defines the fundamental elements of a brand's identity. It includes details on the brand's purpose, vision, mission, values, target market, engagement drivers, attributes, and more. The purpose of a brand essence book is to create a deep understanding of the brand and its identity, and to guide all branding and marketing decisions.

The difference between a brand guideline document and a brand essence book is that while the former provides rules for how the brand should be presented, the latter provides a deep understanding of what the brand stands for and the core elements that define its identity.

It's important to start any branding work with a brand essence book first because it sets the foundation for all branding and marketing decisions. Without a clear understanding of the brand's identity, it's difficult to create effective messaging, design elements, and marketing strategies. Starting with a brand essence book ensures that all branding decisions are based on a deep understanding of the brand and its identity, resulting in a stronger and more effective brand. The brand guideline then serves as a tool to ensure consistency in how the brand is presented visually and verbally. We have even had HEEDGROUP clients use their brand essence document as a new employee onboarding tool to quickly get new employees up to speed on the who the company is culturally and how it operates.

In summary, a brand guideline provides rules for how a brand should be presented, while a brand essence book defines the core elements of a brand's identity. In our opinion, we at HEEDGROUP find it fundamental to start any branding work with a brand essence book first because it sets the foundation for all branding decisions.

How do I start building a Brand Essence Book?

Starting a brand essence book project involves a deep understanding of the company's identity and values, and primary research is an essential part of this process. Conducting primary research involves gathering information directly from the key stakeholders who are most familiar with the company, including employees, customers, vendors, and other key partners. This research helps to uncover important insights about the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and it informs the development of the brand essence book. At HEEDGROUP, we start by interviewing the C-Suite individually - this informs us greatly about who the company wants to be outwardly and internally.

Here are some key steps to follow when conducting primary research for your brand essence book project:

1. Define the research objectives: Before starting the research process, it's important to define the objectives of the research. This includes understanding what information needs to be collected and how it will be used to inform the brand essence book.

2. Identify the key stakeholders: The next step is to identify the key stakeholders who should be included in the research process. This includes the C-Suite, founder and/or investors, employees from different departments, customers, vendors, and other partners who have insights into the company's identity and values.

3. Choose the research methods: There are many different research methods that can be used to gather information from stakeholders, including surveys, interviews, focus groups, and observation. The chosen methods should be appropriate for the objectives of the research and the target audience. At HEEDGROUP, we use an investigative style interview process. We prepare a list of questions for the subject we are interviewing, then drill deeper based on the answer the person gives us.

4. Conduct the research: Once the invites are set, our questions are developed, it's time to conduct the research. This may involve sending out surveys to customers or interviewing key employees to understand their perceptions of the company's identity and values. We have done both based on the how broad the net is that we are casting.

5. Analyze the data: Once the data has been collected, it's important to analyze it to identify key insights and trends. This analysis will inform the development of the brand essence book and help to ensure that it accurately reflects the company's identity and values.

In conclusion, conducting primary research is an important step in the process of developing a brand essence book. By gathering insights from key stakeholders, including employees, customers, vendors, and partners, companies can develop a deep understanding of their identity and values, which can inform the development of a comprehensive brand essence book.

Once your primary research is complete, start writing the brand essence sections - start by recounting the brad story. The success of a brand essence book relies on the key stakeholders being involved throughout the brand essence creation. So review your brand essence with your client / key stakeholders. Make sure everyone agrees -  At HEEDGROUP, we will pull key stakeholders into workshops where we gain alignment on the brand essence. It's no small feat to develop a brand essence but you, your employees, your Marketing team and your agencies will forever beneft.it and most likely your customers, too.

Want to see an example of a brand essence book? Here's HEEDGROUP's brand essence book to help you get your creative ideas flowing. We would love to hear from you. What sort of foundational brand exercises do you do when starting a brand assignment?

Up Next: Our Take On: Moving Out of Your Comfort Zone. Sometimes it really pays to take calculated marketing risks. Here’s how to decide when it’s time to shake things up a little.

Our take on: Your Brand’s Personality and What It Means to Your Customer and Your Company

Who is your brand really and, by extension, who are you as a company?

That’s right, we said who because it’s critical that you create a digital persona for your brand that is one your customers and potential customers can identify with and trust on a human level. Whether you are a B to B or B to C company, you need to project an image that is immediately and consistently identifiable, imparting positive and more importantly familiar feelings with your audience.

 It’s Starts with a Definition of Personality 

At the very beginning of our relationship with most of our clients, we conduct brand defining activities to help determine how a brand should be viewed out in the digital universe. This is especially true when a company is looking for a boost to their top and bottom lines or if a company suddenly feels a chasm between themselves and their customers.

For example:

Is your anti-virus software company a professor with the skill and knowledge to rescue a laptop from a crippling infection?

Will your children’s clothing line surround youngsters with warmth and comfort like the arms of a welcomed mother's presence?

Can your customers count on your home safety system to be there the first time and every time it is needed, like a good and faithful friend?

Can your donors be sure your non-profit is always fighting the good fight like a warrior out on the battlefield?

Here’s an example of a successful brand personality in action. Major airlines may have nuances to their brand personalities, some exude a fun personality (JetBlue) vs a more "Cool" attitude (Virgin airlines, for example) but one overarching trait is that you must have a brand personality that elicits trust as an airline. This trust is built through the airline's behavior of consistency in their work with their passengers. It means not only flying safely  and on time, it also means communicating as the passenger wants and needs. To that end, some major airlines maintain an actual “pit” of social media responders that immediately react to company- or flight-related questions or concerns as they are posted or DM'd. They are able to respond in real time to issues ranging from critical flight and safety concerns to general and casual questions. So customers (or would-be customers) can feel safe, protected and “heard” at all times.

Consistency is Key

Once you have decided on the personality profile for your brand, it’s vital to remain consistent at all times. You need to be sure your messaging remains on-track every time, as you pepper the digital universe with clear and positive portraits of your brand. And your dedication to consistency should (always) extend to your brand performance. Your customers should know that they can count on your brand to behave the exact same way every time they interact with it whether through a live or passive touchpoint.

In the end, it’s all really about trust. Just as in any healthy relationship, your customers need to be certain of who you are and that they can rely on you being there for them as expected.

Up Next: Zeroing in on your brand personality is just one component of a comprehensive process to uncover your Brand Essence. In our post Uncovering Your Brand Essence, see how the process brings the discovery of brand personality together with a number of other important elements to positively impact every area of a company.

Our take on: Making the Practice of Marketing a Habit...

Effective Marketing is Like Constructing a Skyscraper: It Can’t be Achieved with One Brick

So you had a killer tweet or blog post and that was supposed to change everything. You were sure your customers would be beating down your door and sales would suddenly grow exponentially. What happened? Why didn't your brand take off and leave your competitors in its wake?

Here's the truth about marketing: You can't build a strong and viable brand with one brick. Rather, it takes a consistent, coordinated and well-orchestrated building process, bringing all the components together in one cohesive package. A strong and durable brand comes from a consistent push of marketing messaging, reiterating it over-and-over again through all touchpoints that make up the promise of your brand.

Brick Upon Brick Built on a Strong Foundation

The first step in building “a strong and durable brand” is to gain a deep understanding of what your brand offers and to whom. Essentially, you are defining your brand’s, personality and, as a result, zeroing in on the identities of your perfect customers-to-be. That process will provide the blueprint for the perfect brand messaging and provide a strong foundation for your ongoing brand marketing process. (We’ll look at the role brand personality plays in underscoring positive messaging in Your Brand’s Personality and What It Means to You and Your Company.)

Ongoing is the key word in the last sentence. Once you’ve developed the right messaging, it’s critical to ensure that it is consistent and always-present across all channels. Your customers should see the phrasing that defines you in every new campaign. (For example, Nike is sure to integrate "Just Do It" into every new campaign.) Straying from the familiar and successful edifice your messaging has built and can wipe out any common awareness that you've been building, creating chaotic messaging that can be devastating to a growing brand.

Patience With the Process

Building a resilient marketing structure demands an ongoing planning process that, at first blush, may seem redundant and unnecessary. But, in truth, it is critical to check in regularly to be sure your message is consistent and far-reaching and always resonating. A lack of this kind of disciplined habit of marketing could result in the following undesirable outcomes:

1. You’ll see a lack of loyalty among your customers, making them willing to try other brands.
2. There will be inconsistencies in growth vectors. For example, one month you’re driving more traffic and sales, and the next you are not.
3. There will be lots of turnover in your marketing team, interrupting consistent messaging is exhausting for creatives.

One final note: Great brands have marketing that is wrapped around consistent, relevant storytelling that is persistently presented through all channels to its target market. The big winners in business are going to be the people who understand that marketing has to become a habit.

Next up: Your Brand’s Personality and What It Means to You and Your Company. That will be followed up with a look at the unique process of developing your Brand Essence. This detailed and multi-faceted process uncovers a brand’s true personality and lore (history and ongoing story) and creates a marketing map for every corner of a company. Next month, learn how the process unfolds and plays out.

Consistent Messaging Brings Donors into the Fold…and Keeps them There

On the surface, it would appear that the non-profit world is light years away from the for-profit universe. After all, its very designation declares that its members are not governed by a profit motive.

But in one very fundamental way not-for-profits are closely related to their for-profit cousins. They need to employ consistent and effective brand-building across the digital universe to bring in the dollars that will allow them to succeed in their missions. And, also like for-profits, they are currently faced with a tightening money supply, thanks to inflation and rising interest rates. That makes it critical to reach potential donors wherever they are online.

Who Are You Really?

The first step in brand-building is to be sure you have a very clear and distinct idea of your mission. In the same way that for-profit marketers need to clearly define the appeal of their brand, a non-profit needs to develop a mission statement that sets it apart from other organizations and rings true to the donors who will provide a consistent flow of capital to fund its work. Remember, like a for-profit, you are competing for the dollars of your target audience. So, just like a for-profit, you should lead donors down the purchase trail, inevitably convincing them to open their wallets.

As you chart the path down the purchase trail, your signposts along the way should appeal emotionally and psychologically, while at the same time demonstrating value for donors’ dollars. For example, consider using a statement like “With just $100 we are able to feed 50 children. Is there any better way to put your donation dollars to work?” It’s critical to break through donors’ purchase resistance by making them feel good about contributing on an ongoing basis.

Reaching Out to Every Corner of the Digital Landscape

Once you have a clear and effective definition of mission, conduct audits of both the social media space and your organization’s site to determine where to find your likely donors. (A digital marketing specialist can help with this step.) Then saturate these likely locales with consistent messaging. It’s absolutely vital to remain consistent in every iteration of your mission. It’s also critical to make it effortless for donors to contribute by always providing links to a simple and intuitive donations page.

In the end, on-target and consistent messaging in the right corners of the digital world will result in a wealth of loyal donors making it possible for you to continue your important work.

Next Up: Our Take On: Why Effective Marketing is Like Building a Skyscraper

Welcome to the first entry in our new informational blog series, Our Take On. Twice a month we will offer information designed to help you and your business thrive in an age when constant and often disruptive change is the new normal.

This series is an outgrowth of my longstanding commitment to helping clients create unique marketing strategies that will allow them to not just survive, but grow and prosper whatever the changing marketplace brings. I believe that the core cause of a wide swath of business failures is a lack of effective marketing. In the end, marketing creativity is the key differential that determines whether a business—of any kind—will succeed or fail.

Strengthening Your Digital Brand for Challenging Times Ahead

While experts’ predictions differ about whether or not a recession is inevitable in the next year, the rumblings of change make it clear that the red-hot market is likely to cool. That makes it more important than ever to create a digital presence that is geared specifically to your business and customers’ needs. Creating a strong digital brand is no longer optional; it is a matter of survival.

Let’s say you are an ecommerce company. For you, success is spelled S.A.L.E.S. Over the last several years, the ever-growing market almost automatically sent customers your way, catapulting your sales figures ever-upward. Those days are likely to be over very soon, making it vital that you find your customers wherever they may be. So you need a clear and distinctive digital presence that extends outward to all the online locales where your customers are likely to be. The ultimate goal, of course, is to bring likely customers back to your site, where they will find (and of course hopefully purchase) your products. This approach is no longer optional; these days, it is a matter of survival.

Clearly, most businesspeople need an experienced coach to help them create a brand that is specifically geared to their business needs and customers. That’s where an agency that understands branding, digital platforms, and the true measure of success for CEO's is revenue generation among many other brand related items is needed. Let us know if you have any questions on finding the right partner, we are happy to talk you through how to strengthen your Digital Brand Presence. Everyone should be thinking about that goal at this time.

Next Up: We’ll look at the unique challenges for nonprofits in the coming uncertain market. It’s more important than ever that a nonprofit create a distinct digital brand to keep donors in the fold. What are the steps to take now.

We regularly hold fun and formal brainstorming sessions internally or with the client, but we also hold spur of the moment idea generation sessions to dream up headlines, subject lines and call-to-actions all the time every day. These simple brainstorming tips below work for both scenarios. There’s tons of articles on brainstorming on the internet, this post is more of an overview for how to get the most out of the brains in the room.

Quick brainstorming best practices:

1. Create a Positive Space
2. Keep pushing for more ideas
3. Categorize Ideas
4. Rank your ideas
5. Go back to idea generation
6. Combine ideas and people
7. Work on more details for the winning ideas
8. Document the ideas and the details

What do all these mean.

Positive Brainstorming

Creating a positive space simply means no one be negative during the brainstorming. No nay saying your team members or other brainstorming participants. Look, everyone communicates differently, so be patient and someone may have a brilliant idea and you just don’t understand it – so no negativity is allowed, leave it at the door. I have a great friend that says you have 2 ears and one mouth, and they should be used in that order as intended. It’s a nice idea to listen to others and it’s the right thing to do during brainstorming – great ideas come from the most unlikely places and are often stumbled upon when practicing genuine communication.

More Is More

Keep pushing for more ideas, is super simple concept. There should be a person in charge of the brainstorming. This person coordinates the brainstorming, keeps it going. Uses facts and data to help people explore new ideas but most importantly, the brainstorming coordinator keeps asking the group for more ideas. “What else…” “Any other thoughts…” “More…”

Categorization

Every single time I have ever participated in a brainstorming session or led a brainstorming session, one key piece of advice I can give you is to categorize your ideas... There are so many ways to categorize things… once things are categorized, you can bundle them into new ideas. Or, your categorization can help your group focus on new ideas based on the categories. If there is a certain type of category of ideas that seems more promising or is resonating with the group, explore them. Categorize and then…

Rank Your Concepts

This is a great group activity, get everyone to weigh in on the brainstorming concepts. Keep this positive too, don’t just have people critique ideas or put a big red X on an idea. Flip this around and tell people to rank their top 3 – 5 favorite ideas. Once every individual has ranked their favorite ideas, then pull out the top 3 – 5 from the favorited ideas…. Meaning which ideas were most liked by the group as potential ideas to keep working on. Keep all the ideas, even the ones that did not make the top 3 – 5 favorited by the group as you may want to go back to them later.

More BRAINS are Good

Taking those top 3 -5 ideas from the previous group activity and generate more ideas focusing just on the favorited ideas. Now build details around these ideas. The whole point of brainstorming is to use a collective group of brains to come up with a winning concept / idea. Ask the participants to team up in groups of 2 – 4 to generate details about the favorite ideas. Truly challenge them to work through the concept and to detail it out. Have the teams present their ideas to the group as, yes, it may generate a better idea through presenting and talking about it as a group. Ask the teams, to detail what will this idea really be like when implemented in market and experienced by the intended audience… push for details so the group can make the ideas even better but also actionable. And,…

#1 Tip of Brainstorming…

We cannot help it, as humans, it is the way our brains work, allow the group to get the bad ideas or the bad puns out of their system – let them go, it is all part of getting to the deeper ideas, we must get through what pops up in our head’s immediately to get to the deeper stuff. I am often saying during brainstorming, don’t use that… “I just had to get it out of my system.” It’s inevitable, that silly puns will come out during brainstorming and often people want to laugh at it but you are supposed to have a positive environment. So do this instead. Start your brainstorming by asking everyone to get the bad puns and jokes out of their systems to get to the deeper ideas. Turn getting the puns out into a warm-up exercise that’s gets people laughing, guards down and enjoying the creative process. But, don’t let it go on too long or you will receive the look I always get from my colleague, Alana, you know the one, the one that looks at you and communicating through their stare, ‘did you really say that, wait, were you serious?’ No, I wasn’t serious, "I just had to get it out of my system."

Happy brainstorming!

Starting June 30, 2022, you’ll no longer be able to create or edit expanded text ads. 

However, I’ve learned that was just a little bit of what Digital Marketing was. So, what happens when you start to dive in? Jumping in can be scary – it’s like looking down from the high dive, but once you finally jump you get that exciting rush. During my first couple weeks working at a New York City Digital Marketing agency, I felt like back then I knew very little about marketing in the Digital world since my experience was mainly in Media Marketing – which only made me eager to learn more.

As a Digital Marketer, you have probably heard through the grapevine that Google announced they were phasing out third-party cookies in its Chrome browser – but what does that really mean?

We recently ran a campaign on Instagram for a client to increase their profile visits, to thus increase their following on their Instagram platform. 

We used 9 - second animation that performed extremely well on Facebook when we used it for a Campaign to increase their Facebook page likes and followers – when we say it performed extremely well, I mean, it was garnering likes and follows within minutes of it launching.

Fast forward a couple of weeks later, we were not seeing the uptick in Instagram followers that we would have liked to. So of course, like any good digital marketer, we took a step back and looked at the data (because as a Marketer you should LOVE data) and I noticed something. A lot of people were engaging with the ad and watching the video either to the bitter end, or at least halfway, or 75% through. Obviously, people were enjoying the video because they were engaging with it, but why was this not translating into more Instagram likes.

That’s when it hit me – people were watching this video. You are probably sitting there reading this and thinking well DUH… BUT what I mean is people were watching the video, aka watching it AND FORGETTING why they are there in the first place, and forgetting what we have asked them to do -follow the account.

Ahhhh haaaaa – see, that makes total sense doesn’t it – especially with a platform like Instagram where they make you complete two actions for a Campaign designed to increase followers (1, click “Go To Profile” and then 2, click “Follow”) whereas Facebook, and Twitter, you see the ad, and you can literally click “Like” or “Follow” while you are watching the video, or right after because it is right next to the ad and then BAM, you’re done.

So what did we do – we changed the creative to be a static image, made sure to include action-orientated language in the caption to remind users what to do because let's face it, we are all really busy people and sometimes we need a little reminder, relaunched it, and in just 6 days we had double the amount of followers that we had in almost a month with the previous ad.

As a digital marketer, you have to put yourself in the user's shoes… or fingertips in this case and think of how you consume media AND remember to look at the user journey if you want them to take action like following or liking a page – remember to outline the steps, and not have distractions for them or users may engage with you, but not in the way that matches up to your Campaign goal.

HubSpot is an inbound marketing and sales platform that helps companies attract visitors, convert leads and close sales.

The platform has automation tools for marketing, sales, content management, operations and customer relationship management. GoToWebinar makes hosting virtual events like webinars easy and quick. Videos, polls, data on attendees and webinar performance as well as automated emails to registrants are what make it one of our preferred options.

At HEEDGROUP, we regularly use both these softwares for our clients. Connecting GoToWebinar (https://gotowebinar.com) and HubSpot (https://www.hubspot.com) is key to registrant nurturing and a customized branded marketing campaign for our clients. We use HubSpot to personalize the email campaigns for webinar registrants; this includes attaching a personalized join URL to the webinar for each registrant. The native integration between GoToWebinar and HubSpot does not give you complete control for this level of customization. Out of the GoToWebinar box - you have the option to send nurturing emails but customization and data tracking in your single Marketing database (this case HubSpot) is not possible. Yet, we still wanted to use GoToWebinar and HubSpot together. But How?

We tried to find a solution on integrating the two, the sources we came across were outdated and simply didn’t work. So, we figured it out and decided to share it here with you.

Step 1: Basic Integration

Integrating GoToWebinar and HubSpot 

1. Login to your GoToWebinar and HubSpot accounts. Remember, you must have valid licenses/accounts in both systems for this integration to work.
   (PRO TIP: we have our clients sign-up for the pay as go option for ‘GoToWebinar Flex Plan’ when they are just starting to develop webinars on their own. For other clients, they have graduated to the enterprise version.)
2. In HubSpot, click the Marketplace icon between the search and settings icons in the top navigation bar. Under Manage, select Connected apps.
3. Click on the ‘Visit App Marketplace’ button on the upper right side. 
4. Search for GoToWebinar and select it from the results. Once that page opens, click ‘Install App’. 
5. Enter your GoToWebinar login credentials and sign in. Your accounts will be connected immediately after logging into GoToWebinar through the HubSpot connection.
   
   

Completing this basic step will ensure we have a smooth sailing experience in more advanced and complicated steps. But, keep going because it’s really not that hard. :-)

Step 2: Override GoToWebinar Automatic Emails 

Since HubSpot is the Marketing automation platform we use and several of our clients use, we want to send branded emails through HbSpot and then track user actions for those webinar emails in HubSpot as well. GoToWebinar has built in nurture emails for their webinar product -- it is necessary to turn off this feature in GoToWebinar. You do not want your registrants to get swamped with confirmation emails from both tools. It is best to be concise in your communications to the registrants, pre- and post-webinar.
 

1. Go to your GoToWebinar account dashboard. 
2. Find the webinar you’re working on, click on the webinar title. It will open up the webinar details. 
3. Scroll down to ‘Emails’ and click on the dropdown arrow on the right to expand the section. 
4. The Reply-To field will be the account admin or webinar organizer’s name and email. 
5. For the ‘Confirmation Email to Registrants’ field, click on the dotted border box and select ‘None’ and then ‘Don’t Send Emails’.
   
6. This should switch the ‘Reminder Email’ field to ‘Do Not Send a Reminder Email’ automatically. 
7. For the ‘Follow Up Email’ to attendees and absentees, do the same as step 5. 
8. Once all of the above steps are completed, the Email section in GoToWebinar should be configured like the picture below.
   

Step 3: Extract the ‘Join Webinar’ URL from GoToWebinar and save it as a Contact Property in HubSpot

The ‘Join Webinar URL’ that GoToWebinar generates is unique to each registrant. With the basic integration between GoToWebinar and HubSpot, you cannot get this personalized Join Webinar URL into HubSpot. 

At webinar time, it is important that each registrant joins through their unique link because we want specific tracking data for each attendee, for example time of joining the webinar, how long they stayed, their attentiveness, and more.

So, how do we do that?

Since we want to send this personalized ‘Join Webinar’ link through our email campaigns in HubSpot, we turn to a third tool, Zapier (https://zapier.com). Zapier allows API integrations to easily happen between different web apps. Copying each registrant’s Join Webinar URL to HubSpot is an option that is simply too time consuming - what if you have a couple thousand registrants or more? By using Zapier, we are able to connect the web apps and create a Zap in Zapier and extract the personalized registrant link (Join Webinar URL) from GoToWebinar into HubSpot. More on Zapier in step 4.

We have more to do in HubSpot though because in order for us to use the personalized link in HubSpot, we need to store the Join Webinar URL as a contact property in HubSpot. Let’s go through that now.

1. In your HubSpot portal, click ‘Contacts’ and then again select ‘Contacts’ from the dropdown. 
2. On the right, there will be a button for ‘Actions’. Select ‘Edit Properties’ from the dropdown.
   
3. Once the properties page opens up, click on ‘Create Property’.
   
4. The next step is to create a contact property for the Join Webinar URL that can be associated with an individual contact in HubSpot. Fill out the form as shown in the image below. You can change the label name to your liking, our choice is ‘GoToWebinar Join URL’. Click ‘Next’.
   
5. Select ‘Single-Line Text’ from the next form page and check the box for ‘Show in Forms’.
   
6. Finally, click ‘Create’ and your property is ready!

Step 4: Create a Zap! 

Zapier will allow us to pull in the personalized Join Webinar URL from GoToWebinar to HubSpot now that we have a contact property for it to be associated with in HubSpot (see Step 3). A zap is an automated workflow that runs automatically in your applications. You set up Zaps in Zapier and then trigger them to run in your other applications. In this case, our zap is going to pull in the personalized Join Webinar URL from GoToWebinar into our Hubspot emails through the contact property.

1. Create an account in Zapier if you don’t already have one. The zap that you will be creating is a premium zap, so make sure your account will allow the same. 
2. Fill the quick form with the selections in the image below.
   
3. The related zap will pop up automatically in the same box. Click ‘Try it’.
   
4. The new page will ask you to first connect your GoToWebinar account and then the specific webinar you want. Click ‘Continue’ once you’ve made the right selections.
   
   
   
5. The next step will be connecting the account for HubSpot.
   
6. Now, you will have to set up the action. Here you will see all the contact properties that are in your HubSpot account, including the ‘GoToWebinar JoinURL’ we just added as a contact property in the last step. The form for this action may seem long and daunting, but you only need to fill the parts you need!
   
7. First, select the ‘Contact Email’ field and the corresponding HubSpot property (in our case, ‘Email’). This tells Zapier that the “Contact Email” property from HubSpot should be aligned with the “Email” property in GoToWebinar. This is how it will determine unique entries. 
8. Scroll down in the form till you see a section for ‘Contact Information: GoToWebinar JoinURL or whatever name you assigned to the property when you created the contact property in HubSpot. Click the dropdown and select the option ‘Join URL’ shown in the image below.
   
   
9. The other fields are optional. All we needed to do was align the GoToWebinar property with HubSpot’s.  
10. Scroll down and click ‘Continue’ to save the zap. 
11. Don’t forget to test the trigger. Zapier will prompt you to do the same so don’t worry about searching for the test option.

Step 5: Create a HubSpot Registrants List  

Since the webinar will have a good number of registrants, it is necessary to create a registrant list in HubSpot. We will be creating this list specifically for registrants with a Join Webinar URL. 

1. Click on ‘Contacts’ from the top menu, and select ‘Lists’ from the dropdown.
   
2. Click on ‘Create List’ and select ‘Contact Based’ and ‘Active List’. Name the list and click ‘Next’.
   
3. For ‘Filter type’, choose ‘Contact Properties’ and select ‘GoToWebinar Join URL’ (or whatever name you assigned to the contact property) and then ‘Is Known’ from the list of options that come up. 
4. ‘Apply Filter’ and then hit ‘Save’ in the top right.
   
5. The list may take a little time to process in HubSpot. Go get some water. When you come back, the list is done and there you have it! BOOM!
   
   Now, webinar registrants will be added to this list with their personalized Join Webinar URL associated with them whenever they sign up and you don’t have to worry about adding them manually. Phew!
   
   

Step 6: Send Custom Branded and personalized Confirmation & Nurture Emails to your registrants through HubSpot

For your last step, you still need to add a personalization token to your HubSpot emails for the personalized Join Webinar URL to show up in registrants' emails. This is a pretty standard procedure, similar to inserting the receiver’s name - as most marketers already integrate in their email campaigns.

1. Create a new email or open up a draft to edit it. 
2. In the email body, all you need to do is add a HubSpot’s Personalization Token to the email -- this Personalization Token will refer to the new contact property you just created to add each registrant's unique Join Webinar URL. In the email body copy, click on the spot where you want to insert the join webinar URL. 
3. Then select ‘Personalize’ from all the edit options, choose Type as ‘Contact’ and select the contact property name you assigned (for us it was GoToWebinar Join URL). Click ‘Insert’.
   
   
   
4. For the Default Value, you can insert the generic website page to join the webinar, webinar id, etc. This value will only be used if the email is sent to a contact that does not have a GoToWebinar Join URL.
   
5. Once the above steps are completed, this is how the email body copy should look with the personalized token added to the email in HubSpot before sending it to the registrant.
   
   Below is what it looks like in the email after the registrant receives it… That link to join the webinar is unique and personalized to each registrant -- what a beautiful thing!
   
6. Try out a test email by sending it to yourself (don’t forget to register for the webinar first so that you are in the list and you have your Join Webinar URL associated with you in HubSpot) and check if the unique link comes up. We suggest trying this out with 2-3 people to be sure.
   (PRO-TIP: To test the personalized Join Webinar link properly - you can only send one test email at a time bc the join webinar URLs are unique to each registrant.  You must be registered for the webinar and you must send the test email to yourself as the recipient and as the specific contact receiving the email. See image below.)
   
   You’ve now officially taken control of your GoToWebinar and HubSpot integration. Woo-Hoo! Best part too is that you seamlessly have control over your brand experience in your nurture emails. Get ready to customize your webinar’s marketing tactics for a strong campaign!

So, this is a tough question to answer – which is exactly why we are here to help you navigate the answer!

 Local social media influencers should be your best friend, especially when launching a new brand. But why?

We all know how daunting the task of overhauling your website can be, and if you don’t, well we’re not going to lie, it is a task-and-a-half no matter whether it is 10 pages or 1,000 pages.

Welcome back everyone! Our last blog discussed our thoughts on how we at HEEDGROUP believe email has become a new form of texting for businesses.

I’m glad you guys are back! 

Last week I took you guys through the importance of using long - tailed keywords (link to last week's blog) rather than using short - tailed and broad match keywords, especially if you are working with a smaller paid search budget. 

These long - tailed keywords are the keywords that will end up triggering higher-quality traffic for your Google Ads and Bing Advertising strategy. Versus triggering traffic that is just looking for generalized information on the topic area that your product and services fit into. Ultimately, these high-quality users are more likely to convert on your landing page and more likely to eventually become customers. 

So just because you have included these long - tailed keywords in your strategy does not mean your work (and their work) stops here. These long - tailed keywords are pertinent for not only your overall keyword strategy, but also for your ad copy and your landing pages as well.

So why does this even matter?

It matters because not including these long - tailed keywords in your landing page copy, as well as in your ad copy will end up lowering your overall quality score in Google Ads and/or Bing Advertising. The lower your quality score, the less amount of time these search engines algorithms will choose to show your ads over competitors, even if someone searched for an exact term you have included in your strategy. 

Whether these keywords and words that have the same meaning or context as your keywords, (Yes! The search engines are that smart - you can read about the Google Hummingbird update here on Moz), are in the actual landing page copy or in the title of the landing page, you just need to make sure your page content utilizes the actual keywords or very close synonyms to make the page relevant to the search query. Not only is this pertinent to raise your accounts overall ad quality scores, but it provides a synchronized user experience for your potential customers. 

If you guys are still with me, you may be thinking this is a very trivial blog post about something that everyone already knows about. If that’s the case, then more power to you! However, this notion of having everything be synonymous from keyword buy, to ad copy to landing page copy is often overlooked as people who are managing paid search accounts don’t interface or direct the landing page experience in many firms. We have seen it here many times and it usually coincides with two phenomena 1) a lot of unqualified paid search traffic 2) little to no conversions on the landing page.

I’m here to give you a friendly reminder to all you guys and gals out there managing either your own brands account, or for a client - please, please, please make sure all those long - tailed keywords are what you are bidding on in search, your ads and landing pages are all using those keywords or synonyms.

For instance, if you are a marketing team of one or working on a small team, here’s a method I use. To make sure I end up including many, if not all of those long - tailed keywords on my landing pages and my search ads, I do the following - I start with the end in mind. I create the landing page where I want the user to visit from my search ads. Then I use a mini color code for myself and also anyone else on the team that I am working with to quickly reference all the keyword matches. It’s as simple as this: 

Pink Text on Landing Page= Long - Tailed Keywords
Yellow Text on Landing Page = Phrase or Exact Match Keyword 
Purple Text = Text that is not a keyword

Your page would end up looking like this after you color code it, for example:

        Lorem Ipsum Dolor Sit Amet:  

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Tempus egestas sed sed risus pretium quam vulputate dignissim suspendisse. 

Aliquam eleifend mi in nulla posuere sollicitudin. Lorem mollis aliquam ut porttitor. Mi in nulla posuere sollicitudin aliquam ultrices sagittis. 

Ultricies tristique nulla aliquet enim tortor at auctor. Massa sed elementum tempus egestas. At varius vel pharetra vel turpis nunc eget. Egestas purus….

So why is this helpful? It may sound a bit pointless to you, and that is totally fair, you do not have to do this in order to have a successful campaign. 

But I like it and client’s appreciate it too because at a quick glance, you can see right away how many of those keywords (exact, phrase and long-tail) are being included on the page. This is not a scientific process, it’s not complicated, but simply put, it is efficient and tells you what you need to know within a matter of seconds to write extremely relevant ads using the exact match and long-tail keywords as well as which keywords to bid on at the campaign level.

In the end, what you end up with are ads and landing pages that work well together to convert your visitor. And, we all know that higher conversions potentially mean more business.

Paid Search is oftentimes seen as a very convoluted process - but it truly does not have to be. Hopefully this quick little color coding technique can make things just a little easier for you as you start to develop your landing page and PPC strategy. It will allow you to quickly examine your landing page copy to make sure it includes all those long - tailed keywords and phrase/exact match keywords that will carry your campaign to success.

There is so much to Marketing, and it all starts with understanding your target customer, come back next week when we start exploring customer research techniques.

As tempting as it may sound to include tons of broad keywords within your ad groups on either Google Ads or Bing Advertising, if you are on a tight PPC budget this strategy will do nothing for you and will eat away at your budget very quickly.

As you know, Google Ads and Bing Advertising gives you the option of including broad, phrase, or exact matches in your keyword strategy. Choosing broad match keywords will give you a boost in general user traffic to your website - but will it be high-quality traffic?

The answer is NO!

So why spend what little money your budget allows for on these types of keywords when it is not going to render you any new customers or positive revenue growth for your company. 

Since you are working with a smaller PPC budget, you want to spend that money to capture users who are searching for very specific terms and phrases related to your product or service. These users are way more likely to convert and turn into customers. How do you do this? You bid on terms and build PPC ads using long-tail keywords that are either phrase or exact matches. 

Once you start employing this highly targeted strategy, at the start, you will see a drop in things like sessions, page views, impressions, conversions, clicks etc. You will feel discouraged at first, which is totally normal. If you stick with this strategy, I promise it will benefit you and your brand in the long run by sending you very specific qualified traffic that is closer to buying than all that general traffic you would get from broad keywords (or otherwise known as short-tail keywords). 

Before you stop reading this blog, and continue on with what you have planned for the day, I want to take you through a real word example. Let’s say you are in the world of selling business software, specifically enterprise resource planning software or ERP software.

First, let’s start with a short - tail keyword, usually a term that is 1 - 2 words, like ERP. According to Google Ads Keyword Planner, this term, on average, has 90,500 searches per month (please remember this may not be exact but is trending information). Now, you may be saying wow, I NEED to include that keyword in my ad groups to drive those 90,500 users to my site - but let me stop you right there. As I mentioned earlier in the blog, short - tail keywords will increase the amount of traffic to your website, but these users are most likely just looking for general information about ERP’s, rather than wanting to actually purchase an ERP.  

Now let’s look at a slightly longer term, like ERP software. This term, on average, has 12,100 searches per month (please remember this may not be exact but is trending information). Okay, so we are certainly getting closer and have whittled that 90,000 down to 12,000 searches but, most, if not all of these searches are again, going to be users who are looking for education about this software. So now what? We go for that long - tailed keyword. 

Alright, now it’s time to look at a long - tailed keyword, a keyword that is generally between 4 - 5 words. The keyword ERP implementation cost estimate has an average of 10 searches per month. Obviously, that is a huge drop from the above 90,000 or 12,000, but these users are obviously in the market to actually purchase an ERP software, or are moving towards this rather than just looking around for general information.

To summarize - short - tail keywords have high search volumes, competition, and cost, whereas long - tail keywords have low search volumes, competition, and cost, but high conversion rates and focus (and who doesn’t want that?!). 

So the next time you are looking over the current keywords you have already included in your paid search strategy, or if you are in the process of adding keywords for the first time, remember to ask yourself this one thing - what type of user will this keyword bring in? Will they be low - caliber and unlikely to convert or will they be of high - quality and more likely to convert? 

In the end, I promise, this one simple strategy will make your small budget go so much further. And last of all, this highly focused strategy will take time to work so please, please, PLEASE do not get discouraged if it takes a few weeks to show positive results.

In my next blog, I’ll cover how your landing page should manage your high - quality traffic. 

Stay tuned for the next HEEDGROUP blog!

Nowadays, with the boom in UX design, one significant way your agency can stand above the rest is by employing a participatory facilitation process that listens, synthesizes, and records documentation to better understand and prioritize not just the business' goals but the user's as well. Below I discuss two techniques for facilitating a UX workshop; the "Alignment and Agreement" and "Awareness Goals" exercises. 

Without veering off into brand culture, a design team must recognize that each designer's personality becomes the proprietary formula for a successful UX workshop. This goes without saying that building a participatory framework is unique to each agency; what works for one will not work for another.  

When deciding how much time you should take to complete the workshop anywhere between 1 to 2.5 days is perfect; otherwise, we get into a state of information overload and analysis paralysis. Try to keep your flow light and power through. 

A basic framework should touch on the following points: 
1. Goals
2. Questions
3. Processes

 Understanding the current state of the business via a Kick-off Call  

Although a kick-off call isn't necessarily the first step to creating a facilitation framework for UX Workshops, it should be noted that it is the initial step in not only establishing rapport between the agency and business but also understanding how designs should communicate to its user base and where to reach them from a strategic marketing perspective. This phase usually happens a week or two before the workshop. 
 
Your team should have ample time to go through the exhaustive research findings and feel confident and competent to hold a conversation with your client on their industry.  

A quick note on humility and collaboration: You don't need to know everything, that's why we are collaborating, but you do need to understand enough to not lose yourself within the conversation. When in doubt, always ask for clarification.  

Alignment and Agreement Exercise 

The Alignment and Agreement exercise defines what each stakeholder and designer hopes to get out of the session. It also answers if everyone is in agreement with what you want to get out of the workshop. Below is an overview of the exercise.  

Write down all stakeholder names, including yourself. 

Remember that your agency and co-works are buying into this product and service as well. There is no better way to feel more invested in your client's work than by putting yourself in their shoes. 

Set a timer for 5 mins  

Use your better judgment. If there is a room of 20 people work with a partner and add time on the clock. The time should not allow anyone to ruminate over these items. We are looking for instinctive feedback.   

Ask everyone: What do you hope to get out of this session?  

Each individual should state at least 3 items. Stick to one word or phrase, no repetitive statements. The reason for that is that repetitive statements create a false sense of alignment. 

Ask each individual to prioritize just one item of desired outcomes.  

Finally, write each word/phrase into a singular goal. 

Treat it like a mad lib: The goal is to fill in the blank 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.  

Awareness Goals Exercise 

The Awareness Goals Exercise utilizes a varying form of the Carver Method, a system developed by the U.S. military to assess threats. The goal is to determine what assets should be applied to neutralize a threat.  

In design, we are considering the time, effort, and willpower to accomplish any task; for example, how will audiences hear about our product or service? Regardless of what question is asked, you are already narrowing your scope of focus.  

On your product of choice, create a grid with 5 columns, one for each: tasks, desirability, attainability, resources, and timeframe. This exercise focuses on gaining rapid consensus while working with the entire group. After we have a healthy list of tasks marked out, we will apply values to each of the columns and add them up. Below is a more detailed description of the practice. 

Set your timer to 5 minutes per segment for a total of 25 minutes. 

Ask your workshop participants what tasks do we need to focus on to make users aware of our product and jot those down  

Generalize the tasks to more mechanical functions such as referrals, sponsorships, cloud storage, SEM/SEO or mechanical parts of the application itself, etc. 

Go through each touchpoint and assign a value of 1 - 10:  

 Desirability This is the wish-fulfillment area; what do you desire to see         completed?  

 Attainability How do-able is it? 

 Resources How effectively can we complete the task with the               information/tools/resources available? Are there gaps in our knowledge,   and  can we  proceed without it anyway? Remember not to go too deep   into  the minutia of each task.

The final touchpoint in this exercise is exclusive to the time it will take to complete the task. The amount of days it will take to complete becomes the value we will add to our other touchpoints. Generally, the amount of time it takes for a team to work through any task is as follows: 

Short-Term - 30 Days
Medium- Term - 60 Days
Long-Term - 90 Days

Once all the values have been attributed to each column, we add them up. The sum serves as a tie-breaker between various short, medium, or long-term tasks.  

By the end of this group exercise, you will have a list of priorities that facilitates brand awareness and provides a clear roadmap to success.  

To PPC or Not To PPC really is and should be a question on a company's mind. On average, there are 40,000 search queries per second equating to 3.5 billion search queries a day and 1.2 trillion a year. With that being said, you would think the answer would be a simple yes, why would we not include PPC in our marketing efforts - but like anything in life, nothing is ever simple. 

There are many questions one should ask whether PPC is the way to go for their company, but one of the first questions is, "do we have the budget to not only compete against competitors but can we do it effectively? 

As you probably guessed, within the PPC sphere exists an extremely competitive ring. If you are a SMB, you are going to be competing against companies that have a much larger monthly budget than yours, some are even as high as $100,000 and above. For instance, can your $1,000 - $5,000 a month budget go against these top guns and actually provide results for your brand? It can, but your approach to how you run your PPC strategy must be different. 

Working with a small budget to generate paid search leads cannot be your only lead - generation tactic. You must have a full marketing and lead - generation machine firing on all cylinders. Meaning, other lead - gen efforts must be in place and running at the same time as PPC such as a landing page strategy on your website for campaigns, social media, perhaps content syndication, and a highly targeted linkedin strategy. We also cannot forget about email strategy. If you are feeling overwhelmed by all of these strategies, not to worry! These are all topics we will be going into more detail on in future blog posts so stay tuned. 

You should also have to have an extremely focused and targeted keyword strategy, a topic we will dive into in a later blog post. 

So should you use PPC? The answer is yes, but if you are working with a smaller budget, you must make sure you have other lead - gen and marketing efforts in place that work alongside your PPC strategy to support your overall business goals.

Historically, one of the best ways for marketers to generate leads online was to create gated content. You’d write useful, compelling content in the form of white papers and ebooks, and people would give you their contact information in return.

However, the pendulum is swinging. With so much open content available online, competing gated content is taking a hit. Consumers don’t want to give up an email address for something they can get for “free.”

This leads us to an important question: Do we continue to gate content, which shortens the lead acquisition process, or do we leave it open for the whole world to access for free?

Like most things in business, the decision should be made on a case-by-case basis.

What’s More Important: A Name in the Database, or Web Traffic?

Your answer to that question is a good starting point. If you’re after web traffic, leave the content ungated. If you want leads, you should gate it.

But you should also take into account your business model and sales journey. Consider this: If you manufacture satellites, you likely have a long sales process requiring multiple conversations and negotiations. That could be a good indicator that gated content is a better fit.

If you’re selling fidget spinners, however, it’s a different story. Your customers know exactly what they want, can get it anywhere, and likely have no interest in fidget spinner-related content that requires them to give up their personal information.

Market research can also help you decide. If your fellow satellite manufacturers feature a number of blogs on how satellites operate in space, that’s a good indicator you shouldn’t gate similar content. Why would anyone “buy” it with their email address from you if they can get it for free? Conversely, if everyone is gating a certain piece of content, you could stand out by turning the information into blogs.

The truth: A Name in the Database and Web Traffic are both important!

At HEEDGroup, we help our clients conduct a content audit and ascribe value to the different pieces of content bucketing them into 3 categories: Low Value, Medium Value, and High Value.

LOW Value Content

The content classified as low value content is content that is easily accessible anywhere. This is content that you provide as a convenience but it doesn’t necessarily differentiate your brand/organization as an expert on a specific topic. We call this Free content or content that is not gated.

MEDIUM Value Content

The Medium value content, is content that is brand building and may even be high quality content that you paid to have it created for your organization: videos, white papers, checklists, etc. These pieces of content may be your loss leaders as they tend to drive or increase traffic to your site through social and search. These can still be industry specific research reports covered by you or your competitors but the difference in Medium Value Content is that it is not widely available and it should contain your position or stance on the topic covered in the asset. As mentioned before these are the brand building and traffic generating content assets you make available on your website.

HIGH Value Content

The next bucket of content is High Value content that should always be gated. This High Value gated content is content that only your company can provide your prospects and customers. This is usually educational content (whether it’s a cost analysis of a certain solution or a specific How-To for solving an industry solution that only your company provides). The point here is that, only you can provide this content. This content should be shared on your high traffic’d web pages and should be downloadable from a gated landing page for tracking purposes.

There’s another level of content strategy that you should research and we will probably cover it here on our blog too. And, that is content aligned to the buyer's journey. This approach requires more details and analysis before implementing. As a first step, try our HEEDGroup approach of Low, Medium and High content categorization.

Big news for marketers, regardless of where they’re located: On May 25, 2018, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) takes effect. The GDPR is designed to protect the private data of EU citizens while giving them the power to control what happens with their data.

Failure to comply could result in serious penalties. For the most serious grievances, companies can be fined €20 million (about $24.5 million) or 4% of yearly revenue—whichever is higher.

Even if you operate out of the United States, the GDPR could still impact your company, as it covers any entity processing the personal data on anyone living in the European Union. Because of this, simply having a website that collects consumer data could open you up to GDPR regulations.

With so much on the line, it’s crucial marketers all over the world understand the basics of GDPR. 

GDPR’s Requirements for Marketers

The GDPR will change how many of us operate. The biggest changes will surround consent, data security, and customer access to data.

Consent is King

Under the new GDPR rules, anytime you want to collect or use a customer’s data for a specific purpose, you need consent. If you want to track their behavior on a website, you need consent. If you’d like to email a monthly newsletter, you need consent. If you want to share their data with a subsidiary, you need consent.

While you can receive this consent upfront, your request and explanation should be in simple language so that anyone can understand exactly how the data will be used. Similarly, you can only use it for the purposes you’ve outlined. If you collect an email address for the purpose of your monthly email blast, you can’t hand it off to a subsidiary to use in their email blasts—unless you clearly explain that intention upfront.

In addition, GDPR forbids asking for more than what’s essential for the task you intend to complete. Going back to our newsletter example: If you’re collecting email addresses for a newsletter, you shouldn’t also ask for phone numbers; they’re not needed for email blasts. With this in mind, you should review all content currently on your website. Check the fields you ask customers to complete. Ensure you’re not requesting anything unnecessary for your intended tasks.

Protection and Privacy

As its name suggests, the General Data Protection Regulation wants consumer data to be protected. The GDPR requires that all systems used to store customer data should have protections built right into them; IT departments can’t just put up protections on the outside.

Marketers should work closely with IT to ensure all customer data is secure from tampering. In addition, all marketers should adhere to cyber security best practices.

Similarly, you must keep your databases maintained. If the relationship with a customer is terminated, you should get rid of their data.

Finally, customers must be notified quickly if there’s a data breach. GPDR requires companies to notify customers of data breaches within 72 hours of learning about the breach.

Citizens Have a Right to Data

At any time, an EU citizen has the right to know if his or her data is being used, and what it is being used for. If an individual calls in with a question, he or she should be answered within a reasonable timeframe.

Because of this, data must be store efficiently and properly indexed so that a customer’s name can be quickly searched.

EU citizens also have the right to be forgotten. At a customer’s request, his or her data can be permanently erased from your system.

A couple of years ago, Goldman Sachs made a bold prediction: In 10 years, VR will be bigger than TV, generating about $182 billion compared to $99 billion from TV. While VR headsets are still gaining traction in the public market, something similar has taken off: 360-degree video ads on social media platforms.

When the School of Rock hit Broadway, Andrew Lloyd Webber wanted to make a splash that would draw patrons to the show. By filming a scene with the cameras in the middle of the room, he provided an immersive experience for potential audience members. The scene was a success. The video generated 1 million views in only three days and sparked a 160% spike in the show’s ticketing website’s traffic.

It’s a concept that works every day. Data from over 700 million 360-degree ads shows 360-degree video ads receive a 46% higher video completion rate and a 14% higher ROI when compared to regular video.

Pulling this off, however, requires a slick strategy.

Secrets to 360-Degree Video

Setting up for a 360-degree video, especially when it’s for a promotion or ad, requires a lot of thought. Even if you only want to use it to give a tour of your new office or to highlight the conference you’re attending, you must be careful.

A few rules to follow:

Keep the tripod out of it—but keep it steady. If you need support for the camera, opt for a simple camera stick instead of a tripod. The tripod will show up in the video and obstruct some of the scene. Sacrificing the tripod doesn’t mean you should sacrifice stability. A jostling video will make viewers sick and turn them away.

Consider the best perspective. A bird’s eye view will put the audience above the action, but it also pulls them away. A regular height view will make them feel like they’re part of it. Meanwhile, an “ant’s eye view” make the action seem larger than life, while also making the viewer feel vulnerable.

Take advantage of human interaction. The School of Rock scene was fun because there was so much happening in all 360-degrees. Find shots that are equally entertaining. For example, a conversation between three colleagues at a conference is a great selection because it makes viewers feel like their part of the action.

Though these rules are good for getting you started, there’s much more to think about when it comes to 360-degree video ads. Have fun but make sure there is a purpose to your shoot. And, if you’ve done some interesting 360-degree videos, share your experiences with us.

You can’t foster a creative digital presence overnight. Gaining traction across the internet requires a multifaceted approach with a detailed maturity model for guidance. What that maturity model looks like will vary depending slightly on the market you’re in, but in general you’ll want to focus on social media, blogs, and advertisement.

Social Media Takes Real Work

Some companies will hand off their social media channels to an employee at random, almost as an afterthought. This approach rarely works out well.

That’s why companies have entire teams or agencies managing their accounts. Not only should each profile be completely filled out and updated, each account should post regularly to remain relevant. But even that is easier said than done. Boring, repetitive, or self-interested posts will drive away followers, so posts must be carefully written in order to engage followers.

Companies should also be nimble enough to respond to fans on social media. If someone asks your company a question on Twitter, will the person receive a timely response?

Social media is also a good place to promote your company’s content, especially blogs.

To continue gaining traction on social media, an account manager should regularly review social media stats in order adjust posts for better results.

Blogs Are Worth the Investment for your SEO

Like social media, blogging requires a good deal of time, but the results of this inbound marketing technique can be tremendous, especially when it comes to SEO.

Topics for blogs should be chosen carefully. For example, if you’re a small shoe company, it might not make much sense to blog in order to rank for the long tail keyword “football cleats”; you’d be facing an enormous amount of competition. However, if you were to write about “football cleats in cold and wet weather,” you’d have a much better chance of ranking in organic search results.

Digital Ads Require Careful Research

In addition to time, you may also need to invest hard dollars into your online presence by paying to rank on search engines like Google and Bing. But don’t just throw your money at these services.

Depending on your industry, you may face stiff competition for ranking, which could increase the spend necessary to gain traffic to your website.

After careful keyword research, decide which keywords are best for your company to compete for, then pay for those.

Social Ads Should be Strategic

Like digital ads, social media ads require an investment of time and money. However, done right, the results can be extraordinary.

Changing an ad should be done strategically. For example, when changing an ad you’re testing, only change one aspect at a time. This will help you track which elements of the ad are most successful. Split testing—presenting two ads for the same service or product with a different design—is another great way to determine what your target demographic really likes in order to see a higher ROI.

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In our last blog , we explored the value of chatbots—little computer programs that reliably communicate with customers on your behalf, freeing your Marketing and Customer Service teams to focus on higher-level tasks.

Since these bots are surging in popularity, we’ll review what makes a good bot—and the best ways to create your own:

The Muppets and Miss Piggy

Despite her ego, you can’t help but feel drawn to Miss Piggy. Back in 2015, Disney promoted The Muppets TV show by developing a Facebook chatbot for Miss Piggy’s Facebook profile. They even cross-promoted through a message from Kermit, who quipped that he’d finally get an hour of peace if she was busy talking to other people.

 This was the perfect opportunity for fans young and old to engage with one of their favorite TV characters, and Disney wrote Miss Piggy’s personality into her responses.

 What Disney did right: It wrote the chatbot to resemble Miss Piggy’s brand. When fans chatted with her, they received the same snark and ego they’re used to seeing her with. They also did a great job of promoting it by playing off the love/hate relationship she and Kermit have. Finally, they launched it in time to promote the real money-maker: the TV show.

Amtrak’s Julie

Amtrak developed its website’s virtual assistant, Julie, back in 2012, and it’s a wonder the company ever got by without her.

 Here’s why: They eventually saw an 800% return on investment. How? For starters, Julie was programmed to help travelers find trips and routes, access boarding information, and book trips. This saved the company $1 million in customer service emails—in one year. By answering 5 million questions a year, Julie sparked 30% more revenue per booking and increased bookings by 25%. Plus, when Julie answers a question, she includes options to upgrade on the next trip, opening the door for an upsell.

What Amtrak did right: Amtrak saw a way to simplify the booking process for its website’s 375,000 daily visitors. Instead of relying on customers to figure out the website’s interface, they provided the option for a chatbot to help each visitor, streamlining the entire process.

KLM on Messenger

KLM is the world’s oldest airline and a big player in Europe. A few years ago, it decided to become a big player in social media as well. KLM added a “Send Message” button to its Facebook page and saw messages increase 40%. To handle the influx, they created an AI chatbot, which they trained to answer more than 60,000 questions. To ensure the bot keeps quality high, its responses are checked by an agent, and a quick survey is submitted at the end of each interaction. Because of the AI, the chatbot gets a little smart each time. The result: high customer satisfaction that continues to get better.

What KLM did right: Priming their chatbot for 60,000 questions required work upfront, but the payoff is immense: KLM’s messenger requires fewer interventions from human agents.

Anymail’s Chatbot Picks Up the Slack

Anymail was a two-person startup, so keeping up with sales and customer inquiries absorbed valuable time. But they noticed something interesting: They received the same handful of questions with each inquiry. To keep up with their customers, they wrote detailed articles to answer each of these questions, then programmed a chatbot to respond to questions by offering the articles. They even took it a step further: When site visitors reach a page, the chatbot delivers a list of question and answers people often ask related to that page. It’s working: 60% of their revenue is thanks to the chatbot, and a third of visitors take advantage of the feature.

 What Anymail did right: The team worked smarter, not harder. They created detailed answers to the most common questions, and even presented these articles before customers had a chance to ask. This cut down on future inquiries, freeing the team to focus on other aspects of the business.

 Want to learn more? Contact HEEDGroup with your questions on how to launch a successful chatbot, or sign up for our newsletter.

 Link to Part One of the series

Through the aid of artificial intelligence and natural language processing, bots are quickly becoming the way of the future for developing more effective sales and marketing tactics. They are easy to program and use, automate business processes, and work wonders for improving the customer service experience. Before implementing bots into your websites and social media pages, it is important to understand just how they work and what they accomplish for your company.

What Are Chatbots?

Chatbots are software that is easy to build and program with certain actions for them to operate all on their own. Through text conversations with customers, they dive deeper into consumers’ thought processes and use that information to help determine where they are in the buyer’s journey.

Their design offers a more personalized ad structure and softens the sales approach, all while reaching a wider audience. According to Neil Patel Digital, 57% of consumers prefer personalized ads when shopping online, which means chatbots increase your chances of success when selling online. Additionally, humanizing bots by giving them a name or personality makes people feel like they are having a face-to-face conversation with an actual sales representative.

They also allow your business to be more proactive in terms of initiating the conversation with customers. By reaching out to consumers first, it creates a dialogue that may have never happened with a traditional passive approach. This makes consumers feel more comfortable and trusting of your brand, sometimes to the point where they share more sensitive information because of the safe space the bot provides them.

Benefits of Using Chatbots

Conversations exchanged through a chatbot provide a larger engagement capacity. As reported by greengeeks.com, nearly 92 percent of consumers are more satisfied with their experience when using live chat, and two out of three consumers are likely to spend more money with businesses that offer exceptional customer service. Companies that are active on their social media profiles tend to have a larger, more engaged following and chatbots mimic this. By providing quick responses, there is greater potential for the consumer to get what they want when they want it.

Bots can also analyze customer feedback and provide better insights into what consumers are looking for, giving you powerful marketing data. This could replace time-consuming surveys by integrating questions into the conversations happening between chatbots and customers. Furthermore, the information gathered as a result of chatbot interactions can help in restructuring your marketing model to better target the customer’s needs.

You want the buying process to be enjoyable for your customers, and chatbots can make communication with your brand a fun experience. The one-on-one interaction and personalized approach can leave a good, lasting impression. This will pave the way to a stronger bond and allow more time to suggest and share links to increase website visits. Bots can be programmed to encourage customers to visit other relevant pages or blog posts for related products or services.

Chatbots Used Internally

Lastly, chatbots are a great way to keep communication among your marketing and sales teams quick, easy, and concise. According to Rocketbots, the average employee receives 88 emails per day. In the same way, bots are used to communicate with customers, it allows employees to “personalize, target, and connect the relevant content to the right employee at the right time.” When an open dialogue exists between coworkers through chatbots, it fosters a positive environment without the unnecessary clutter of other communications channels, such as email.

To Sum It All Up

Chatbots are an easy and effective tool to add to your marketing and sales strategies. You don’t have to be a technology aficionado to understand their basic programming, they can save you money by providing customer service 24 hours a day, and in some cases, can do 100 percent of the selling for you. To see chatbots in action, read our second blog of this series . Bots are only just the tip of the iceberg, though. For more on the best marketing and sales practices and trends, stay up-to-date on our blog or sign up for our newsletter.

There’s a big difference between a mediocre agency and a great agency: A great marketing agency will deliver much better results. But those results don’t happen accidentally. A great agency follows strict marketing rules as well as a stringent moral compass to deliver excellent results consistently.

Here are the rules they stick to:

1. Listen to what the metrics say.

A great marketing agency carefully tracks metrics to gauge the success of each facet of a new campaign. This requires mapping out the most important KPIs before actions are taken—not after. Starting at the very beginning will give you richer data throughout the process. And, let me share a little secret with you. It’s not 1000 KPIs, it’s a few that latter up to the macro goal for the business.

Similarly, a great agency keeps a close eye on financial spend. If a social ad isn’t performing well, a smart agency will tweak it instead of letting all the money on that campaign run out.

Following metrics closely requires a great agency to have the tools necessary to track the numbers or at least understand how to take advantage of all the built-in tools accompanying the distribution mechanisms in the market. Marketers need to have a clear understanding of how these tools work and more importantly what the stats mean for the latest campaign.

2. Keep up with the latest trends.

Only two decades ago, advertisements were almost entirely physical or on TV. Thanks to the internet, marketing efforts have transformed—and continue to do so every single day. Because of these rapid evolutions in strategic possibilities, a great marketing agency will suggest the best options based on the latest developments.

Skilled marketers will also watch how each marketing tool evolves over time. For example, Google is constantly tinkering with its SEO formulas. As an example, a great marketing agency keeps up with the latest news from Google to ensure all content is properly optimized. Run if your marketing agency doesn’t know what SEO means for your business. It’s quite rare that any brand on the Internet these days isn’t deriving most of its traffic through Google somehow.

3. Never make assumptions.

Effective marketing efforts leave nothing to chance. Crafting a successful campaign requires preliminary research on many aspects, but especially on the target customer. Great marketers are also great investigators; they dig through data to make informed decisions on how a campaign should be conducted.

Because expert marketers carefully make every decision, their actions are more effective.

4. Know the customer inside and out.

As we said, a great marketing agency understands each business’s customers. Without understanding the customer, it’s very difficult to create effective marketing materials to attract their attention. This also requires knowing where the customers can be reached. For example, pouring all of your money into YouTube videos is futile if your target audience rarely visits YouTube.

Great marketers will review customer data to look for important information like age, gender, location, occupation, and interests in order to promote services or products in a way that rings with the target demographic.

What else do you think makes a great agency? Do you have any thoughts or suggestions you would like to share? We are always learning and that’s another sign, IMHO of a great agency, they are always learning with intense curiosity. 

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Have you been questioning lately whether or not your agency is really helping your business? This may be due to several reasons, but one outstanding factor in the industry is the “yes man” syndrome. If your agency is a “yes man” agency, then it’s time for a new agency. 

What do we mean by a “yes” person or “yes man” agency? It’s when a person, team or agency fails to think of the client or the client’s business goals and says “yes” to everything. Why?

• They want your approval and believe this will build loyalty.
• They aren’t as experienced as they said or you thought they were.
• They want your money.
• They would rather you come up with the ideas and strategies, rather than themselves, so they feel protected from being blamed.

Let’s begin with wanting your approval and loyalty. Agencies, especially start-up agencies, want more than anything to collect a loyal clientele. Their goal is for you to like them and to create a lasting business relationship, so in their minds, saying yes to everything is an easy way to accomplish this. It’s scary to say no to a new client especially if you are a small start-up agency but you are truly not putting your client and their needs first if you are not strong enough to have a hard conversation about doing the right thing for your client’s business. You must be strong enough to have a real conversation with the Senior Marketers otherwise your business won’t grow and you will only be seen as a “YES” agency. Maybe in the beginning of your client relationship, this makes the client feel great but in the long run this will not bode in your favor forever.

In some cases, the company is not as experienced as they might’ve first pitched to you. They just don’t have the experience to make big decisions on your behalf. Also, due to their less mature stature, they rely on agreeing with everything you say or suggest because they don’t know how to push the edges for you or come up with new creative strategies. It’s obvious that this is a recipe for disaster. When you notice the red flags of an inexperienced agency, start thinking about your “plan B.”

A desire for money may be the biggest reason agencies are classified as a “yes man” agency. They will say yes to anything, not so much so that your business will grow, but because they are concerned about meeting their own expenses. Watch for signs when an agency stops talking about value and the benefits that your company will achieve with a given strategy or tactic. Instead, they will be over indexing on the dollars they need to cover their services. Your agency should always be talking and thinking about you and not them.

Another reason why agencies will consistently say yes is because they would rather you be held accountable for decisions or actions made on behalf of the company. This is a way for the agency to hide behind you and protect themselves. Although saying no may be uncomfortable at times, suggesting new ideas can be beneficial. This type of forward thinking can be a catalyst to new and improved changes. If an agency is always agreeing with a business or client, it is less likely that the company will evolve through new outside ideas.

If any of these situations sound familiar to you, it’s time to start an agency review. Remember a “yes man” may seem positive, but as my mother always cautioned us as children, “too much laughing always leads to crying.”

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If you haven’t already, check out Part 1 of our “How Complicated is Marketing These Days? Part 1” series.

The modern marketing landscape is more complex than ever. It’s a place where CMOs and marketing professionals must balance a huge variety of skills all while managing customers across a multitude of channels. Let’s dive into a few more reasons why it’s harder than ever to be a marketer: 

 Data-driven marketing is key

Today there are an increasing number of tools to predict consumer behavior.  These tools can track everything from ad clicks to email opens to times spent on web pages. Access to these numbers have turned marketing into a science, which means data insights must inform all decisions and marketers have less of an excuse for not knowing what your customers want.

While this sounds like it should make the job of a marketer easier, it’s putting pressure on marketing and communications teams to make wise and effective decisions based on a plethora of data. This requires highly analytical teams that are able to draw valuable insights.

Creativity in Marketing is shifting

Creativity used to be a nebulous term in the marketing world. Traditionally, the quality of a piece of content or a campaign was the measure of successful creativity. These traditional campaigns took weeks or months to develop and were typically guided by subjective instinct.

This has changed drastically in today’s technology-driven business landscape. The measure of creative success is the value of the output, whether that’s awareness, leads, or sales. To this point, creativity is less subjective because it is backed by data.

Additionally, it requires working with customers to weave their experiences with creative efforts. This means that marketers must focus on the entire customer experience from start to end -- including the product, the buying experience, customer support, etc.

CMOs need more skills

There has been a shift in the skills needed for companies to compete and succeed. With digital, social, and mobile media, and big data rising, CMOs have had new job roles thrust on them. Adaptation is key and can ultimately define a company’s success. Some new skills CMOs must possess in the modern business landscape include:

• A focus on statistics and data analytics and how they can be used to drive change.
• An ability to quickly assess new platforms and technologies.
• A deep understanding of the digital marketing space, such as search, design, eCommerce, user experience, and social media.
• Content creation and community management skills.

Read our blog to learn about more skills CMOs need to succeed.

While marketing is definitely - getting more complex. This complexity is helping the adaptable and skilled Marketing teams capitalize on the change by targeting consumers more directly with more relevance.

Developing plans and strategies for marketing today is more challenging than it has ever been. Today’s marketing professionals must be experts in everything from analytics, data modeling, consumer behavior, and technology all the way through more artful elements such as campaign creativity and design.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the elements that have contributed to the marketing landscape: 

Consumers have more power

Consumers today expect to have a different relationship with brands and businesses than in decades before. Customers have increasing access to information, which means they have become more discerning perhaps more skeptical but certainly less loyal.

 Because of this, traditional selling doesn't work anymore. Companies’ practices are under increased scrutiny, forcing marketers to be totally transparent in communications. Not only this, but social media has given consumers a voice and they expect a two-way dialogue, meaning that responses and solutions to problems need to be faster and more personalized.

 Additionally, with the emergence of ecommerce, customers’ purchasing behavior is more global which is providing them with greater access to lower cost channels. This has ultimately put pressure on marketers to develop new ways to deliver value.

 Fast-paced

Today’s marketing landscape is moving faster than ever before. The rise of the Internet and, hence, the shift from traditional marketing to digital marketing has played a big role. Before the Internet, companies could take their time developing magazine or TV ads. But today’s marketing needs to be current. The rapid pace of technological developments of forcing marketers to decrease time to market for new products in order to keep up with competition.

 In order to keep up in this fast-paced environment and keep customers happy, more and more marketers are using marketing automation to streamline CRM tasks and workflows. Marketing automation focuses on the scheduling, segmentation, and tracking of marketing campaigns – keeping marketers tied to a constant pulse of what the customer desires leading to the need to communicate personally in the real-time.

 Technology

One of the biggest catalysts of change for marketing professionals has been technology. Today’s marketers must manage more technology than ever before. The CMO is no longer just the executive with brand concerns around flashy ad campaigns. Rather, they are leaders who must be conversant with emerging technologies.

 The wide variety of marketing channels available, spanning from social networks to distribution platforms like YouTube, offers more options than ever to reach consumers. Consumers are also impacted by technological changes in marketing. They’re targeted by more ads than ever before, often with higher relevance to their interests due to the huge amount of data they share.

 With this, marketers must be able to develop and manage strategies for reaching customers through each channel. Good advertising no longer means just delivering the right message in a compelling way; it also means delivering the message in the way that audiences prefer to receive it. Luckily, martech (aka, Marketing Technology) systems are making it easier for marketers to manage relationships with customers and, ultimately, this can enable a competitive advantage. That is if you know how to use the technology.

 As consumers have become more sophisticated and the landscape more crowded, developing plans and strategies for marketing today is the most challenging it has ever been. Check back soon for part 2 of How Complicated is Marketing These Days? Part 2. 

It’s not easy to be today’s CMOs. With the advancement of technology and expanding engagement channels, the role of a CMO is evolving at a quicker pace than ever before. And, couple that with the fact they are increasingly more responsible for carrying the weight of the annual revenue goals. CMOs that fail to adapt and prosper will most likely be passed up by more nimble competitors in the market.

Here are a few of the most essential skills CMOs will need to ensure the success of their brand as they forge into the future:  

1. Leverages technology

In 2011, there were only about 150 marketing technology solutions available to businesses. In 2012, that number more than doubled, and in 2014, it nearly tripled to 1,000. Today, there are over 3,500 different tools available to marketers. It’s likely we’ll continue to see this number grow exponentially especially as today’s customers adopt more ways to engage with brands.

Moreover, as our technology-driven society shifts the marketing landscape, a successful CMO is no longer the person with the big vision to develop flashy ad campaigns. Instead, the CMO of the future must be the executive who’s conversant in technology. CMOs that understand emerging technologies -- specifically communication tools and of course marketing tech and data tools -- will be the ones that stay ahead of the curve.

2. Understands the creative process

Today, design is a creative process that spans entire organizations, driven by the desire to better understand and meet consumer needs. More organizations are adopting design thinking processes in creating product and services that engage with their customers.  And every interaction is a brand experience -- owned by marketing and ultimately the CMO. In order to reach consumers, modern CMOs must understand how design can influence consumer behavior and how it fits into the overall marketing brand and business strategy. When a creative vision and business strategy are seamlessly aligned, design can transform a business, giving brands the ability to maintain relevance and vitality in a time where change is constant.

3. Collaborates with the entire organization

Businesses that isolate marketing from their other teams risk building a company of fragmented goals and ideas. A CMO must work with other departments in order to maintain brand consistency and fulfill revenue goals. Whether it’s working with the accounting department to set budgets,  compiling and analyzing data with engineers, or working with the sales team to build up the pipeline, a successful CMO is one that can have authentic and frequent interactions across the entire enterprise. This, in turn, helps create a seamless and valuable customer experience. I recently talked with a new CMO who inherited a Marketing team who he said didn’t know the company revenue goals for the year when queried. This CMO in his exasperation was explaining to me ‘how could the team seriously claim to be working arm-in-am with sales if they truly couldn’t even recite the annual target.’

4. Guides company strategy

Profit follows companies that understand and capitalize on customer behavior. Therefore, the CMO -- increasingly, being the person in an organization that holds the key to consumer behavior -- should have major influence in the company’s strategy. Furthermore, marketing in an age where driving powerful customer experiences is paramount to success is catapulting the CMO to new levels of importance.

5. Data-driven

To succeed, CMOs of the future must be as much a quant as they are a creative thinker. With the focus shifting away from push marketing to pull marketing, CMOs must demonstrate they can be predictable revenue drivers with highly optimized budgets. For this to be possible, initiatives must be backed by critical data. Establishing metrics-driven marketing creates the right focus on driving value through better customer engagement.

Whether creating a brand identity based in design or wielding powerful martech, future CMOs must be comfortable with change and be able to capitalize on it. In the ever-changing marketing landscape, CMOs must not take for granted that what's working today will work tomorrow leaving them obsolete.

Your business’s marketing plan is a map to guide you toward your goals. Without executive marketing talent to help you create that map, you’ve likely experienced a number of challenges that are holding you back from achieving those goals.

Businesses that lack strong marketing leadership put themselves at risk to lose sales and revenue. Because your priorities may be on other things, marketing your business takes a backseat. Poor planning and execution can ultimately leave your business vulnerable -- whether it’s being outpaced by your competitors, not positioning yourself strategically in the market, failing to resonate with your customers, etc.

However, if you know you need experienced marketing leadership, but you’re not quite ready for a full-time in-house resource, the outside Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) can help. A seasoned marketing executive can provide startups and SMBs the vital leadership and execution that will result in successful marketing programs, guiding your business toward its long-term goals.

Why would a company want to hire an outside CMO?

Here are a few ways businesses can benefit from on-demand executive marketing talent:

1. Immediate Impact on a Strategic Level

Outside CMOs bring a career’s worth of experience and a fresh perspective to the table, from which they can immediately begin developing a strategic plan to organize available resources at your business. Their broad-based and on-demand perspective allows Outside CMOs to provide best practices for:

• Marketing strategy formulation,
• Development of positioning and messaging for your brand,
• Market segmentation,
• Customer acquisition and sales pipeline development,
• Establishment of performance metrics,
• Selection of vendors for specialized tasks,
• Implementation, management, and coordination of marketing initiatives and efforts, and much more.

While members of your team focus on specific projects, an Outside CMO is able to focus on bringing all of these pieces together to create a cohesive strategy that drives your business’s success in the market.

2. Widen the Talent Pool

C-level executives come from a wide variety of industries, educational backgrounds, and job experiences. And finding the right one that understands your business is imperative to your success.

Widening the talent pool outside of your physical area by utilizing an Outside CMO yields more personnel options and a wider range of expertise. You’re able to pull in talent from around the world and find the person that fits your business’s unique needs.

3. Convenient and Cost-Effective

With an Outside CMO, you’ll avoid the hassle of bringing on or replacing an in-house CMO -- which means you’ll avoid hiring delays, turnover, long-term commitments, relocation costs, and more. All of these extra hurdles are not only inconvenient, but can also add up in the form of lost money to your business.

Outside CMOs bring impactful experience and expertise especially concerning digital transformation. Partnering existing marketing strategy with new CMO strategies from outside your organization can significantly impact bottom line without completely deconstructing your marketing practice. For smaller organizations that don’t have a CMO, an Outside CMO provides the business acumen to help you develop a marketing strategy that aligns with their existing business model. Finally, an Outside CMO is beneficial for businesses in the startup or emerging phases who may be running on tighter budgets.

Your businesses success relies on a fine-tuned marketing strategy. Utilizing an Outside CMO allows you to leverage high-level talent in smaller increments of time and budget, while still gaining qualified expertise that will help accelerate your business.

 I recently had an interesting conversation over lunch about being prescient in life and business. After discussing Jeff Bezos’ drone delivery initiative, a very accomplished colleague of mine and leader in his industry was talking about an interview he gave in the late 80's in Fortune Magazine.

 In the interview he predicted that individuals would soon have the ability to manage trades using their small personal computers while sitting by the pool. In essence, he was describing the self-trading and myriad of other self-wealth management capabilities as well as hand-held computer devices made available to individuals over the last decade.

E-trading led to the birth of a whole new occupation and market: day-trading. However, during this conversation, he did not give himself much credit for being a creative visionary for making this prediction. But if not a visionary during the pre-tech boom, then what? If not visionary, then extremely insightful and perhaps super tuned-in to emerging/potential trends?

So I began to ponder… How is Insight Generated?

This conversation stuck with me. Both Jeff Bezos and my colleague were ahead of their times, that much is clear. But how does one become insightful enough about their surroundings to make predictions as telling as these? Is there a possibility of an insight equation? Here’s where my mind wondered:

• (Understanding the current state of things) + (Having a pulse and memory of trends) + (Realization of where everyone else is) = Insight Generated

Or maybe it’s

• (Understanding your own presence) + (Having a pulse and memory of trends) + (Realization of the current environment) = Insight Generated

Let’s try the equation with a simple example of something that gets played out in my house all the time between my two young daughters (9yrs & 7.5 years old):

• (My mom sees me teasing my little sister, my little sister is starting to cry) + (Last time I teased my little sister, I was scolded and sent to my room until I could learn to play nice) + (My little sister is crying and calling for mom; my mom is busy making dinner and her phone is ringing) = I am going to be sent to my room.

The point here is that insight generation depends on your ability to collect, organize and retain data, generate a variety of analytic models from that data, and then analyze the generated models themselves.

The example above is truly simple and really isn’t insight, it’s understanding cause and effect of your own actions.

Let’s think about something a little more innovative than my children sparring…

• (The SONY walkman allows individuals to enjoy music personally anywhere) + (Digital Technologies are advancing into a more connected, handheld device world) + (Human expectations around immediate entertainment satisfaction is growing) = IPod

And, along with the IPod came the entire evolution of the music industry.

So why should we care about insights? And, why is this important in the Marketing world? Huge amounts of data are being captured every second. If you can make sense of this data as it applies to your business, you’ll be able to act upon it. Hard-earned insights that are as actionable as possible are primed to drive value for your organization. And ultimately, this is how businesses set themselves apart from the competition.

I’m curious! Do you have an insight equation you’d like to share?

After years of trying desperately to hide it… I finally admit that I’m the idiot, and I’m okay with it. Yes, really. Let me explain.

I recently had a familiar conversation with someone who was trying to understand what I do. Once again I found myself woefully unprepared for such a conversation. I often find it difficult to explain that I help organizations solve problems -- usually brought on by technological advances -- ones that they haven’t put into practice for their org but find their customers adopting first.

Also, let me explain that I am not a technologist, I’ve been a Creative Director, a CEO and a CMO but I still have a hard time defining what it is I do exactly. One friend coined me as a “Creative Strategist” but I tell everyone, I am a Marketer with lots of digital know-how, oh hell, let’s be honest, sometimes, I tell people I am Creative Director. Marketing works most of the time because this is a catchall for all the areas we may find ourselves when helping clients.  

I walked away from this conversation frustrated with myself. Before I go on, don’t worry, this is not a self-help post. The truth of the matter is that my job is always being redefined as new technology enters into the consumer space. Being a strategic and creative marketer means that I walk a fine line between creativity, product development, and data-driven business  planning.

What is a creative and strategic marketer?

There’s quite a few of us out there and we provide help to organizations, big and small. The help we provide covers understanding how the brand is going to be consumed by current and potential customers. In this instance the consumption of the brand usually means not only what we consider traditional branding activities but also what is coined as User Experience -- and that has everything to do with how customers are appreciating not only a brand’s software interface but also all the way to how they are receiving marketing messaging through digital communication channels.   

So, what makes me the idiot?

While I started in the creative world, I now find myself working with all sorts of businesses to solve all different types of problems. So, what makes me the idiot besides the obvious?

I often encounter problems I have never solved before and have no idea how to solve. In the business world, things are evolving so quickly around technology that new problems are emerging every second of every day. And this is precisely why I’m okay with being a self-proclaimed  idiot.

While businesses can easily identify threats of disruption, I like to focus on the upside of disruption. That is, how can I answer the call to action around change and realize the benefits that could boost a brand. I admit to not always having the answers to new problems that arise for my clients. I hope you guys aren’t reading this now! However, this forces innovation, and this is what it means to be a creative and a strategist. Here’s how it works:

Preparing to understand the problem

Being a successful strategic marketer often requires seeking out the people you need from the various domains that will help you completely understand the problem at hand including always starting with the customer. Once you assemble the resources necessary to understand the problem fully (and this could include operations, tech, sales, finance, etc), the work of gathering and synthesizing information and data points to eliminate or solve the problem begins.

Empower innovation

It is easy to identify that threats come from new sources: digital, changing consumer behaviors, and competition from unexpected places. But often businesses make the mistake of looking at the problem from a limited point of view, and therefore try to apply an old solution to overcome a new problem.

By thinking from the market, technical, customer, and competitive perspectives and melding information from each into an overall understanding, you are able to see a fresh perspective and develop new answers.

Marketing in an Age of Change

Marketing has changed so much in the last 20 years. While marketing was never easy, technology has made it a whole lot tougher. What used to be a matter of identifying needs and communicating benefits now requires businesses to build immersive experiences that engage consumers from cradle to grave. That means businesses must seamlessly integrate a whole new range of skills and capabilities. I like to believe the future is bright and I tell the junior staff members that all the time especially as we humans continue to develop new technology and ways of interacting.

Thank you for helping me sort out what it is I do…  but please if you see me on the street, don’t yell out that’s the idiot.  Keep questioning the norm, look at problems from new angles and enjoy the ride we humans are on...

In globalizing markets, businesses can no longer survive and thrive as siloed organizations, where marketing stands apart from sales. The two must work hand-in-hand, with marketing virtually obsessing about learning everything possible about customers, then—and this is the key point—leveraging that data by passing it on to sales in a smooth, consistent and real-time way.

This is the Age of the Customer. Customers are exposed to marketing constantly, in multiple formats and on multiple devices. It’s critical that a marketing organization have access to the skills and tools to rise above the noise, understand customers intimately, and pass on that understanding to sales in the form of targeted marketing. It’s also the age of one-on-one marketing and constantly changing sales cycles. Marketing campaigns have to be right-on-target, right-on-time and dedicated to passing on highly qualified leads to sales.

That means becoming immersed in Inbound Marketing as much as Outbound Marketing: where marketers are bringing customers to you through the whole ecosystem of digital communications, The Web, Mobile, Social Media or truly anything Internet enabled. It also means having access to the tools to put today’s Relevant Marketing into place. That translates to Marketing Automation Platforms (MAP), the collective name for the class of digital tools that allow you to connect with customers and collect relevant, actionable customer data from a myriad of touch points and pass it on in an usable format to your sales force. But it also requires a guide through the whole digital ecosystem—someone who knows how to navigate the territory—to help you get the information to your sales team before your competition sprints to the finish line ahead of you. 

If you fail to transform your organization into one dedicated to Relevant Marketing, you are apt to leave your sales team Starving in the Wilderness.

In the new, global marketplace, it’s more complex—and more important—than ever to build brand awareness. In nearly every industry, competition is fierce and it’s harder than ever to capture your potential customers’ attention. The only way to effectively deal with this challenging situation is to effectively employ a comprehensive program of modern, digital marketing, blended with traditional marketing strategies.

That, of course, means spreading awareness of new, digital marketing techniques throughout your organization. Business-as-usual is no longer good enough to build brand awareness in a world filled with the noise of countless brand messages telegraphed across myriad forms of media.

On the positive side of the coin, when you are able to rise above the fray and build brand awareness among your perfect customers, one success lead directly to another: demand generation. In turn, you then feed the sales cycle, again leading to increased demand generation. Once this positive cycle is initiated, a business joins the world of modern/global marketing.

Expanding the small screen interface with projected skin buttons. Yes, that’s what I said, projected skin buttons. Whaaaaaaat? Think of it this way, smart watches or devices similar to those that we wear and go are typically designed with small screens for our comfort. 

However, that doesn’t make them easy to interact with. Computing power in these small devices is getting more powerful and we’d like to add more functionality.

O’kaaay, go on... 

And, we all don’t want an iPhone 6 Plus size smart watch strapped to our wrists. But most humans past the age of 5yrs, just like me, suffer from the fat finger syndrome on these small interfaces.

There’s an answer. Researchers: Gierad Laput, Robert Xiao, Xiang ‘Anthony’ Chen, Scott E. Hudson, and Chris Harrison presented their solution to extend small screen user interfaces by demonstrating their technology to project buttons onto your skin from the small wearable device (aka, a watch). The research presented in 2014 proposes extending the watch’s surface by using projections of buttons that control the interface of the device on the wearer’s skin. See the entire research presented here on

Chris Harrison’s website

What does this have to with marketing & customer engagement?

This may be in the camp of technology research now but within a few years, we marketers are going to be concerned with which button the wearer clicked and what they were doing at the moment of the click. Add geo-location and biometrics on-top of that equation and real-time marketing just took on a whole new definition. Gotcha thinking, yet?

"I'm not a scientist or a physicist, Mr. Spock..."  

In the original Star Trek episodes, the sliding doors were controlled by a man off-camera. On cue he opened the doors, tugging on a wire threaded through a pulley system. Now, commonplace sensor technology opens doors with ease as someone approaches to enter or leave a building. As our entertainment illusions have advanced from the original Star Trek days, so has our perception of technologies abilities to interpret our human moves and react accordingly. 

Think Prometheus, Minority Report, Avatar, Iron Man and the latest Star Trek feature films -- all of these show the human interacting with intelligent technology by a swipe of the hand. In return, a 3-D hologram’ish image moves and responds accordingly, just as we might believe technology of the future could behave. In order for the technology in these Sci-Fi movies to react to the human waving their hands around (must have been fun for the actors against the green screen, NOT!), there have to be sophisticated and interpretive sensors built into the technology we witness in our beloved Sci-Fi movies.

Apical, headquartered in London is developing this sophisticated and interpretive human movement software today and they call it Spirit. Spirit detects an individual as they move through a space and analyzes where they are going, where they are looking, for how long, their movements and potentially their emotions being emitted on the face. 

In an interview recently with VentureBeat Michael Tusch, CEO and cofounder of Apical notes that non-smartphone products using the technology, such as sensors [customers and marketers may see this first in retail spaces] may emerge by the end of 2015, and smartphones with this capability will follow sometime in 2016.  

Check out this YouTube video demonstrating the analysis the Spirit technology is completing on passersby in a public space:

 It’s not enough just to begin the process of demand generation. You have to be able to sustain it over time. That means it has to become a part of your organizational DNA. To be sure that’s what happens, everyone in your company needs to understand that you are no longer just a software manufacturer or insurance company, you are also a modern marketing organization—in every corner of your business.

The place to begin this kind of radical transformation is at the very top of an organization. Everyone in your C-suite needs to be committed to driving your marketing machine forward and keeping it fueled with constant support.

Then, moving through the organization, every employee needs a rock-solid understanding of just how important it is to keep the sales cycle nurtured and healthy with growing brand awareness and constant demand generation. In time, a brand awareness/demand generation cycle should begin to perpetuate itself, but constant vigilance is necessary to be sure your program doesn’t go off-track, creating just the opening your competition needs to surge ahead of you in the marketplace. You and your modern-marketing guide will work together to be sure your brand awareness plan stays on-track well into the future.

 As you begin to look at integrating marketing automation into your organization, it’s important to understand just how, when and where to begin the process. The people in your organization need to be prepared for this massive change in mindset from traditional, disjointed marketing techniques to a new, integrated program of marketing that includes marketing automation at its very center.

The key to successful introduction of this new way of doing business is communication. Be sure you are constantly updating your Marketing and Sales staff about changes being made and letting them know how their roles will change (hopefully for the better). As in any period of change, some preparation is necessary before your business can truly change its personality. Keep in mind that it’s all about communication and that an expert guide can help you successfully plan your trip into the new territory.

Of course, short-term success employing marketing automation and integrating it into your marketing regimen is not enough. You need a plan for long-term success in the ever-changing marketplace. That, of course, means being ready, willing and able to stay ahead of the curve and constantly building an organization dedicated to change and improvement.

Recently, I have been reading a lot of articles about the “new agency.” The term is being used to describe a niche organization that offers expertise in one specific area. These agencies have their place and can provide valuable services in particular circumstances. In fact, I partner with many of these agencies. But it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that, for the most part and over the long term, clients need a full partner that can provide the whole range of services needed to ensure customer engagement. That means a mix of management consulting, branding, creative services, strategy and technical know-how talent. 

Throughout a career that goes back to the early 90s, I’ve learned how important it is to bring all those services together in one place. While my career has always been rooted in the fact that I’ve been a digital expert from the very beginning, I am really a hired problem solver and have designed my agency around that one simple description. While the designation itself may sound simple, making it work in real-world practice is anything but.

Over the years, I have found that—while others have tried to pigeon-hole me as simply a digital expert—my early and significant expertise in the ever-evolving digital world has been a means to an end: building a career and agency that works as a full-service problem-solver for companies seeking to boost their market engagement and success in the marketplace. I believe we are creating a new species of agency—the problem solver. It’s a chameleon-like animal that changes based on whatever a client’s new problem is. And we know that there will always be new problems brought on by changes in customer behavior and based on responses to technology advancements.

In our problem-solving agency, one moment we are researching and providing business analysis on an operational issue, while the next we are developing a strategy and an infographic to communicate findings and/or suggestions. And, then in the next nanosecond we may be exploring an organization’s customer base and developing engagement plans, a creative look and feel, and even the tone and voice that should be used in brand messaging to elicit the best response. At this very moment, I can point to many different projects at my agency and say that we are working on just as many creative engagement campaigns as we are helping organizations think through how to internally organize their operations and internal talent to be better marketers, salespeople or engagement experts.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the REAL “new agency” is one that is forever adaptable, tapping into specialized talent when needed, and offering a full array of “on the ground” and “30,000 foot visions” to service clients based on their changing and developing new needs because of enhancements in technology.

From: Tina Miletich, Principal, HEED© Group

If you’re a science fiction buff you knew the day would come when the line between digital and human intelligence—existence, really—was so thin as to be virtually non-existent. And, as an SF devotee, you also know that there are two possible views of the impact of this disappearing barrier.

My feet are planted firmly in the second, positive view. My years working in digital/interactive media have made me a human/technology optimist. I’ve seen the myriad ways digital technology has improved our lives, from providing real-time access to news and information, to opening whole new worlds of entertainment, to helping product designers build and market exactly the products their customers need. And I believe we have yet to scratch the surface of the potential of the digital/human intelligence connection.

In fact, I believe that the relationship between humans and digital is true symbiosis. (Merriam Webster’s definition for symbiosis is: “The mutually beneficial living together in more or less intimate association or close union of two dissimilar organisms.”) As humans have evolved and sought to solve increasingly complex problems facing humankind, digital evolution has kept pace. For example, medical researchers work hand-in-hand with their digital partners to solve intricate medical puzzles and help people struggling with medical issues lead full lives. The human/digital partnership truly helps human be more human. As time goes on, I believe human and digital will evolve together, each driving the other into new territory. By understanding and participating in this process, we can ensure that humankind consistently gains from this relationship.

That’s why I have established HEED© (Human Experience and Engagement via Digital), a consultancy dedicated to helping clients understand and use this digital/human symbiosis to enhance current product offerings and create products perfectly suited to the new all-digital world. We are showing clients how to take the leap and thrive in the new geography.

In Case You Had Any Doubts

The evidence of the disappearing human/digital divide is all around us. In fact, the world is virtually enmeshed in the Internet. (The term Worldwide Web seems more appropriate than ever.) According to recent research from Cisco Systems, “More things are connecting to the Internet than people — over 12.5 billion devices in 2010 alone. Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) predicts some 25 billion devices will be connected by 2015, and 50 billion by 2020.” The report goes on note just a few examples of how this Internet of Things is expanding exponentially:

• A Dutch company, Sparked, is producing wireless sensors to be used on cattle. The sensors detect signs of illness or pregnancy in the cattle and send a message to a farmer’s device.
• Medical device companies are using wireless sensors to monitor cardiac patients and send signs of abnormalities to caregivers.
• In smart homes and businesses everywhere, devices are conducting ongoing conversations with one another. Let’s say that, in a fully wired smart home, the homeowner gets an email on his smartphone that his first morning meeting has been pushed back 45 minutes, and a traffic report telling him there’s a 20-minute delay due to an accident. The phone resets his alarm for the right time, while sending messages to his coffeemaker and car to start at precisely the right moments.

And, can fully autonomous devices be far away when you consider developments like Google's newest, and soon-to-be-built fleet of self-driving cars, which will be custom-built prototypes with no steering wheels or control pedals. Test vehicles are equipped with rooftop LIDAR systems, with additional sensors located where conventional cars have side-view mirrors. But even more impressively, the vehicles will be programmed to make “decisions” about how to best safeguard their passengers.

Bottom line: Digital devices have begun to reason in a very human way. The next step in evolution for digital is development of an even more human trait: self-awareness. Clearly, development of this trait will dictate a more equal and deepening relationship between the two parties. More than ever, it is clear that our fates are firmly welded together.

The Only Remaining Question for Businesses

The question is no longer whether businesses should become citizens in the new hybrid world, but when they take the leap. And the answer to that is A.S.A.P. No matter what business you’re in, you can be sure your competitors are seeking the best routes into the new territory. With the proper guidance, any businessperson can learn how to make digital intelligence an ally in creating the perfect products and services for the human/digital world.