From CRM to CMR: How to make things work in the era of the connected customer

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The idea that brands can decide how and when to engage their customers – on their terms and according to their rules – is out of date. Attempts to tell customers what to think or how to buy now receive short shrift from today’s savvy shoppers. As we enter the era of Consumer Managed Relationships, power has swung firmly back in favour of the customer.

The shift from CRM to CMR represents a sea-change in the dynamic between brands and...

7 February 2017 | CRM

Customer management in 2017: How better data could make us more human

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For several years there’s been a lot of chat in the marketing world about how technology has brought us to the age of the ‘empowered customer’.  A quick Google search for the phrase shows that some observers were making claims for this label to apply to the year 2014, only then to append the same to 2015 and then again to 2016. As we stand on the eve of yet another new year, I think we can work a little smarter in our predictions for...

16 January 2017 | CRM

Getting data management right: Using data to understand your customer base

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Fragmentation – it’s one of digital marketing’s biggest hurdles. As defining customers becomes increasingly difficult, brands across the UK are looking to understand and segment their audiences recognising that it is essential for brands.

With so many channels available for businesses to speak to their audience, there is more data available on customers than ever before. But where do businesses begin when it comes to breaking down all of...

11 January 2017 | CRM

It’s time to stop thinking like a salesperson – and start thinking like a marketer

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The sales cycle has completely changed over the past decade - and you may not have even realised.

What do I mean? Consider how you might buy a television. 10 years ago, if you wanted a new TV, most of us would walk into a Best Buy and ask the salesperson what the options were, and what were the pros and cons of each different make and model. Nowadays, if you were to make the same purchase, before you even go to the store you’ve read third-party...

9 January 2017 | CRM

Why bad data always makes for bad decisions

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We live in an increasingly digitised world where more and more of our day-to-day interactions occur via mobile app or online.  Every interaction in this digital world leaves a data footprint, with each footprint forming just one of the myriad parts of our digital identities. In an ideal world, this ‘identity data’ would allow businesses to gain real and valuable insights into their...

28 September 2016 | Big Data

Why you need to swap channel-first for consumer-first thinking

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In the ever-changing world of marketing, barely a week goes by without a new way of reaching and engaging with consumers emerging.

From the rise of new technologies, such as augmented reality (Pokemon Go, anyone?) to new channel features, for example Instagram Stories, marketers face a plethora of new channels to explore. Finding a channel is no longer a problem, knowing what to focus on and why, is more challenging.

Marketing departments across...

19 September 2016 | CRM

How to engineer a customer acquisition strategy

Facebook announced recently that companies can now send consumers automated chatbot promotions through its Messenger app within 24 hours of a customer-initiated interaction.

The ads are only sent to people who’ve already voluntarily started a conversation with a business, but the potential is huge because of Messenger’s 900 million users and its widespread links with advertisers.

Businesses are naturally drawn to where the biggest number of customers are,...

15 September 2016 | CRM

Is it possible to reactivate a dead lead?

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With so much focus on ROI in the modern business environment, it’s understandable that marketers want to maximise conversion rates from every campaign.

Efforts to personalise communication journeys and effectively nurture prospects through the funnel have never been so great. So, it’s pretty disheartening when the time comes to face the cold hard fact that a promising lead has gone dead.

But can that lead be resuscitated? Is there a best...

24 August 2016 | CRM

The importance of omnichannel marketing in bridging the isthmus

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The brand and the consumer sit on either side of the 'isthmus of marketing'. This separation between the two can seem like a wide barrier or a narrow, slim, space.

It keeps the brand from reaching the consumer and the consumer from reaching the brand, and keeps them both from joining forces and both benefiting from the convergence of their needs and desires.

Brands need to build a marketing canal across the 'isthmus' to allow consumers to select the...

22 August 2016 | Content Marketing

How to use customer loyalty to improve CRM

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Fred Reicheld, who invented the net promoter score (NPS), describes it as “the one number you need to grow.” He’s not entirely wrong.

NPS can provide you with a window into your key relationships and a clear idea of how happy your customers are.  

But the process of building relationships, cultivating loyalty, and turning buyers into true promoters is multi-faceted. So, to get the most out of NPS, you need consider how it...

18 August 2016 | CRM