Author: David Dinh

For over 10 years David has helped drive hundreds of thousands of customers to businesses and understands what it takes to manage the chaos and headache of customers across different departments, systems and platforms. From roles in product development, product management, working in enterprises and advising for businesses going to sale and exit, David’s DNA is understanding the customer. David currently serves as Chief Operating Officer and Growth at Woveon, ensuring teams can scale and respond back to all their customers.

Digital Transformation Trends 2017

Posted on by David Dinh

In previous years, we observed a lot of disruptive trends, both globally and locally. One of these was the outburst of start-ups that continued pitching all aspects of technology to private and public enterprises. These pitches ranged from the platforms of digital technology to machine learning, especially Artificial intelligence. In the context of enterprises, there is a significant shift of attention as the traditional business managements are engaging with recent trends of transformation strategies along with emerging service and tech players, that immensely helps in delivering that transformation, actively.

Digital transformation is basically the application of innovative digital technologies to impact, all aspects of society and business fundamentally.

For Australian tech start ups, this is undoubtedly a golden opportunity, especially if they are ready to handle the solutions at the enterprise-scale. So what is really driving this huge shift? In our experience, engaging with digital transformation such as the emerging cloud technology, is at the heart of this. While these shifts in the management approach and digital technology are transforming the activities of many businesses and organisations across Australia, the economy of these business are more focused on shifting the ‘cost saving’ approach with a more ‘revenue generating’ one, as a quick win.

During 2017, the investment in terms of innovation is becoming more routine – something that is more than just the mere status of being a part of the world of digital transformation.

“This is the year we’ll see Chief Customer Officers become commonplace.” Philip Otley, Partner, the Experience Centre, Sydney

The emerging trends of digital transformation in 2017While, for management in 2017, it will become imperative to raise the proficiency of their employees to cope up with the diversity of digital information, they need to be trained on the ethical implications of these digital technologies, which are now fuelling the business expansion, in Australia. If your enterprise hasn’t dug deeper into innovation of digital technology, it might lose its existence.

In 2017, we see three fundamental trends of digital technology that are emerging in the Australian market and globally, in the years ahead:

The Integration of New Reality for Enterprises – Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are now shifting from the consumer and gaming domain to the organisational level at a rapid rate. The leading enterprises are embracing these technologies in developing processes and improving collaborations, enabling better engagement of their employees, with the customer base.

To be prepared to manage the future workforce, in 2017, enterprises are incorporating and experimenting more with virtual, mixed and augmented reality technology. For instance, AR allows people to make use of virtual guidance or step-by-step assistance, let’s say, in installing or repairing an equipment, to successfully complete the job through limiting risks and maximising productivity. Look at the changes occurring with augmented reality in healthcare, education, retail, finance and marketing. The future of digital innovation lies in the augmentation of the human experience In 2017, we have started seeing organisations leveraging on the digital world in order to drive fundamental change in their user experiences. As both employees and customers are increasingly becoming digital savvy, management needs to reconsider conventional design thinking, to maintain and establish a competitive advantage.

Design Thinking

human-experience-design-thinking

Design thinking first visualises the end experience, then synthesise processes, people, and technology to achieve the vision, together.

In the world of developing digital transformation, tapping and typing are no longer de facto interactions. Instead there will be more covering gestures, immersive experiences, haptics, gaze, voice and so on, and a seamless and smooth engagement between machines and users.

“A shortage of digital talent in the market will see organizations attempt to digitize their existing employees.”

Berry Driessen, Director, the Experience Centre, Melbourne

Furthermore, with more embracing of design thinking by organisations in Australia and globally, the digital humanist role will gain more prominence. Demonstrating creativity, empathy, agile and collaborative approach, more employee expectations and an ethical customer will be advocated, in digital innovation, by the digital humanist.

These advocacies will subsequently, span design and user experience, but along with new technology innovation ethics.

Cloud-based Workspace is at the base of Digital Transformation

The most fundamental aspect of digital transformation is nonetheless cloud. While this equally holds true for management in workspaces, even personal work is drastically shifting to the cloud, giving you all round accessibility anywhere and anytime via a browser. Eventually, there will be no more rigidly located workspaces or digital interaction.

No matter what working aspects, location, and devices you use, digital transformation in the form of the cloud have taken over the digital world. The Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Data bricks and IBM clouds offer APIs which give the analyst a lot of control.

As such, digital transformation is the pathway to fulfilling the Science Agenda and National Innovation; Australia’s structured strategy to raise the competitiveness in the world’s economy.

7 Sales Strategy Templates You Wish You Had Earlier!

Posted on by David Dinh

Sales. The single stat that so many companies strive to maximize. The one thing that gets nearly 6.5 million people up in the morning and keeps them up at night. Probably the main reason that you yourself are reading this sales strategy template blog right now.

Identify who you can upsell to, faster and easier. Request a FREE demo today!

Yet without an effective sales strategy, how can you expect to maximize your sales? The one and only Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

Here are 7 Sales Strategy Templates you Need to Start Using NOW!

If those harsh words, “failing to prepare and preparing to fail,” scare you, not to worry! We definitely haven’t failed to prepare this for you:

1. HubSpot CRM

hubspot sales strategy

Price: free version, upgrades available

  • HubSpot has 21K+ customers across 90+ countries and 3.4K+ agency partners. It has been recognized as a Leader in G2 Crowd’s Spring 2017 Grid for Marketing Automation and the Best CRM in CMS Critic Awards.

WHAT WE THINK

Pros

  • Includes an extensive guide, tips, examples, and case studies.
  • The Sales Strategy Template section provides some explanations and headings that describe what areas to consider.

Cons

  • Doesn’t actually include any templates but tries to get you to sign up for the HubSpot CRM (which has a free version!)
  • The explanations under each heading are quite good, but they would be even better if paired with samples of what you could write.

2. A Sales Guy

Price: free

a sales guy consulting

3. Four Quadrant Sales Strategy Template

Price: $199

four quadrant sales strategy

  • Not only does it give a sales strategy template, but also includes a blog with tips and instructions.
  • Fortune 1000 startups and companies have tested and validated this template.
  • Peter J. Buscemi, the author of the blog, is the Founder, Technology Marketing Executive, VP of Marketing, VP of Field Marketing, and VP of Market Development at Four Quadrant. He is also an advisor for startups, consultant for c-level executives, and Adjunct Professor in the Executive MBA Program at the University of San Francisco. He possesses 25 years of entrepreneurial experience and classical training at Fortune 500 companies (Apple, Oracle, HP) and startups and has helped technological innovations generate millions in revenue. He has worked in influencer and analyst relations, go-to-market strategy and execution, sales and marketing leadership, customer acquisition and retention, product development, and brand positioning and identity.
  • Four Quadrant offers marketing resources and advice for go to market plans.

4. Close.io

Price: free

close.io sales CRM

  • Includes a blog on “25 proven sales strategies from top entrepreneurs and startups.”
  • Ryan Robinson is a Content Marketing Consultant to leading startups and experts across the globe. He has worked at Forbes, LinkedIn, and Entrepreneur.
  • Close.io provides an inside sales CRM catered to small and medium-sized businesses and startups.

5. Smartsheet

Price: free

smartsheet

  • Offers a customizable sales forecast template, funnel template, sales tracker and report templates, sales email templates, etc.
  • Smartsheet provides a software as a service (SaaS) platform for automating and organizing collaborative work. It is used by 65,000 brands and millions of information workers and has received awards from Forbes, Microsoft Office, G Suite, Geekwire, and DocuSign.

6. Office Timeline

Price: free

office timeline sales plan template

7. Tidy Form

Price: free

tide form sales plan template

  • TidyForm.com comprises of software engineers, web developers, and editors who select and organize templates, samples, and forms in the fields of business, personal finance, law, tax, and more.
  • Tidy Form’s business templates are recommended by Small Business Trends, an online publication that has won awards for providing resources, suggestions, and news for entrepreneurs, small business proprietors, and other stakeholders. It consists of hundreds of experts who contribute to its services.

Got the templates but still stuck on how to start? Check out this blog on 9 Tips For Developing Your 2017 Sales And Marketing Strategy.

Now that you have a robust sales strategy, start selling! And sign up for Woveon to maximize your sales!

CTA marketing strategy template

Achievable but Useless Marketing Metrics you Should Avoid

Posted on by David Dinh

From several hundred marketing experiments and campaigns we’ve come to appreciate that having a focus on the easy metrics do not have much of an impact on the business, if any at all. They tend to be merely numbers that don’t really amount to much more than giving us a false sense of our business’s success; their only purpose is to make us feel better about ourselves.

The importance of a key metric is determined by the insight we gain about the customer which would in turn allow us to drive towards a desired behavior. How is the customer’s relationship with your business? How can customer service be improved? Why does a customer click on a certain page but bounce off another? What tangible benefits can your business derive from a particular metric?

Learn efficient customer management today using conversational technology. Request a demo now.

If these questions and more are not answered by the customer metric, then it is probably useless to your business and a waste of both time and money. They are also known as vanity metrics – they make us feel good about ourselves. The importance of a customer metric depends upon the type of industry. Some metrics are only useful if they are combined with supplementary metrics, which will then provide more thorough information; number two on our list of useless metrics is a glaring example of this. Firms fail to see the bigger picture and tend to lose themselves in the grandeur of success shown off by a single piece of metric.

See also:Top Successful Lead Generation Strategies

Disclaimer: Below are the customer key metrics commonly used by marketing teams when they launch out a campaign however if used alone are useless. I’ve provided some examples how to combine them to a marketing outcome.

Useless Marketing Metrics You Shouldn’t Measure Your Business with

1. The Traffic Generated

Imagine one of your videos got a million views while the rest of them still linger around the humble 1000 views range, does it justify you to boast about those million views? Of those millions of viewers how many are actually using an adblock service to blot out ads from appearing on your video? Consider a service which functions only within a specific geographical area; the service seems to be generating a hundred thousand views from locations scattered around the world. This high traffic count really doesn’t amount to anything profound at all since most of these visitors are not serviceable by the business. There is no online or offline business to be gained. Examples of such geocentric entities could be the police or fire department’s website. When used correctly however, consider the traffic generated as part of a lead generation campaign, and then understanding how much of the traffic you can convert into customers.

2. Gaining New Customers – not really a Useful Metric

Most sales teams feel pretty good about themselves when they gain a thousand new customers. They boast about it on social media networks, to peers and to their boss. What they don’t allow to sink in is the other end of the spectrum – you’re also losing previous customers. When you understand that gaining new customers should not be the goal but part of the means to achieve something, think about gaining new customers and understanding how many you can capture in any of your campaigns such as email newsletter capture or downloads of your eBook.

3. Your AdWords Budget

Don’t rely on just AdWords to get the customers to your business. Your algorithmic search rankings will not gain any boosts just because you spent a higher amount on AdWords. Instead creating original and interesting content which attracts links and readers to your website will help you more. Your organic rankings will only boost if people actually like your content.

4. Ad Impressions

This metric determines the number of times an ad is placed on a webpage. It doesn’t matter whether the user actually saw the ad or no. It doesn’t matter if your ad got placed on a million different websites. If you don’t know whether the audience saw it, you really can’t derive much insight out of it, can you? Its parable is that of a newspaper which is being circulated around a hundred thousand people. You know your ad is contained within every single one of these copies, but you can’t really tell if the ads are being viewed at all, or whether the page containing the ad is being browsed through. This metric died a long time ago.

5. Social Media following doesn’t amount to much

One of the most commonly cited reasons why Facebook likes are a preferred metric of choice is the gargantuan levels of reach the social media giant has acquired over the years. Today Facebook has 2 billion monthly users, but this really doesn’t help your business take off at all. Most of the ‘likes’ that social media sites like Facebook receive are just superfluous in nature – it’s like adding a fifth wheel to a car – there is no difference. The likes don’t really translate to the viewer actually clicking on any ads. Most users don’t even bother with the content of the page they ‘like’. Use the likes to gain and understand your audience – what are they interested in, break it down into demographics and start segmenting your audience. And then use this information to implement strategies from examples such as Social Media Examiner.

6. Page Ranking

Another metric for businesses that aim at gauging the quality of their content, page ranking is primarily used by link brokers and buyers. Google assigns page ranks to websites based on the number and quality of links that they contain. Fact though is that your business’s page rankings can be zero yet they will still rake in hundreds of unique visitors on a daily basis. Page ranking is so useless that Google removed it from their webmaster tools in order to make a point to SEO ‘experts’ that just didn’t get the message. Instead focus on linking your website and content with quality websites.

7 Online Marketing Strategies to Maximize Website Visits

Posted on by David Dinh

Having trouble getting people to your website? Want to know some ideas on how to expand your online reach? Many small businesses are trying to maximize their website visits but don’t know where to get started. 

Here are the Online Marketing Strategies to Maximize Website Traffic

We will be taking you through 7 online marketing strategies that can increase your website visits every month!

1. Advertising

The first of the online marketing strategies is advertising. Your business should be advertising to increase traffic, but you should ask yourself whether you’re doing so in the right way. There is no need to pay large sums of money for TV ads or giant billboards anymore. Companies can simply go online to start their advertising. Companies that are just starting to advertise should look into social media, Google ads, and Bing ads. These are all inexpensive online marketing strategies and have the ability to reach huge audiences. It is also more targeted, meaning your advertisements can be directed at people who have searched up particular search terms or phrases. This way, you can promote your product to people who are more interested in your product.

2. Social Media

Another way to increase website traffic is through social media. Your company can easily set up a Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram page to reach more clients. When it comes to social media, there are definitely some strategies that can be looked at. One big part of online advertising is timing. I work for a startup called Woveon. This company is based in the United States but also has a branch in Australia. When pushing out blogs to social media we try to target times that generate the most activity. Sometimes we push the same blog out multiple times so that we can get both prime times in the US and Australia. Social media advertising is also so easy because companies such as Hubspot can help control your marketing campaign by timing your posts and picking high traffic times. Overall, social media is a great way to advertise because it is cheap and efficient.

If you are already bringing in lots of traffic every month, check out our Top 5 Secrets to Excellent Customer Service, 5 Customer Analytics You Should be Measuring or Request for a FREE Conversational Technology demo today!

3. Content Marketing

Now that you have social media mastered, you are going to need something to post! Content marketing is the process of creating content to send out in the form of blogs, PDFs, infographics to get more traffic to your website. In order to get the most traffic possible, use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to rise up in Google’s standings. Another thing about content marketing is that it doesn’t always have to be about your company. People are interested in much more than just your company, so produce a broad array of information to capture the most attention possible. Lastly, a small but important part about content marketing is reaching out to similar bloggers and linking them. This helps both of you increase traffic, especially if the articles are on similar topics. Content marketing is often overlooked when small businesses are trying to reach new customers, but it is extremely cost efficient and easy to do.

4. Site Load Time Improvement for SEO

cmo-digital marketing-internet marketing-Loading Symbol

If you are still waiting to see what picture is going to pop up above, you now understand the problem with slow site time load. 57% of web users wait for 3 seconds or less to pick a website when searching for information. When searching on Google, the websites that load the fastest often come up as one of the first links. One way to increase speed is to have a base SSD near your largest traffic areas. You can also increase website speed by simply decreasing the number of graphics. These small adjustments can move you up the order on Google, which, in turn, gets more traffic to your website.

5. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

cmo-digital marketing-internet marketing-Google SEO

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the process of making sure your website or blog shows up first on the list when using search engines. A big part of SEO is keyword searches. These are the words that are most commonly searched and will most likely move your article to the top of the list. For example, if you are writing a blog on how to increase traffic to your website, use “online marketing” as a keyword. On the other hand, don’t overuse keywords. Google punishes websites that don’t seem natural and doesn’t allow them to rise up in ranks. Lastly, when doing SEO, make sure your URLs are simple and short. URLs that have lots of random numbers, letters, and symbols are often thought to be spam. So next time you are creating a blog or page, remember how SEO can help you.

6. Meta Tag Optimization

cmo-digital marketing-internet marketing-meta tag

Meta descriptions are 160-character descriptions that summarize the page’s content. The meta description is important for on-page SEO because if the searched phrase contains the meta description, it will boost your SEO. It is also important to have a call-to-action, such as “learn more,” or “read on.” SEO and meta descriptions go hand in hand when driving more traffic to your website.

7. Internal Linking

cmo-digital marketing-online marketing strategies-internal linking -

The last of the online marketing strategies is simply to internal link within your online content pieces. The key to internal linking is to have lots of content. If you are able to create lots of content, linking your articles that are on the same topic can boost your website’s standing. However, linking everything back to the home page, or even the contact page can decrease the page’s standing as a whole. Mix between similar content for the best overall strategy. Google suggests to find a balance so that your links aren’t excessive.

Online Marketing Strategies

Although this is nowhere near an exhaustive list of options to boost website traffic, it is a solid start. Online marketing strategies ranges from social media to simply improving SEO. Most of these will only require tiny adjustments that will make a big difference overtime. If you would like to learn more about gaining customers, take a look at 5 Ways Companies Have Used VR In Marketing or 7 Sales Strategy Templetes You Wish You Had Earlier!

CTA marketing strategy template

Google’s Algorithm For Dummies

Posted on by David Dinh

Google is without a shadow of a doubt, the biggest search engine on the internet. It is like the vast outback; unmatched in its scope and reach, and aside from a few secluded spots, is all-encompassing, when it comes to things you can search for. It is immensely widespread, and has features which ease your time on the internet to a significant degree. At the centre of all that is the algorithms, which, since their inception, have been updated a number of times. These algorithms are what drives Google marketing and generates billions in revenue.

Understanding Google Algorithms for Beginners

Frequency of Google’s Algorithm Updates

In the past, the internet giant would come out with an update and see how well it worked, before beginning production on another update. This is not the case nowadays, especially not since the repertoire has expanded past being just a search engine. Producing a number of updates and introducing them in real time, sometimes even multiple times in a day, has now become normal for Google. This frequency of updates, which is not really noticeable to the general public who are searching for things on the eponymous search engine, is sometimes a mystery to those who have posted their content online.

Google’s latest updates keep track of which websites and which content is the best (keeping in line with their regulations). This helps content creators, Google marketing experts and uploaders who have specifically crafted their websites and the content within to rank well on the search listings. This also helps Google itself, since these sites often generate the most revenue in terms of ads, which adds to the bonus of them ranking in the top echelons. This is why also the updates made are so frequently, since there is an immense amount of data being uploaded on cyberspace, which makes it necessary for there to be an update.

How does Google Search Actually Work?

how-google-ranks-your-business-works

It is surprising how many times during the day people use Google search, and yet so few know how the search system actually works, and most importantly, how do some websites rank above the others, and how some content pops up instantly in the search bar. Following is a concise explanation.

Google has an index of websites within it, which it accesses in order to answer the specific query typed in by the user. This is done by a number of spiders systems that accesses a certain number of web pages, and then follows the links. This is done instead of accessing an enormous amount of data at once, which would slow down the progress considerably. Since the network of websites in the index grows every day, the need to manage all that data gave birth to a new update every so often.

Google Search Algorithms

Finally, we come to the meat of the matter; the algorithms which make all of the aforementioned possible. Google does not reveal much information about their algorithms, which makes it difficult to explain in full exactly how they manoeuvre around the data. Therefore, Google marketing cannot be truly taken advantage of either.

However, this much is known that they search for certain keywords and phrases, which are in high demand, when it comes to actual searches. They also factor in the placement of said keywords in a content piece. The number of keywords, as well as their placement, and an entire Search Engine Optimization song and dance, makes for higher rankings.

Types of Searches which the Algorithms Differentiate BetweenFollowing are some types of searches which the algorithms produce results for.

Informational Searches

This is fairly straightforward, as this type of search is for a source of information. Wikipedia always ranks number one in informational searches, being the biggest treasure trove of knowledge in the world.

Navigational Searches

This is for when you know the name of the website or brand, but not the full web address. Google then brings out all the relevant websites which have that name, allowing you to click on the one which is right.

Local Searches

This is when you look for a certain piece of information pertaining to a certain place or location. For example, searching for ‘cafes in Brisbane’ would be a local search type, as it is searching for something within a given locality, or within bounds of that locality.

Transactional Searches

This is for when you are looking for something specific, most often a product, and the search results display the product itself in a lineup, along with the price of said product. This information is often sourced from a website which incidentally ranks at the top of the rankings, and which also offers this product for sale. This is to make searching for a product easier, and also makes Google marketing such a beneficial venture.

Google, as a company and internet phenomenon, has been constantly evolving, and the progress in search will continue to set itself as a search technology giant for decades to come.

Am I Targeting The Right Audience?

Posted on by David Dinh

When you’re working online, targeting the right audience is your main concern as it goes hand in hand with your success. A business that is unable to reach its target audience doesn’t just experience lower visibility on the internet, it also has to face failing or lagging sales and a waste of resources since it is unable to utilise them effectively.

Request for FREE Conversation Software demo today and maximize your chances of getting to customers you want.

For this reason, being aware of the target market is necessary to ensure that you’re optimising everything according to it. However, due to the vast nature of the internet, you cannot always guarantee that you’re reaching the right target audience. On the other hand, if you’re spending more time questioning whether or not you have successfully managed to reach the right audience, you might want to consider providing predictive customer services. To make things easier for you, let’s take a closer look at the points which identify the who, what, where and why in this scenario.

Who is your Target Audience?

Before you start out, you need to know who your target audience is. Consider this aspect much like you would when you’re building a physical, retail outlet. While you might be thinking that your products are meant for tech savvy individuals, elaborate on it further. Consider the age group of this target market. Take the location into consideration.

Gender and income level also make an impact here. By taking the time to define your target market properly, you’re going to improve your chances of reaching out to them. Keep in mind that niche target markets are just as challenging to reach out to as broad target markets, even with predictive customer services. It might take you some time to find your balance here but it is not impossible.

What Do You Want?

Here, you need to assess what your business’ aims are and the reason behind your need for better target marketing.

  • Do you want to find out if you’re meeting their needs?
  • Do you want to expand your offerings?
  • Do you want to maximise sales?
  • Do you want better growth?
  • Do you want to tap into a new market?
  • Do you want better exposure?

Whatever your reasoning is, you need to make sure that it aligns with the wants and needs of your target market. For example: If you’re a start-up, you’re going to want better exposure and growth as well as better sales. Resources are also limited in such scenarios. For this purpose, identifying your target market can ensure that not only are your resources properly utilised, but that your marketing is also on point, which results in more sales. Making use of predictive customer services also becomes easier as the target audience and your goals align.

Where is Your Target Audience?

If the crowd doesn’t come to you, you might have to go to the crowd. However, the Internet has made it easier for businesses to function on an almost global level. Nonetheless, for many businesses, this can be a defining feature for their services.

For example: Amazon considered that its target market was everywhere in the US so when it launched as an online marketplace, it provided shipping and more on a national scale. Eventually, using predictive customer support, Amazon understood the potential to tap into other markets and expand the business along with the services. This is why we now have Amazon Prime, Amazon Kindle, Amazon Fresh, Amazon Go and more.

Another example of going where the crowd is, includes Snap Chat. They knew their target market and they knew they were everywhere. With the launch of a simple app, they became accessible to millions of users, ranging in age and spread out across the globe.

Why Predictive Customer Support?

One of the biggest ways through which you can identify your target market and its growth is with the help of predictive customer support. Your target market will grow with your business and their needs and wants will change over time. In order to provide them with the right services and ensure proper growth, you will need to make use of predictive customer services. Businesses that don’t meet the wants and needs of their clientele cannot remain at the top of the game if their marketplace changes.

For example: Take a look at the history of Kodak. The first commercial camera and picture company, Kodak had global success with an extremely wide target market. However, when technology started expanding from print to digital, Kodak didn’t take it seriously. All data showcased that the time to go digital was approaching and as more and more consumers begin opting for digital cameras, Kodak’s target market started to shrink.

Eventually, by the time that Kodak had to close its doors, the target market it had previously catered to, no longer existed. Digital cameras were everywhere and film photography was virtually obsolete.

B2B Marketing Campaign – Red Flags

Posted on by David Dinh

So B2B marketing campaigns aren’t working? There are times when you bring in a founder or someone with decades of experience to help with B2B campaigns you need to launch ASAP. When someone comes in which has a pivotal role to shape the future and growth of the business, you need to ensure communication and transparency of all B2B campaigns. The problems are compounded when you’re in a business partnership, because both partners need to be on the same page to make it work. The only way you are going to see progress and success in a partnership is through communication. This is why both partners need to communicate about everything for the sake of their B2B campaign.

Failure to do so, can result in catastrophic failures such as failing to get traffic, and not managing to convert leads into sales. There are lots of things that go into a B2B campaign, and if you and your business partner don’t communicate about it, there are going to be problems that need to be dealt with down the line. Don’t think you will have to deal with such problems? Think again!

Research states that 61% of marketers believe that they have an effective marketing strategy for their B2B campaigns!

See also: 6 Questions You Should Ask Before Executing Your B2B Campaign

The only way you can make your business partnership successful is through teamwork and effective communication, which should solve all your problems. So, if you’re looking to ensure that your business partnership thrives, along with your B2B campaign.

Here are 10 things your business partner should tell you but probably doesn’t about your B2B campaigns

1. You’re not solving the customer’s problem

marketing-red-flags-customer-problems

To ensure success for your marketing campaign, you need to try to solve your customer’s problems, and you can only do that if you understand your target market. Your business partner may be unaware of this, which is why he hasn’t shared this piece of information with you. The key area you need to address is pinpointing a precise problem that customers in your market face, and then resolving it through your products or services. Read this interesting customer service story here: https://www.livechatinc.com/blog/customer-service-problem-solving/

2. Your team is inexperienced

You shouldn’t rely on your business partner to know that you have an inexperienced team working on your B2B project. He may be trying to cut down on costs, but it is one of the reasons why your B2B campaign isn’t firing on all cylinders. Inexperienced marketers can make some very big mistakes, which can fail entire brands, which is why it is too big of a risk to put faith in novice marketers for B2B campaigns. Read this list for finding the ideal growth business partner https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/254751

3. No skills for B2B campaigns

Your business partner may not have revealed that he doesn’t have the skills required to work with a B2B campaign. You need to understand that a thriving B2B campaign requires strong SEO, robust analytics, experienced marketers, and skills to work in data-driven campaigns. There have been many campaigns that have failed in the past due to the lack of skill of one partner in working with B2B endeavors. Still unsure? Here are the top 8 skills for a B2B marketer http://www.business2community.com/b2b-marketing/8-must-skills-modern-b2b-marketer-01642360

4. You have a generic subject

If you truly want your customers to value your product, you need to ensure that your subject is eye-catching and stands out from the rest. Your target audience is no stranger to marketing emails, which is why they won’t bat an eye for yours. Unless you do something out of the ordinary that grabs their attention, you’ll be another fly on the wall.

Studies have shown that personalizing your emails boosts open rates by nearly 20%

5. The preview text is boring

You should probably know this, but your business partner may not have been highlighting the importance of the preview text in your marketing emails. If you want your audience to open your emails, your preview text needs to be entertaining and something that the customer wants to read or know about. Make it concise and attractive to really entice the audience. An experience growth hacker knows the difference of 1% or 20% open rates lies in an engaging and attractive preview text. There is a whole science about it here: https://blog.ometria.com/email-preheader-best-practices

6. You’re not using different forms of engaging content

Your business partner should really be informing you about the importance of using different forms of engaging content. This means embedding videos in your emails to increase click-through rates, and having more people read your emails. It is vital that your emails attract your audience enough to lead them to your website, which is how you generate leads and convert them.

7. You need to standout from everyone

Your business partner should have told you about why you need to standout from everyone else in the eyes of your target audience if you want to influence them. It is important that you not only attract customers, but also have something unique and different about your brand. This not only makes you more recognizable, but also increases your chances of lead generation.

8. Your team isn’t measuring efforts

measure marketing efforts

To ensure success in any B2B campaign, you need to measure your efforts with data metrics. Failing to do so is not going to do you any favors, and this is something that your business partner should have told you when you started working. If you don’t have the analytics, you won’t be able to make sense of what is working and what is failing. There are seven ways to measure B2B campaigns here: https://www.pardot.com/marketing-metrics/7-ways-measure-b2b-campaign-performance/

9. Sub-brands aren’t effective

Most businesses involved in B2B campaigns make the mistake of overcompensating and offering options for sub-brands. This backfires on them, as they fail to generate any interest in the market and this is something your business partner should have told you about.

10. B2B buyers are demanding

Your business partner should have made this the first point when you entered a partnership together for B2B campaigns. You need to treat B2B buyers differently than your regular target audience, since they are more demanding, in every sense.

CTA marketing strategy template

Lessons CIOs Can Learn from Great Transformation Projects

Posted on by David Dinh

Are you part of a group of senior managers who think that the competitiveness of their organisation will be compromised if they adopt digitalisation? The CIO is the Chief Information Officer in an organisation and is a crucial part of management since (s)he oversees handling all the information of the company. It’s imperative that this person be open to learning because most businesses today are facing problems in their day-to-day business operations because they are hesitant to adopt digital trends.

They don’t see digital transformation as something that is revolutionary, which is the wrong attitude to have because it is well know that digital transformation can take businesses to the next level. However, to ensure success for the business, digital transformation projects need to be handled properly and that is why the role of the CIO is so important. Let’s learn more about the role of the CIO in driving digital transformation to give you a better idea.

The role the CIO plays in Digital Transformation

digital-transformation-platforms

As the person in charge of handling all the important operations of the business, it is your duty to ensure that the organisation is adopting the best technology. You will be the person who must take charge of handling the digital distribution within the business, and this is where adopting digital technology can help you out. As the person in charge of handling and distributing information, you need to ensure that you are delivering accurate and timely information to all the decision makers in the organisation.

This means that you will need to look at the existing infrastructure in place in your organisation and take charge of the day-to-day business practices that take place in the organisation. If you don’t go ahead with digital transformation, you will be relying on the skills of the team around you, and that is prone to errors. All CIOs must make informed decisions, which is why we are going to be sharing the lessons CIOs can learn from great transformation projects.

All about Value

IT departments of businesses are now considered a necessity. It is crucial to the business, and isn’t considered as an additional cost, because technology plays such a massive role in the way businesses operate today. The value that great transformation projects will add to a business in terms of technological advancement and superiority is unmatched. See how QIC delivered value https://which-50.com/digital-transformation-improves-property-asset-values-qic/

Better security delivered

As a CIO, you need to ensure complete protection of all information related to your business, but that has become harder over time due to technological advancements falling into the wrong hands. Hackers have major corporations at their mercy, when they hack into their data centres, but on the other hand, great transformation projects ensure that security breaches are less common.

The security of your data centre shouldn’t take a back seat, and most CIOs have realised that great digital transformation projects can help protect valuable information and save the business embarrassment. Find out how security can deliver innovation in your digital transformation project: http://www.information-age.com/6-security-innovation-digital-transformation-123465842/

Digital is a Mindset

Digital transformation projects revolve around taking advantage of cutting-edge digital technologies, which means that they are more than just tools. Incorporating conventional digital technology to your business operations will take it to the next level and help your organisation become a leader in the digital world. It will give you an edge over your competition and ensure that you set trends that everyone in your industry follows.

CIOs have learnt from great transformation projects that the main stumbling block for digital transformation is the culture of the organisation. Therefore, CIOs must make efforts to incorporate digital technology, so that everyone appreciates and adopts it. If you want digital transformation to be successful, you need to focus on making it about a cultural change, and educate your employees about the benefits of this transformation.

Investing in your employees holds the key

There can be no doubt about the fact that if you want to achieve digital marketing success, you need to implement digital transformation in your organization. This is where CIOs need to take the lead and make sure that they invest in their employees to improve their IT skills. Organisations that lack in IT skills are going to be left behind because the rest of the world is adopting digitalisation, and if you want to become an IT leader in your industry, you need to find the resources and the skills.

Advancement in technology will only expand in the coming years, and the only way any business is going to achieve success in this climate is if they invest in their employees.

Talent in technology is not found easily in the industry, and CIOs know that they will be better served by investing in their own employees. This is a lesson that every CIO should adopt because it is going to pay dividends for years to come, and will ensure success for your organisation.

Employees that are trained and educated about the latest technology will be able to adapt it and lead great transformation projects. Learn how Adobe invested in its employees to achieve their digital transformation goals faster https://blogs.adobe.com/digitalmarketing/customer-experience/digital-transformation-invest-people-get-faster/

Has customer service and experience changed? What’s next for your business?

Posted on by David Dinh

Guest Blog By Cassie McInnes

That is a very good question! The answer is yes, and no. I’ll explain why.

Why the meaning of customer service and experience hasn’t changed

The description of ‘customer’, ‘service’ and ‘experience’ remains the same in the dictionary:

Customer: Someone who buys goods or services from a business or a person who has a particular quality.

Service: The action of helping or doing work for someone.

Experience: Direct observation of or participation in events as a basis of knowledge.

I like to keep service simple, because it is. (Except it is so simple, it often gets missed).

Service = kindness.

service-kindness-helping-hand

So in these simple terms, service has not changed one bit. The language of the heart is love and we know and understand love. No, I do not mean a certain kind of love, for example the way you love your mum or the way you love your partner. I’m just talking about the pure energy or effort that’s put into any interaction because it is ‘the right thing to do for someone else’. To me, this part stays the same, always.

Learn the Importance of Customer Service. Request a FREE Woveon Conversation Software demo today!

So, then, what has changed and continues to change?

Our awareness has changed. We’ve woken up. Gone are the days where you’ll hear a company say they don’t have a Customer Service Training module in their on-boarding programs. And if you are reading this and you don’t have induction training that focuses on CS/CX, then you really need to wake up. It is predicted that in a few years, the main reason for losing or gaining customers will be how they are treated. Historically, it has been price and convenience (due to the increasing population of mega corporations competing against each other). Yes, we all agree value for money is important and we all want to save our hard earned dollars. However, value does not just mean low cost, we all know the saying ‘you get what you pay for’. So, the meaning of value is changing.

Our customer satisfaction tools are smarter

No matter how much a business ‘thinks’ they know what a customer wants – the best way to know for sure and keep up with them by always listening to them.

This is usually done by methods including:

  • Customer Satisfaction Surveys (CSAT)
  • Net Promoter Score (NPS)
  • Email/ post/ text surveys
  • Real time feedback during any interaction
  • Response on social media
  • Word of mouth/ Branding

Many jobs are created for all those listed above, and businesses are not shying away from putting in to get more out.

If you are a smart business owner, your CX investments will be going into all of your departments, as happy and engaged staff will ensure your chance of happier customers.

When it comes to specific CS/CX budgets, the investment focus of your business should not just be in customer service. The focus needs to be in every division in your business. If you do this and cooperate accordingly, it will result in a positive, healthy and safe culture. Some examples of divisional teams you would want working together are: your managers working on positive leadership initiatives, reward and recognition, social activities, physical and mental health initiatives and development of staff. All of these divisions should be constantly reminded of your organisational service goal or model and the behaviours demonstrated should mirror this in every interaction.

The training for CX and CS coaching and training is evolving at a rapid rate. There is increased research and awareness abroad in marketing, behavioural science and communication skills. In general, people are struggling mentally everywhere, life is tough. One in five Australians will experience mental health issues in any given year and up to fifty four percent to do not seek help. So, people are not feeling okay generally and are craving to be treated better just to get through their day. Because of this, businesses are learning that they not only have customers to win over for business but they have responsibility humankind to help customers through service or as I like to say, kindness. For any caring and sensible manager, it makes sense to be a star in service and experience.

cassie-mcinnes-customer-service-customer-experience-expert-woveonCassie is an expert in the field of customer service and coaching and loves to develop people. As a certified trainer and facilitator, Cassie is also passionate about designing and teaching Service Training and linking it to behavioural science. In 2014, she received the award for ’emerging manager of the year’​ along with 29 other National winners for The Australian Institute of Management’s “30 under 30″​ program. She was also awarded the state award for Collaboration at The ARCBS in 2014 which Cassie attributes to her passion for teamwork. One of Cassie’s favourite quotes is: ‘We are all in this together’​.

How to Do Customer Service The Right Way

Posted on by David Dinh

Customer service is an extremely important part of a business. Your product is what catches your customers attention, and your service is what keeps them loyal. A strong company will already have great customer relationships. But a smart company will always be asking “What is good customer service?” If you are not constantly on the lookout for opportunities to improve your customer service, then your relationships will stagnate. Here are a few customer service tips for identifying ways to better serve customers.

Request a FREE Conversational Software demo and learn effective customer service.

Customer Service Done Right

1. Get Personal

Your customers want to feel like they have access to real people, not bots and FAQs. Offer more than just automated email responses, and do not let your telephone prompts or website send them down a rabbit hole. Take full advantage of social media (such as Facebook, Twitter and Yelp) and write responses when your customers post on your page. Post photos and bios on your website. This shows your customers that you are real people working on their behalf.

2. Be Available

contact us customer service

Part of the personal touch is making sure your customers can reach you. For example if your business is primarily online, meet in person occasionally with local customers and offer video calls (such as Skype) for those farther away. Work early and late when needed, especially if your customers are in different time zones. Even providing customers with your physical address helps build their trust and reminds them that your company exists off the internet as well.

3. Cater to Your Customers

Make sure you are fully meeting your customers needs. Consider assigning reps to specific customers so they can build a relationship. Offer VIP treatment for your best customers to let them know they are appreciated. What special services might your customers like? Set up focus groups, interview customers, or run a survey to get ideas.

4. Create Communities

Your customers will feel even more valued if you treat them as important members of a community. You can bring various customers together in numerous ways, including webinars, interactive websites, social media, trade shows and conventions. And don’t forget that while your customers come to these forums to learn from you, you can learn as much, if not more, from them.

5. Specials Services / VIP

Are there special discounts or services you can offer that your competitors don’t? Can you offer something special for existing customers only? Could your services be considered luxury? Offering special treatment to your customers will help them to feel taken care of, and it’s also something they might be willing to pay more for. There are so many “bait and switch” offers and promotions for new customers only– reward the customers that have been with you the longest.

6. Offer Knowledge

Building strong relationships with our customers is great, but we also get to offer and trade knowledge with them. In our trade, a customer can compare several competing copies of a book online, but they won’t get a conversation about the title’s complicated printing history. When we’re speaking with customers, we spend the majority of time talking about the merchandise itself, trends in the market, and the customer’s own collecting habits. Afterward, we negotiate a deal. A customer can even know more than you do on a particular topic! Take advantage of this opportunity to learn more.

7. Let Customers Get to Know You

customer thumbs up

If you’re running your business from an unknown (or internet-only) location, it makes you more anonymous. This is common nowadays, but adding a face or an address to your business could help assure customers that you won’t disappear overnight. You don’t have to rent office space if you don’t really need it; just be upfront about where you operate from and consider ways of contacting customers aside from email. A little personal information can go a long way, and could minimize concerns of accessibility, trust, or safety.

Customer service is an extremely important aspect of your business that is often overlooked. Following these simple steps can boost your customer’s loyalty to your company and also increase sales! I suggest you start by creating some customer service goals for your support team. Be sure to align these goals to your business goals so you’re on track! This Customer Service Goal Template will help you get started!