The Strategy Web™

My quote of the year 2013 – Social Media, Social Networks and Social Business

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:18:15 +0000

Credits: © Mirma – Fotolia.com

In 2010, I started pinning down my main message to companies and their C-level managers in one quote. Thereafter, different quotes evolved which I collected in the vision area of the “About” page.

The value of such a quote is for some managers marginal and for others massive when using it to explain the transformation of the business into a digital community-centric company or brand. Take it for what it is, and for what it’s worth for you, or let’s discuss it.

For this year the quote will be about social business strategy…

“Social Networking is business intend. Social Media is business duty. Social Business is business freestyle.”

Just before you start asking… By “business freestlye”, I address all departments in your company (like marketing, sales, customer service, HR, or other) that are responsible for planning, using, handling, and organizing the business tactics and strategy around the brand, product line or service offering of business relevance.

Some facts that might be interesting for each one of those..
Social Networks – Which are growing fastest?
Social Media – Facts, Figures and Stats 2013
Social Business – Some Facts 2013

PS: If you do it right, your workforce will freak out like the guy in this post. Believe me…!

Tags:AR, Brand, business strategy, C-Level, Community, Customer Service, Manager, Marke, Marketing, Media, Networks, Print, Social Business, Social Media, Social Networks, Vision

Original article: My quote of the year 2013 – Social Media, Social Networks and Social Business

CMOs: Feeling unprepared for digital challenges ahead? 4 in 10 say YES…!

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Thu, 16 May 2013 06:57:02 +0000

Sometimes surveys bring out the final truth about the status in which chief marketing officers (CMOs) find themselves in. One of the latest reports by Accenture, titled “Turbulence for the CMO: Charting a Path to the Samless Customer Experience” was done with 405 senior marketers from 10 countries. It makes clear that almost 4 in 10 CMOs think they don’t have the right set up to manage their business challenges in front of them. They are missing the right tools, resources and people.

The annual survey shows a decline in 5% in preparedness compared to 2011. Especially, the digital transformation is lacking behind. Compared to 2011 10% find it challenging to improve their workforce’s responsiveness to digital shifts. Furthermore, CMOs also stated that they find it difficult to keep up the efficiency of marketing operations (8% increase!).

Some deeper findings indicate what CMOs main interest in the business will be. The most interesting observation in the results is that digital orientation has the biggest gap between importance and performance among the five marketing capabilities.

The top priority for them is profitable growth (87%) and operational efficiency (85%). The good point for agencies and consultants is that CMOs have this as a bigger objective that cutting their marketing budgets (58%). From a long-term perspective, consumer expectations for specific experiences have the biggest impact on marketing strategy (65%).

And I am sure, you will detect some more interesting findings in their infographic.

Tags:Accenture, AR, Budget, CMO, Efficiency, Infographic, Marke, Marketing, Survey, Tools

Original article: CMOs: Feeling unprepared for digital challenges ahead? 4 in 10 say YES…!

Study: More than half of consumers globally trust driverless cars

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:36:16 +0000

It is one of those iRobot myths coming true probably sooner than we are thinking: Driverless cars. Today, Cisco launched some study results which stated that 57% of respondents got no issues in trusting driverless cars to take over driving control for them. However, not all countries are alike…

The study shows that emerging markets are far more open than others. In Brazil (95%), India (86%) and China (70%) of responding drivers would leave control to technology; Japan (28%) and Germany (37%) coming in at the end of the field. Furthermore, 46% of respondents said they would let their kids in driverless cars.

Apart from that 74% of respondents have no problems if cars were tracking their driving habits as long as they could save on insurance and maintenance cost. For a better driving experience 65% of drivers would also be open to share driving habits, height, weight and entertainment preferences with the car manufacturers, 60% even biometrics data. A clear sign that the driving experience can be improved by the manufacturers, and that clients are longing for it.

The most interesting fact of the study was for me that buyers are becoming more open to leave the car dealer out of the purchase process. It clearly shows that the Mad Men sales process is gone. It gets replaced by interactive kiosks at the car dealer’s place people would want, as long as there is someone you can ask when you got problems with the machines. Even better, 55% would even go through the purchasing process via video chats and digital virtual sessions. Obviously again not in countries like Germany and Japan which are not very open to virtual purchasing processes.

Spot On!
The Cisco study makes clear that the difference in connected car is in the service, not in having Cisco’s latest router. In the end, the next generation of cars should lie in seamless car driving experience that supports car services that help drivers find the right restaurant for their hunger, the appropriate pitstop for their needs, or the next service station before you realize you need it when driving your car.

Tags:AR, Cisco, Driverless Car, Marke, Share, Study, Video

Original article: Study: More than half of consumers globally trust driverless cars

Study: How Companies Structure Social Media Teams (Infographic)

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Tue, 14 May 2013 06:30:52 +0000

In a recent Ragan/NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions survey, PR Daily wanted to know from over 2,700 communication specialists in which way how their businesses use social media. Now, Go-Gulf.com took some of the data and created an infographic that ilustrates the main findings. Interestingly enough, and that is also what we are experiencing these days in our workshops and consultancy business, many of the compnaies have not found a proper way how to generate leads through social media although the capabilities on measuring data seems to be there.   

Find the main findings as follows…
86% companies just look at main data metrics like fans and followers.
80%+ companies only have 3 people maximum managing social media.
65% companies see time as the main challenge using social media.
40% companies wish to increase sales: main goal of social media efforts.
31% companies are capable to track the customer journey from social media to sales.

Tags:Ads, AR, Communication, Infographic, Media, Social Media, Study, Survey

Original article: Study: How Companies Structure Social Media Teams (Infographic)

A New Don: How the sales profession has evolved from the Mad Men era

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Mon, 13 May 2013 19:29:00 +0000

As a fan of the series “Mad Men” TV series, I have to share this comparison of the sales profession development with you. When we compare the decades from 1950-2010, we realizte that there were some significant differences. From Don and his friends’ wild office parties and massive whisky as well as martini consumption to a straight organized reality where sales automation has taken over and social media rules the communication between people.

Although, we still here at the universities and in seminars from the advertising Gods like Leo Burnett and David Ogilvy, Don Draper’s world has seen a radical shift in sales profession. But in which direction…? The guys from Leads360 have created an infographic that defines the main trends we saw lately…
- 1960: In-person pitch.
- 1970: Door-to-door vacuum pitch.
- 1980: Not really specified in any direction…
- 1990: In the beginning email messaging, later customer relationship management (CRM)
- 2000: Social integration (Social Media)
- 2010: Intelligent sales automation

“Over the last 50 years, many of these fundamental sales strategies have remained incredibly valuable,” states the infographic. Maybe you find the reasons why when reading through it.

Today, we are talking of Facebook as the barbeque with “friends and fans” and of Twitter as the chatter at the toilet. Well, it seems that we haven’t moved away from socializing. Maybe we just need to add some drinks next to our screens…

Tags:Ads, AR, Change, Communication, Comparison, Email, Facebook, Infographic, Management, Media, Relationship, SEM, Share, Social Media, Strategie, Trend, Twitter

Original article: A New Don: How the sales profession has evolved from the Mad Men era

Questioning banner efficiency? Native ads perform better than banner ads, says eye-tracking study

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:02:22 +0000

A recent eye-tracking study called “Benchmarking the Effectiveness of Native Ads” states that the visual attraction of native ads (52%) is more frequent than with traditional banner ads. The study which used eye-tracking tools was conducted by Sharethrough and the IPG Media Lab with the aim to identify the impact of banner ads of top brand on the web.

The main findings of the study were..
- 71% of respondents described native ads -based on the fact they had previously had a purchase intent- as “personally identify with”; this number stands against only 50% for banner ads
- 32% of respondents argued that a native ad “is an ad I would share with a friend or family member”. However, only 19% would do so with a banner ads
- 25% of respondents looked more on in-feed native ad placements than on banner ads
- Native ads achieve a 18% increase in purchase intent versus banner ads that get a 9% upside for brand affinity.

Spot On!
The interesting point about this study or me was that native ads and editorial content move closer to another. Almost the same percentage of respondents said they looked at native ads (26%) next to editorial content (24%). However, they potentially spend more time viewing the content still compared to native ads.

Is this another proof for the fact that content marketing is increasingly becoming important and moving in the spotlight of companies and brands? Maybe the infographic helps you find an answer to this question…

Tags:Ads, AR, Banner, Brand, Content, Content Marketing, Efficiency, Infographic, IPG Media Lab, Marke, Marketing, Media, Share, Sharethrough, Study, Tools

Original article: Questioning banner efficiency? Native ads perform better than banner ads, says eye-tracking study

Gen Y: How do we have to see and understand them?

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Wed, 08 May 2013 07:19:13 +0000

Credits: Gerd Altmann / pixelio.de

There is a lot of misconception in the world concerning Gen Y. Some are trying hard to get it straight and correct the picture of a narcissistic and selfish data generation. My wish is to start demystify the tone that media spreads about this generation, a generation which has its strength and weaknesses (like all of us), but which will turn around the world we live in.

In the past years, I have written a lot about their attitude towards private ethics, business and working attitude, a hyperconnected generation as well as their future workplace, and how to make brand advocates out of them. All with the aim to get a better feeling and understanding of those Gen Y souls.

When I held my presentation at the PerfectStormEurope conference in Amsterdam on Gen Y, I got the feeling I need to write more about it. People had prejudices, people had a complete wrong picture, and people said this generation will not be as eager as we are. For most of the arguments I had enough information to turn them around. Still, I will share kind of best of bread from all around the social web in the near future.

This recorded webinar by HuffPost Live with some experts caught my attention and in my eyes, it will help opening eyes to a world in the future. Just bear in mind that by 2020 Millenials will make up 50% of the global workforce. So, you better get prepared for those days…

Participants were…
David Arabov Generation Y Advisor – CEO of EliteDaily.com
David Burstein Executive Director of Generation 18 – Author of “Fast Future”
Joan K. Snyder @joansnyderkuhl (New York, NY) Founder of Why Millennials Matter
Josh Allan Dykstra @joshallan (Los Angeles, CA) Culture Architect
Jean Twenge (San Diego, CA) Author of “Generation Me” and “The Narcissism Epidemic” – Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University

Tags:Ads, AR, Brand, CEO, Future, Media, Millenials, Share

Original article: Gen Y: How do we have to see and understand them?

Target-group men: 10 Stats for better marketing

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Thu, 02 May 2013 05:24:20 +0000

Obviously, there is a difference when targeting men and women. Their purchase behaviour differs in many ways. Who is searching more for coupons, bargains or the latest gadets? According to a report by Microsoft, marketers should have an eye on the right mix between banner advertising, search engine optimization (SEO) or pay-per-click (PPC) tactics in order to address and find men at the right time with the right content in the right context.

Many men, especially young dads (between 25 to 40 years), are influenced by the impact of social networks, according to the report by Performics which we reported quite a while ago. Interestingly enough, 58% of them use four or more sources for their purchase decision. Utilizing social media with story-telling about products and services will make the appropriate impact on men, will give them insights on how companies and brands against their competitors.

Check the infographic published by Brian Honigman and have the 10 stats in mind for the next marketing campaign or tactics when addressing the male audience when your business wants to influence the purchase behavior of men.

PS: If you are interested to see the difference to women, you might have a look at the latest Blogher study here…

Tags:Ads, AR, AUDI, Banner, Blogher, Brand, Campaign, Content, Context, Coupons, Infographic, Marke, Marketing, Media, Microsoft, Networks, Search, SEO, Social Media, Social Networks, Study, WOM

Original article: Target-group men: 10 Stats for better marketing

Study: Social networks eat up most time of web usage

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 18:49:28 +0000

It is a question many marketers ask themselves on a daily basis: “Where do users browse when they are on the Internet?” A recent study by Experian is spot on here. It reveals that people spend most time browsing social media platforms. Entertainment websites (9%) and shopping (5%) as well as business and checking emails are following with each one achieving 3% are coming in the following places.

The research was checking peoples’ browsing habits in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia. By distilling the overall Internet browsing time from 2012 into one single hour, the study found out that respondents spend 27% of every hour on social networkings. The U.S. was the leading country with 16 minutes per hour, followed by Australia 14 minutes and United Kingdom with 13 minutes. However, the time spend with social sites is overall a bit decreasing compared to 2012.

However, the figures vary depending on what device respondents were using. When respondents were on mobiles, they tend to spend the most time working on email. Again, the U.S. spent about 23% of every hour being busy on email on mobile devices in the first quarter or 2013, then closely followed by browsing social-networking, entertainment, shopping, and travel sites. Still, when using a personal desktop, people will most likely spend over a quarter of their time browsing social sites,

“With smartphones and tablets becoming more powerful, our data clearly indicates the difference between mobile and traditional desktop usage further enabling the ‘always on’ consumer mentality. Marketers need to understand these differences, as well as regionally, to ensure campaigns can be tailored for better and more effective engagement.” Bill Tancer, General Manager Global Research, Experian

Spot On!
The desktop finds it’s end as we all know, and social media is the driver. Mobile emails get read more than emails seen from desktop, states some new benchmark report data from Informz. For this study in 2012, the company analyzed 1 billion emails from 800 associations. In fact, the study made clear that more links, shorter headlines, focussed lists and flexible send-outs are key to drive awareness to the email newsletters. If we bring these two studies together, we will understand the close connection between mobile and social.

Tags:AR, Campaign, Email, Manager, Marke, Media, Mobile, Networks, Research, Search, Shopping, Social Media, Social Networks, Studie, Study, Tablet, User, Website

Original article: Study: Social networks eat up most time of web usage

Serious Business: Facebook on mobile (Infographic)

Martin Meyer-Gossner — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:47:28 +0000

Many companies and brands still don’t understand the importance of Facebook and how it gets driven via mobiles. However, some numbers put together by the guys at Qwaya indicate how serious decision makers should take the Facebook mobile business. The engagement of the web world turns towards mobiles, whether smartphones or tablets, and it is time to understand that Facebook cannot be taken out here. It might affect your business and the way people engage with your brand as well. Just open your eyes…!

Tags:AR, Brand, Facebook, Infographic, Mobile, Tablet

Original article: Serious Business: Facebook on mobile (Infographic)

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