3 Ways Data-Driven Marketing Drives Higher ROI

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3 Ways Data-Driven Marketing Drives Higher ROI

At the heart of good marketing is data. And when data drives your marketing, the average return on investment (ROI) is a whopping 224%! (VB Insight)

VB Insight surveyed over 3,000 marketers and looked at tools used on over 3 million websites. Even small improvements have the potential to drive higher ROI. According to the research, if your business has a 4-phase customer acquisition funnel, and you improve each phase of the customer acquisition funnel by as little as 5%, the overall improvement is 22% at the bottom of the funnel. 

Customer data has clearly become a valuable currency for marketers of all sizes and across all industries. However, if you feel as if you are downing in a sea of data, here are some key ways to drive more revenue with better marketing and better data.

Break Down the Silos

You may have loads of data, but if it’s sitting in different systems and in various formats, your data is doing you no good. For example, your billing records may be stored in one system with certain customer details, and your customer service logs may be stored in another database with an entirely different set of customer information.

Each of these sources contain important customer details – basic information such as contact details, as well as more detailed information, such as behavior information (frequency of purchase, transaction value, email click-throughs, and so on.)

A data management solution should be implemented to integrate multiple data sources and automate data quality processes. Data management software will perform functions such as:

• Cleanses and standardizes data so consistent formats can be integrated
• Consolidates customer data into a single record
• Eliminates duplicate data records
• Monitors data to ensure it remains accurate
• Appends missing customer information (email address, street address, etc.)

A 360-degree Customer View

By merging these systems of data into a single repository, customer details come together into a 360-degree view. With this singular customer view, you can apply analytics to accurately understand what your best customers look like and find answers to key questions such as:

• What products have they purchased, and what is their purchasing behavior?
• How do I keep my best customers loyal?
• What channels do my customers and prospects prefer?
• What opportunities are there to maximize customer value through up-sell or cross-sell offers?
• What patterns may indicate unhappy customers and how can I mitigate attrition risk?

Customers Want Personalized Experiences

Your customers ultimately want to be understood – they expect a seamless experience with your company, want personalized offers and are more receptive to messages sent through the channels they prefer.

Salesforce.com asked consumers how they felt about their data being collected by companies to establish this comprehensive customer view. The overall feeling was that if their marketing data allowed companies to personalize offers, provide better customer service, or prevent situations in which they have to give the same information to multiple people over and over, then it was a good thing. One respondent said, “I don’t want to have to repeat my information to 5 different people when I call their support line,” and according to another, “It dramatically increases the likelihood that I would continue to give a company my business.”

Research shows that 45% of consumers are more likely to shop on a site that offers personalized recommendations, and 56% are more likely to return to a site that recommends products. (Invesp)

When deciding which types of personalization to utilize, consider the following statistics from MyBuy’s 2015 Personalization Consumer Survey. Consumers purchase more from brands who:

While there is obviously huge uplift when personalizing consumer interactions, many marketers are unaware of the negative impacts of sending impersonal messaging. A recent survey by Gigya revealed that 67% of consumers have unsubscribed from an email list when sent irrelevant information. An additional 43% ignored future communications from the company, and 32% stopped visiting the company’s website or mobile app.

At the heart of good marketing is data. Your data can tell you who your customers are, what will keep them loyal, what offers they will respond to, and ultimately, how to drive higher revenue.

How to make waking up more bearable with the internet of things

gadgetshow.channel5.com

Forcing yourself to wake up in the morning is never nice, but modern tech can help to take the edge off stumbling out of bed, and thanks to the internet of things and a load of incredibly cool gadgets you can now wake up to the smell of a fresh pot of coffee, surrounded by soft and friendly lighting and with the heating set at the perfect temperature.

The internet of things has seen some brilliant connected gadgets pop up over the past year or two, making it easy to control pretty much any household gadget using apps on your smartphone or tablet, and meaning there's no need to get out of bed in the morning to get the most out of them.

Soft lighting

Granted, for most of us it's not an issue at this time of year, but there's nothing worse than your alarm going off and waking up in the pitch black, fumbling around bleary-eyed for the light switch, and being jolted awake by overly bright lights. Replace your home lightbulbs with Philips Hue and that's a thing of the past, with the connected bulb offering control via your smartphone. Better yet, you can set the smart bulbs to lighten gradually in the morning, potentially waking you up to (admittedly simulated) daylight, with your body waking up naturally rather than your foghorn of an alarm - what's not to like? 

Netatmo Thermostat

Heating is another area that can make a massive difference when it comes to the start of your day, with none of us wanting to get out of bed when it's outrageously cold. The Netatmo Thermostat makes things a lot easier, letting you adjust the temperature via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and with an additional cube-shaped accessory designed by Phillppe Starck that you can place anywhere around the home to make changes to the temperature. We love the idea of being able to whack it on our bedside table, only having to reach out an arm from under the duvet when you get cold.

The connected oven

It's always easy to grab a bowl of cereal when you first wake up, but if you're the sort of person who wants something a little more substantial, the Discovery IQ Dual-Fuel Range cooker could be ideal. It packs in touchscreen tech and Wi-Fi, and like the other gadgets here you can control it straight from your smartphone. So as long as you've popped your ingredients into the oven, you'll be able to whip up breakfast without leaving the comfort of your bed - at least until that bacon needs flipping...

Coffee on demand

Waking up to a room full of light is great, but imagine if you could wake up to a fresh pot of coffee each morning. Even if you live on your own and have nobody willing to stick the kettle on for you, that's precisely what you can do with Mr. Coffee. Belkin is behind the Wi-Fi compatible gadget, which can be controlled by your smartphone or tablet, and it also throws in the ability to set schedules, making sure a fresh brew is ready the second your alarm goes off (or even before).

Wake up to fizzy drinks

OK, so carbonated drinks aren't typically great for us, but sometimes it's the first thing on your mind when you wake up in the morning, and the SodaStream MIX can turn pretty much any liquid into a fizzy refreshment at the touch of a button. Better yet, it's also part of the internet of things, with a smartphone app that lets you control it from afar (well, from your bed in this case), so that refreshing drink will be on hand as soon as you stagger into the kitchen in the morning. It's just a shame the SodaStream Mix can't deliver your drink to your bedside table, too!

Nest Thermostat

The Netatmo Thermostat impressed us, but it's not quite as versatile as options from Nest, and you'll even be able to control your heating by speaking into your mobile. Use Nest alongside Android app Tasker on your smartphone, and you can set the AutoVoice action to work with Google Now to drop or whack up the temperature when you wake up in the morning.

Turn any other gadget into a smart device

Want to turn your toaster into something a little smarter, and wake up to the smell of fresh toast? You could do just that - or control any other number of gadgets around your home, using the D-Link DSP-W215 Wi-Fi Smart Plug, which can be controlled by an app on your phone or tablet, and let you activate any device without physically having to be there. So as long as you make sure the bread is in your toaster, and it's otherwise turned on and set to go, you can create a schedule using the D-Link Smart Plug to ensure the toaster turns on at a specific time in the morning, coinciding perfectly with your alarm.

Twitter unveils persona targeting, adds segmentation feature

marketingdive.com

Dive Brief:

• Twitter is rolling out new features to help its advertisers, including “Project Lightening” that allows advertisers to highly segment their target audience via persona-based segmentation.
• Another new feature is being tested and is built into the app interface to gives marketers a quick view of how ad campaigns are performing.
• The personas feature allows marketers to reach pre-defined segments, such as people earning more than $100K and millennials. 

Dive Insight:

Twitter is continuing its push into advertising on the social media platform testing and introducing new features to make marketers’ lives easier. One key new feature is an expansion of its audience insights dashboard that offers advertisers a set of pre-defined personas to target with campaigns. The market segments include: college grads, people earning $100K or more, millennials, small business owners, and several more.

Twitter is also testing an app feature that provides marketers with a dashboard on campaign performance with KPIs including impressions, engagements, total spend, cost-per-engagement and engagement rate. Campaigns can even be edited within the dashboard to make immediate use of the data offered.

In a blog post, Twitter product manager, Andrew Bragdon, said, “Campaign insights help you better understand who you’re reaching with your ad campaigns. Within your campaign dashboard, you can simply click ‘View audience insights’ to learn more about your paid audience, and then use this information to optimize your targeting and ad content.”

He continued, “You can also easily compare insights between your reached and engaged audiences. Your reached audience are users who are viewing your campaign; your engaged audience includes users who are actively engaging (replying, favoriting and Retweeting) with your ads.”

How Brands Are Paving the Way for Periscope Marketing

entrepreneur.com

As more brands join and use apps like Periscope and Meerkat, it’s becoming clear that live streaming will play a major role in digital and social marketing in the coming months and years.

Live streaming is anything but new; however, it’s recently jumped to the forefront of industry discussions, since the launch of Meerkat and Periscope. YouTube has long featured live-streaming options, dedicated websites allow users to broadcast feeds, gamers have always had an affinity toward watching other gamers (Twitch attracts more than 45 million viewers each month) and cable companies often stream live programming over the Internet.

Related: Real-Time Video Streaming on Social Media Is Driving the Publishing Craze

But, aside from Twitch, you could argue that no technology, app or website has risen to such prominence as quickly as Periscope (and Meerkat, to a lesser extent). Furthermore, it’s safe to say that no other technology is capable of having such a widespread impact. Unlike Twitch, which focuses solely on the gaming industry, Periscope can be used by anyone. In fact, everyone is using it.

Everyone may be using it but a handful of brands stick out above the rest. Here are some examples of how big brands are successfully using Periscope and other live streaming apps to enhance their customer service and marketing messages.

Red Bull: If there’s a new, trendy marketing platform, you can expect Red Bull to get involved. They haven’t disappointed, already using Periscope as a new branding platform. At the recent Miami Music Week, Red Bull live streamed a handful of their Red Bull "Guest House" events. The company coordinated efforts with Twitter and Snapchat to drum up support.

Related: 3 Things Entrepreneurs Need to Know About Mobile Video Streaming

Spotify: The popular music-streaming service is also interested in live-streaming video. Shortly after joining Periscope, Spotify said “hello” by posting a behind-the-scenes video with Conor O’Brien from the Villagers. It received a few hundred live viewers and has been replayed a few hundred times more.

Mountain Dew: Another early adopter is Mountain Dew. They used it as a way to engage and reward their Twitter followers. “[In the video] we showcased Mountain Dew swag like hats and T-shirts,” reported Christine Ngo, head of digital marketing at Mountain Dew. “Of the many fans who liked/commented on our Periscope stream, we surprised a few fans and will be sending them some cool Mountain Dew gear.”

General Electric: It’s not just “hip” or “young” brands using Periscope, however. General Electric proved that it’s willing to adapt by using the app to live stream a behind-the-scenes interview with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and scientist Bill Nye.

Adidas:The award for most unique Periscope stream goes to Adidas. The popular sportswear company gave fans a chance to watch soccer star James Rodriguez sign his contact extension with the company.

How your company can use live streaming

While big brands like Spotify, Mountain Dew and Red Bull may steal the headlines, there’s plenty of room for you too. Small and mid-sized businesses will be able to carve out their own niches and drive engagement with apps like Periscope and Meerkat. Here are a few ideas:

1. New product releases

All signs point toward new product release features as a major focal point of live streaming. You could use it to showcase a product in anticipation of a release date, do a live unboxing or provide a firsthand look at beta testing and prototypes. This’ll be an interesting trend to follow, as major brands will likely invest in this strategy to gauge interest and enhance buzz around new releases.

Related: 5 Ways Brands Can Use Periscope and Meerkat

2. Live Q&A 

From a customer service point of view, live Q&A sessions are invaluable. You can use these opportunities to humanize your brand, address pertinent issues and solve problems. Having regular (weekly, monthly, quarterly) Q&A sessions can be a good way to gain valuable (and free) firsthand feedback and insights from your customers.

3. Celebrity takeover

It’ll be interesting to see how Periscope affects endorsements. If you happen to have good connections, or celebrity endorsers, you may be able to benefit from a “takeover.” Depending on with whom you align your brand, the viewership and return could be incredible.

4. Behind the scenes

As you can see from the brands mentioned above, behind-the-scenes streaming features will be popular. Customers always want to know more about the companies they support, so giving factory tours, showing interviews, and providing teasers will be effective from a marketing perspective.

5. Build Twitter

Ultimately, the value of Periscope will always be tied to Twitter. If nothing else, you can use Periscope to increase and enhance your Twitter followership. A stream here and there may help you to grow your audience.

The future of Periscope, and live streaming technology in general, is unclear. Will it be a flash in the pan, or will it morph into something transformative? As a business owner or marketer, you have to bet on the latter. Now is the time to start experimenting with live streaming to see if it works for you. The companies that are able to build a strong foundation in the beginning stages will reap long-term benefits down the road.

Using the aforementioned brands as examples, and applying some of the tips mentioned here, how’ll you use Periscope to take your branding, marketing, and customer service to the next level? The answer to that question is anything but insignificant.

Related: 4 Creative Ways to Use Live Streaming to Boost Your Company's Exposure

Innovative Tips & Tricks for Measuring the Success of Mobile Apps

tech.co

How do you know if your app has been successful? For most app entrepreneurs, the challenge is measuring the app success and tinkering with the app marketing strategies to get improved results. There are 5 key ways with which you can measure the success of your mobile apps. Here they are:

1. Acquisition Metrics
This metric is used to measure the amount of downloads that the app is getting. It is important to have a large number of downloads. In addition to the number of downloads, the acquisition metrics also features the “Discovery” method, i.e. it is important to understand where the users are discovering the application. It will help you to focus on marketing in a better way.

2. Engagement Metrics
The 4 parts that this metric is divided into are Active users, Session length, Goals completed, and User Loyalty. An active user is generally the one who has used for more than 5 times. Session length refers to the amount of time that the user has spent with the app. You also need to measure whether or not your app has achieved the goals specified and the user loyalty that it has earned.

3. Retention Metrics
It is a very important metric in measuring the app’s popularity and includes two sub-metrics i.e. Life Time Value (LTV) and Retention Rate. The latter is measured in percentage terms and refers to the amount of users that your app has been able to retain over a period of time. An app with a high retention rate will also have a high average LTV because the users of the app are long lasting.

4. Quality Metrics
It calculates the quality of the app using the factors of automatic crash report, manual user feedback and app store reviews. When the app crashes, the issue should automatically be emailed to the developer. Also, the user should have an option of giving manual feedback and finally, app store is the most important place where you must get positive reviews for your app.

5. Behavior Metrics
You also need to measure the user behavior in general, i.e. by the devices and locations he operates from, the usage-time and frequency that he operates for, and finally the usage actions related to your app.

Tamagotchi is Back, Thanks to The Internet of Things

coinspeaker.com

The addictive 1990s toy Tamagotchi gets a 21st-century makeover.

Today’s modern Tamagotchi takes a cue from the Internet of Things and now supports interlinking one’s digital pet with a friend’s. By bumping the two toys together, this latest generation of Tamagotchis will prompt an exchange of data.

Besides, the Tamagotchi Friends Digital Friend takes advantage of the increasing capacity of modern data chips to include “five fun games” one can now play with a pet.

The interlink lends itself to a host of new activities for Tamagotchi play, including playdates, “friendship meters,” and even sending text messages from one toy to another. Maybe if your ‘90s Tamagotchi had done all that, it wouldn’t have met its untimely digital death only a few weeks after you convinced your parents to buy it for you.

The Tamagotchi was created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai, a Japanese toy making and video game company, in 1996. Within seven months of Bandai exporting the toy to the United States, the company earned $150 million in retail sales.

At the moment retailing at $19.50, it’s a pastel pink impulse buy for kids and kids at heart. Even if it doesn’t spark a new craze, it will certainly appeal to adults who remember the old one.

Furthermore, the Internet of Things products can help firefighters to operate effectively, saving lives and limiting the damages to the building.

In 2013 alone, according to data from the National Fire Protection Association, 1,240,000 fires were reported in the U.S., which caused the death of 3,240 civilians and $11.5 billion in property damage.

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Fire Protection Research Foundation believe that at least part of this heavy toll could be reduced, if fire brigades could base their decisions on the data systematically and scientifically collected on the scene.

“Today there is significant variety to the information accessible by fire brigades, and great potential as the Internet of Things continues to proliferate. Real-time information will greatly assist emergency responder situational awareness, which is especially critical during an event when time is precious,” said the Fire Protection Research Foundation’s executive director Casey Grant.

For instance, Drones are already deployed for monitoring wildfire events; in the future, thanks to technological improvements they could also be employed indoor. Robots, equipped with a wide array of chemical sensors, on-board cameras, and lasers, will be used to gather data in risky environments, where humans fear to thread.

Why we shouldn’t retire email in mobile apps

rainmaker-labs.com

Chat apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp may be taking over the online personal communication industry, but emails still hold a place in our world.

App marketers still need channels to communicate with users, and in-app messaging and push notifications don’t serve as wide of a range as emails do. In-app messaging, while effective in increasing conversion and retention rates, are restricted by their context, and push notifications can only fit so many words into that precious rectangle.

Email is evolving to meet these needs. App marketers have developed technologies that are able to send personalized emails, and their effectiveness is only enhanced as devices like smartphones and tablets become more ubiquitous each day, which emails can be effortlessly transferred to. We’re even able to check email on our wrists now!

Personalized emails are the future of app marketing, and for these reasons:

Just like in-app messaging, email marketing for apps has the potential to boost retention rates. It is important for users to keep coming back to the app, and the best way to do this is to maintain communication with the users. Emails that are personalized to the users will hold their attention, while irrelevancy is the easiest way for an app to be dismissed as spam. Emails must deliver the right content to the right people; a vegetarian subscribed to a gym app would enjoy seeing healthy vegetarian meal recommendations and consistent workout routines, for example.

Also, many people simply disable push notifications. According to studies, only half of app users opt-in for push notifications, yet it is still the most popular way for apps to communicate with users. As noted earlier, push notifications are already limited by the amount of words they can fit, and now they are suffering from a shrinking audience. You can only entice users so much with one sentence, but an email can contain much more valuable content such as videos and lengthier (and more useful) information to keep people coming back. Email marketing can and should be used to remedy the failure of push. App marketers who devote the proper time and resources to emails will find themselves with a much stronger user base.