In the world of marketing technology, it seems like there’s no end to the tools, services, software, and platforms that all somehow play a crucial role in your business. Maybe you’re one of the many businesses that even have several platforms that tend to overlap, especially when it comes to things like search engine optimization and social media marketing.
The downside to having everything at your fingertips and a tool for every conceivable need is that because they overlap, it can get cluttered quickly. Oftentimes in our MarTech optimization audits, we find companies use several platforms to accomplish the tasks that could be done by just a few. Or they use platforms that don’t really serve their needs, but because “it has always been done this way” they tend to stay with what’s familiar and comfortable at the expense of business growth.
There are even those companies who know they need a solid MarTech stack but aren’t sure where to begin or what features are most important.
Stop. Take a deep breath. Relax. Workdom has you covered.
By implementing a proper MarTech optimization strategy, not only will your business be in a better position to scale, but you’ll be able to use the right tools for the right job without getting bogged down in the clutters of thousands upon thousands of marketing technology tools out there.
What Will a MarTech Optimization Strategy Actually Do for My Business?
You may be wondering how proper MarTech optimization can pay off. The answer to that is “in several ways”. First and foremost, it helps you improve your overall marketing efficiency. You’re able to get more done, seamlessly. Properly optimizing your MarTech stack will show you where your biggest sales are coming from, what’s driving them, and how you can squeeze even more ROI out of it.
In short, you’ll be able to put the right people and the right investment behind the efforts that are making you the most money, making MarTech Optimization a smart move that could lead to significant growth for your business.
Putting the Tech Back in MarTech
The next question that naturally follows when it comes to MarTech Optimization is what kind of technology will be optimized. In order for marketers to optimize their marketing, the right technology has to be in place to allow for things like:
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Being easy enough to use so that the whole team can get on board and get behind the technology
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Integration with existing technology so that all of the moving parts work together seamlessly as a whole
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Provide clear and noticeable benefits to the customer experience
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Allow for full-spectrum reporting and analysis of information to show where improvements can be made
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Customize the process for specific needs
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Automate certain processes to help achieve a greater ROI
And much more
That’s a tall order for any single technology to fill, which is why a MarTech stack is never truly, fully optimized.
MarTech Optimization is Not a Once-and-Done Strategy
Even though you can transform your MarTech stack into a well-oiled machine, it’s not the kind of process where you can feel content to rest on your laurels once everything is done. Just like any good marketing strategy, once the heavy lifting is done, all that’s left is to optimize and refine. New marketing tools and platforms are being developed, bought, sold, and merged all the time, and it’s entirely possible that the tool you love today might disappear tomorrow. That’s why it’s so important to have MarTech Optimization done consistently over time so that you stay on top of your marketing tasks before they end up on top of you!
Whether you need help creating a solid strategy or you need a hand with refining your stack and making sure you’re using the technology that really matters to your bottom line, Workdom can help. Our experienced advertising professionals know how to help you reach your marketing strategies while leveraging the best tools and platforms for the job. Consult with us today and let us know more about the stack you’re currently using, and we’ll help you formulate a concrete plan to optimize every stage of your marketing with the best tools for the job and the best software investments to help you get more done.
If it has been awhile since you optimized your MarTech stack, not to worry! We can work with what you have as well as help you better understand what’s available, so that you can put your full marketing efforts behind designing and launching campaigns that work, with the right tools to help you follow-up, measure and analyze them all.
New Year, New B2C Email Marketing Ideas
It’s a new year, and with that comes the excitement of revitalizing fresh new marketing ideas and initiatives with your target audience. While everyone else is hopping aboard the “new year, new you” train, your business will be reaching out to customers who are eager for change to keep on building up all that momentum you’ve been working on over the holiday season.
Don’t Give Up, Refocus!
E-commerce retailers in particular tend to see a sudden spike of activity right after the holidays and well into the new year — the precise time when you’d think the holiday rush would be over and people would be returning (grudgingly) to the workplace and the routine of life.
And while the transition from 2020 to 2021 was definitely different than in years past, that doesn’t mean you have to throw away all of those efforts you’ve been building upon over the season. Now’s the time that people are eagerly eyeing last minute deals and deep discounts on things that might not have sold over the holidays.
Not only that, but they’ll also be looking for ways to freshen up and refocus on whatever goals they have coming up. Although weight loss is always a popular one, even if you’re not in that niche, it’s worth realizing that this is also a time for renewal, which means renewed effort toward making sure your consumers have the highest quality products, impeccable service and much more.
Remind them of all the things your brand does to help them look, feel or work better, and reconnect with them in such a way that the start of the year doesn’t necessarily mark an entirely new beginning, but rather a rekindling of an already strong relationship.
Challenge the Mundane
As we mentioned, the “new year, new you” has been done to death. So what can you do to challenge that mundane, rehashed cliché and turn it on its head? Maybe your business isn’t about fresh, new and exciting, but instead the tried, true and proven? Make sure you’re able to highlight that in your messages.
Not every new year’s email has to be about what’s new, exciting and what’s next. Your brand voice should always be in charge of shaping your messages instead of banking on what your competitors are doing. What are some ways that you can buck the trend while still staying on brand?
What’s Your Resolution?
Resolutions are another one of those things that comes with the new year territory. And this is the time that many businesses not only thank their customers for a great year, but also let them know about the exciting things that’s about to come and that they should be looking forward to. As a socially-aware and involved business, this is also a great time to showcase what you’ve been working on behind the scenes. You can even delve into showing teasers as it always work to spark interest.
For example, you may be working on a new or updated product or service launch. You may have realized some things could be improved in the way you do business. You may have set some company goals of your own. Letting your customers know about these goals, as well as reinforcing your mission and philosophy, helps you stay true to your brand and your message while making sure that message resonates with your target audience.
Many businesses look at the new year as a reason to “reinvent” their brand, but if you’re happy with your voice and your approach, you don’t have to. What you can do is continue to remind customers and prospects that you’re the same company they’ve come to know, like and trust over the years, and you’ll continue to be so — building upon the credibility and authority that they’ve come to rely on you for.
So share those resolutions and give a human side to your business. It might seem like revealing a vulnerability, but it has amazing effects on the right audience. They’ll be right there along with you, championing your brand, the way that truly loyal customers do.
Need Help Getting Things Moving?
Of course, it’s one thing to share these new marketing ideas, but another thing entirely to implement them. You have to think long and hard about your brand, its perception with your target audience, how you plan to shift or introduce new products or services this year, and of course, how your goals align with all of that.
It can feel overwhelming to try and tackle it all, much less in a month. That’s why Workdom is here to help. Our senior advertising specialists have the knowledge, experience and expertise to help you hone and refine your marketing message so that it attracts the right kind of customers and helps build long lasting relationships with them. Reach out to us today for any help with your brand messaging, as well as other marketing initiatives like email marketing, social media and much more.
New Year, New Goals: Here’s Your Business Marketing Resolution
Love them or hate them, New Year’s resolutions are everywhere you look. And with so little time left until we shove 2020 out the door, the time is already here to make your business plans for January and beyond.
Oftentimes, we look back on the previous year and consider our triumphs as well as areas where we could’ve done better. We decide that this next year, we’re going to make an honest effort to improve. But what area should we focus on? Marketing encompasses so many different aspects and there’s so much involved that it can be hard to know where to start.
But there’s one thing in the midst of this tangle of overwhelm that’s as clear as day — you can’t just do nothing.
Here’s what we recommend:
Lose the Networks You Never Use
Remember Foursquare? How about StumbleUpon (now known as Mix)? Digg? As business owners, we, more than most people, are willing to experiment and test the waters on different social networks to see what resonates with our audience. But no one has time to keep up with them all.
Rather than trying to be all things to all people and spread yourself too thin, take this opportunity to really hone in on the social media and marketing channels you actively use, while cutting out the ones you don’t.
Contrary to popular belief, not everyone needs a board on Pinterest or to be streaming on Twitch. If that’s where your target audience hangs out, of course that’s the place you’ll want to be. But it’s better to be more tightly focused on the networks that you and your customers use rather than trying to be all things to all people.
Experiment with Social Media Ads
When you find an ad “formula” that works with your social media ads, you want to rinse and repeat it often. That’s understandable — who would want to change a running system? But at the same time, don’t be afraid to experiment a little too.
Zero in on what your audience really wants, rather than what you think they might want. Don’t just focus on how your product or service is better — give them an inside look, go into detail on the materials or ingredients or highlight the experts that make it great.
In other words, don’t be afraid to change things up a little to see how your ads perform. You may be surprised at what you learn as a result!
Step Outside of Your Branding Comfort Zone
Your brand has a very specific set of language associated with it. You could position yourself as witty or wise, clever or cool, elegant or eclectic. But you don’t have to stick rigidly to that set of guidelines. Keep in mind, they’re just that — guidelines. Sometimes it can be refreshing to break out of the mold just a little and take a step outside of your comfort zone.
And if you’re not exactly sure what your brand stands for (or what you want it to stand for), there’s no better time than the new year to reorient yourself on how you want your brand to be positioned and portrayed, and what you want customers to think of when they see your site and what you have to offer.
Refine Your Email Marketing Campaigns
With the holidays behind us, many people are recovering from the dreaded “email fatigue” of having so many holiday offers heaped on them. They’re just now digging out from under the onslaught, which means now is the perfect time for you to consider what types of campaigns will gently warm them back up to what you have to say and share.
This could also be a good time to tweak your email marketing design a bit — out with the old, in with the new!
Reconnect with Your Best Customers
Finally, take a moment to reconnect with your best customers. Thank them for their business, their social shares and their support. Remember, you wouldn’t be where you are without them. So here’s a heartfelt thank you from everyone at Workdom to all of our clients, past, present and future. We appreciate you!
And if this list of business marketing resolutions has you feeling like you’ll drop it like a bad habit by the second week of the month — fear not! Our senior advertising professions can help you get on the right track with your marketing and promotional plans, and can help you create high-converting campaigns that get results. Contact us today for more information!
2021 Marketing Predictions and Trends to Watch
In what has been the longest year of our lives, many business owners are understandably looking towards 2021 with a mixture of both excitement and trepidation. With so many small businesses still reeling from the effects of 2020, what might we have to look forward to in the new year?
Here’s what the experts, including those of us here at Workdom, have to share with you.
The E-Commerce Boom Will Continue
If it’s one thing we can definitively say about COVID, the silver lining on this very thick and heavy dark cloud is that e-commerce businesses are booming. Even households that never considered online shopping before are now having their groceries delivered, among other things. Amazon, Google, and Walmart, among their other competitors, are the undisputed kings of the hill here, but there’s also a massive recognition that small businesses also need, love, and lots of it.
You can expect in 2021 that the boom in e-commerce will continue, and now, more than ever, people are recognizing that the handmade and homemade way of life is disintegrating before our eyes if we don’t do something. No matter what you sell, proven conversion-boosting perks like free shipping, free gifts or other discounts when a certain value is reached are always welcomed, but this year more than ever.
Get Ready for a Cookie-less Future
Chrome, Google’s popular internet browser, will stop supporting third party cookies in 2022. Although that’s still a ways away, marketers are still debating how a lack of cookies is going to affect their advertising.
With a lack of third party cookies, consumers can no longer be tracked the “traditional” way. But that doesn’t mean that all cookies are forbidden, nor does it mean that consumers can no longer be tracked. There are, of course, many other technologies in use and they’re just as widespread and just as adept at tracking users as cookies are.
Also, Chrome is not the first browser to support the lack of third-party cookies. Safari has been doing it for years, and advertisers have understandably found workarounds that work just as well, if not better. As with any technology that affects privacy, consent is the name of the game. When you have something valuable and important to share, getting expressed consent from your targeted customer is enough to say “I don’t mind you having access to certain data about me in exchange for this information.”
The key is to make the information valuable enough in this give-and-take relationship so that the customer understands what they’re giving and what they’re getting in exchange.
Opportunistic Partnerships will Thrive
Corporate brands and celebrities have always been known for their partnerships, but now, the effects of this kind of collaboration are trickling down to small and medium enterprises as well. In 2021 and beyond, expect more brands to ally with social media influencers, in creating win-win partnerships that highlight and draw in ever more eager and interested audience members.
The challenge at this point, is finding those opportunistic partnerships and creating a situation where both parties get something of value. Fortunately, this is one of our many specialties here at Workdom, and if you need help getting your product out into the world while amassing a dedicated following, we invite you to reach out to us and learn more about our services and how we can help you with your business.
Embrace Social Responsibility
This year was also marked with a great deal of social and societal upheaval while drawing attention to lost or forgotten causes. Ever looking to position themselves as the champions of doing right in the world, many well-known brands and businesses, particularly those keen on attracting members of Generation Z, are stepping up their social awareness game and embracing social responsibility.
For many brands, this type of consciousness is deeply rooted in their actions and is not simply paying lip-service to a cause, but rather uprooting the company culture and more tightly weaving it within a cause that many can support and feel allied with. Companies that just scratch the surface of social responsibility as a way to pat themselves on the back are quickly forgotten and labeled as fakes, while those who take a keen interest in improving the situations of others not only ally themselves to a cause, but find that the cause allies itself to them as well.
These are the things that advertising and marketing experts, including those of us at Workdom have noticed as we look to close out 2020 (with a great deal of hindsight). We all learned difficult lessons this year and much of it has shook our foundations to their core, but that’s not to say that marketing is dead. Those companies that are agile, flexible and have a finger on the pulse of what’s to come will be the ones best-prepared to take on this new year, and the new normal that comes with it. So reach out to us today and let’s work together to get you head start in growing your business further in 2021.
How “Done For You” Marketing Can Help You Survive the Holiday Rush
There’s no doubt that 2020 has been a different year than most, and with it comes a much different holiday season than any of us could have predicted. However, the one silver lining on this cloud has been that e-commerce has taken off like never before. With so many people understandably staying indoors, many e-commerce companies are struggling to stay on top of incoming orders while continuing to build and grow their business well into the fast approaching new year.
So, if you’re short of growing a few extra sets of arms to help you juggle it all? What can you do?
That’s where “Done for You” Marketing can help.
What Can “Done for You Marketing” Actually Do?
For small businesses, relying on done for you marketing means having the support you need, when and where you need it. This saves you time on having to train additional staff on the ins and outs of marketing your business.
Whether you need changes to your website, to updating real-time inventory or you want to get started buying targeted advertising, and there’s so much misinformation out there you’re not even confident on where to start, “done for you marketing” can help by simplifying the process to aid you in focusing on the matters that you want to focus more on.
Where Can On-Demand Marketing Help Me?
By leveraging marketing on demand, you’re able to free up much more of your time. This means you can fulfill more orders (including those from last-minute shoppers!) while your on-demand marketing team takes care of other aspects of growing your business.
Here are just a few of the most common ways we’ve helped small businesses successfully navigate the holiday rush:
Website Design and Optimization
Your website is so much more than just an online business card. It’s where impressions are formed and potential sales can be made. That means you have to do much more than just put your best digital foot forward. Your website and every step a customer takes within it have to be optimized and designed to nurture and grow conversions.
Our expert marketing team can not only thoroughly analyze your website, but also make concrete suggestions that will significantly improve your conversion rate of visitors to customers as well as help increase your average order value so that you not only get more orders, but more people ordering more products in more quantities.
Sales Enablement Support
During the holiday rush, your sales team is likely to feel the pinch. You know they’re working as hard as they can, but you’re not quite sure how to support them. Enter Workdom’s sales enablement support.
Having the right content at the right time to help answer questions, address concerns and close more sales can be the difference between boosting your revenues and leaving money on the table, and that’s definitely something you’ll want to keep in mind before, during and after the holiday season!
List Building and Email Optimization
Don’t let your list wither over the holidays! There’s no better time to send out great offers and sales announcements – but HOW you do it is just as important as WHEN you do it. Remember, you’re not the only marketer out there, and getting people to take action on your emails means you’ll need to have a properly cleaned, efficient and optimized email list, along with high deliverability of your messages.
Relying on our done for you marketing services to help in this regard can keep your list happy and eager to keep receiving your emails, as well as ensure that every email that goes up, ends up in the hands of someone who is looking forward to receiving it and acting on it!
Paid Advertising and Social Media
Social media is incredibly active over the holidays as people look for everything from gift ideas, to recommendations, to showing off photos and more. Done for you marketing can help ensure that your social media posts are on-target and on brand while exemplifying your products as the perfect choice for the holidays and beyond.
In addition, paid advertising can help enrich your social media ads (and vice versa) by bridging the gap between those users who are “just looking” and those who are committed to take action and buy.
If you’re ready to get a helping hand for the holiday rush and you want to learn how to make on-demand, done-for-you marketing work for you, reach out to our senior advertising professionals at Workdom today. Our knowledge, combined with our experience and our unique understanding of your brand, your voice and your audience will help your marketing come together like never before.
Improving Email Deliverability Over the Holiday Season
You likely already know that email is a tried-and-true marketing channel, not just over the holidays, but throughout the entire year. Of course, with more people staying at home and indoors this season, the pressure is on to get your message in front of more eyes than ever. Unfortunately, that’s the same end goal for every other business out there as well.
So what can you do to make sure that your emails get noticed by your users and customers first before your competitors? At Workdom, we face challenges like this every day. Here’s what we recommend to not only ensure that your emails get seen, but for it to get acted upon.
The Real Dangers of Email Fatigue
Email fatigue, also known as inbox fatigue, is a real and ever-present problem, especially now. People are receiving so many emails, not to mention holiday offers, that the sheer overwhelm makes them want to throw their hands in the air and move everything to the trash (or even worse, mistakenly marking it as spam)
And while this seems like an understandable reaction on the part of the consumer who’s being bombarded with too many offers and too many emails, it can impact you negatively by falsely categorizing your messages as spam or junk mail, which can in turn have repercussions that further inhibit your ability to send emails.
The unjust thing about all of this is that you, specifically, didn’t do anything wrong. So what can you do about it?
Give Your Subscribers Options
Before you go through and purge your inactive subscribers, send out one more email letting them know that they can easily update their preferences through their account or email management settings. Depending on the email marketing service that you use, you may also be able to allow users to self-segment by letting them choose whether to receive just sales announcements, latest news or whatever other segmentations you want to make with your email list. In addition, you could also invite them to change the frequency of how often they want to receive emails from your business. Giving your subscribers the power to control these settings may benefit your company more since it shows you care about their user experience.
Since there’s no “one size fits all” approach that works here, it’s worth looking at your analytics, not just over the holiday season but overall, and see if you can spot any patterns in terms of unsubscribes or bounces.
Resist the Urge to Resend a Poorly-Performing Email
If a particular email didn’t get much traction, you may think it’s just a fluke and resend it again, but there are a myriad of reasons as to why it might not perform well — timing, offer, or any other number or combination of themes. Your instinctive reaction may be to just resend it, but don’t.
Instead, set up a split test — change the subject line or other details about the email, but leave other parts of the email as they are. If you change too many variables (like the images used in the email, the offer itself, or other parts, you won’t know what exactly, if any, led to the improved conversion rate. Plus, sending out an email again “as is” will greatly increase the chances that it will be marked as spam, and thus further impact your email deliverability and lower your brand’s credibility.
Now is Not the Time to Shake Things Up!
Just as people know your brand as one of quality, they’ve come to recognize your emails in a certain way as well. If you want to shake things up — such as sending email from a new domain name or even a new user (joe@example.com versus support@example.com), this will often trigger deliverability processes to block your email, since you’ll have no history with the new domain name, and services like Gmail as well as ISP emails don’t have any way to gauge if what you’re sending is authentic or if should be labeled as spam.
In other words, you’ll have to build up your reputation as a sender all over again. If you need to change things for branding purposes, prune inactive emails from your lists and position it in such a way as to remind people of your brand messaging but with a fresh new outlook or something that seems familiar to them, but still gives you creative leeway to stretch your brand wings a bit.
Concentrate on Your Active, Attentive Subscribers
It can be a challenge to stay relevant and stay front-of-mind with your subscribers, especially over the holidays. But by concentrating on those users that look forward to hearing from you, that are loyal customers and receptive to your marketing and offers, you can grow your “clout” as a reputable sender throughout the holidays and beyond. It may not be obvious but nurturing active subscribers to your email campaigns is one key aspect in better customer retention.
And if you need help improving your email deliverability, for the holidays and beyond, why not reach out to our senior advertising professionals here at Workdom today? With our years of experience helping brands large and small capitalize on the best email marketing practices, we are uniquely suited to help you improve deliverability rates and get your messages noticed first in users’ inboxes.
Contact us today to learn more of how we can help you grow your business!
