BCA

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By Brett Thorne

Chances are that in the course of your daily web-surfing you’ve stopped by your competitor’s

website before. Maybe you just wanted to compare the layout of their site versus yours.

Maybe you wanted to see how recently they had updated their blog or get some information

about what sort of inventory management they use.

What many small business owners don’t realize is that there is a trove of valuable information that

can be gleaned from scouring your competitor’s site, subscribing to their social media channels and

joining mailing lists. There is a whole industry that centers around competitive intelligence, and if you

have a decently sized budget, you may want to contract some work out to one of these organizations.

Using a private investigator

These companies will send out one of their private investigators to legally scrounge for

information on your rival’s competitive practices including invoices, contracts and customer

lists. That can include everything from calling your competitor to gain information on pricing

and shipping rates to digging through the company’s trash.

If you’re not interested in hiring out that kind of help, you can do plenty from your office chair.

First of all, subscribe to your rival’s Twitter and Facebook feeds. These will give you good

information about what products and services your rival is pushing, what sort of specials they

are running and the general day to day info about the company.

Check the Free Services

Use free services like changedetection.com and femtoo.com to track changes to your

competitor’s site. This information will give you a good idea of what the company is planning

to do in the future. If they have a “Meet the Staff” page or something similar that they just

added five new salespeople to, this might indicate that they are expecting higher sales or

experiencing rapid growth.

Finally, sign up for mailing lists. This is possibly the most valuable free tool you can use.

Being on a competitor’s mailing list is like being on the inside. You’re now privileged to all

the information they want their customer base to know about. You can get a glimpse at the

company’s plans for the next month, including sales, promotions, events and new product

launches.

Legal search techniques can be very effective

These practices are completely legal and they can help you get a leg up on the competition if

you utilize them correctly. Plus, they’re a heck of a lot cleaner than digging through their trash.

By Steve Woodburn

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From: World Advertising Research Center (WARC)

 Brand owners must now become “marketing organisations” which spread responsibility for customer engagement across their entire corporate structure, McKinsey has argued.

“Customers no longer separate marketing from the product – it is the product,” the consultancy said in a new study.

“They don’t separate marketing from their in-store or online experience – it is the experience. In the era of engagement, marketing is the company.”

Factors stimulating this trend include the rise of DVRs, websites such as YouTube, smartphones and tablets, which are revolutionising consumer media habits.

Similarly, shoppers are increasingly looking to social networks, blogs, forums and user reviews to research, and connect with, brands.

As the amount of touchpoints proliferates, traditional “push” marketing techniques have been undermined and the importance of functions beyond the control of communications teams, like sales, IT and call centres, has grown.

“In essence, companies need to become marketing vehicles, and the marketing organisation itself needs to become the customer-engagement engine,” the study said.

Zappos gaining advantage from rigorous customer service

Online retailer Zappos was named by McKinsey as one firm deriving a significant competitive advantage from its rigorous approach to serving consumers.

“Great companies all have strong cultures. That’s our number one priority at Zappos,” said Tony Hsieh, Zappos’ CEO.

“The second ingredient is that all great companies have a vision that has a higher purpose, beyond profits or being number one in the market.”

Key is people and developing chemistry

Air carrier Virgin America has also attempted to ensure passengers receive a differentiated service.”The real key is people and developing the chemistry and the attitudes, in our staff, that create the right experience for customers,” Steve Ridgway, Virgin Atlantic’s CEO, said. “And at the end of the day, that really matters. After all, we fly exactly the same planes as everybody else. We fly them under the same very strict safety rules.”

In replicating such success, corporations must abandon models where specific divisions effectively “own” responsibilities like CRM and merchandising. “Companies will be better off if they stop viewing customer engagement as a series of discrete interactions and instead think about it as customers do: a set of related interactions,” said McKinsey. “CMOs will increasingly be held accountable for the performance of groups that don’t report solely to them.”

Marketing could be divided between “core” activities and dispursed duties throughout the company

At the organisational level, marketing could ultimately be divided between “core” activities, like branding and agency management, remaining largely unchanged, and duties that are “disbursed” throughout the company.

“Marketing is touching so many more parts of the company now,” said John Hayes, CMO of American Express.
“It touches on service; it touches on product development. We need to organise in a way that starts to break down the traditional silos in the business.”

Procter & Gamble, for example, has a specialist team buying digital advertising across different geographies, and which is located within its purchasing arm but staffed by marketing experts.
  
McKinsey recommended setting up cross-functional marketing “councils” to encourage coordination, alongside possibly building online forums to solicit consumer feedback and assistance in the creation of new products.

Building third party alliances is vital

Cementing third-party alliances is also vital, proven by Nestlé’s team dedicated only to Wal-Mart, and covering everything from promotions and logistics to innovation and design.

Wal-Mart thus has a single point of contact with one of its biggest suppliers, Nestlé benefits from enhancing its ties to the retailer, and both firms accrue detailed shopper insights, which are growing ever more valuable.

“Marketing is going to become a much more science-driven activity,” Duncan Watts, a research scientist at Yahoo, said. “The kinds of questions that we can ask are much more sophisticated and require a whole new science.”

Data sourced from McKinsey/Huffington Post; additional contet by Warc staff, 14 July 2011

From: World Advertising Research Center (WARC)

Marketers in the US would be willing to diversify their digital strategies if more detailed metrics were made available, according to a report.

Analytics specialist Adometry commissioned insights firm Forrester to survey 150 interactive marketing executives. In all, 55% of the sample expected display budgets to rise in 2011, 34% planned to maintain outlay levels, and 3% anticipated declines in this area. When discussing motivations for using display, 75% mixed branding and direct response, performance- led efforts, which the study suggested constituted a shift in perspectives from the recent past.

The primary drivers behind such a process include the advent of various new formats, from homepage takeovers to in-banner video, making the channel increasingly “rich and immersive”.

Enhanced targeting, based around factors like age and gender, previous purchases, and, lately, social connections, are also exerting an influence.

Lack of results a disincentive

However, the lack of measurable results was serving as a disincentive from boosting expenditure, mentioned by 62% of the panel.

High prices were referenced by 51%, the absence of rigorous audience data scored 43%, and insufficient transparency as to where ads may appear logged 27%.  A further 25% of contributors believed current creative formats are not suitably compelling, while privacy and regulatory concerns registered 11%.

In keeping with these trends, a 55% majority agreed stronger targeting capabilities would help encourage a lift in display spending. More relevant metrics recorded 47%, followed by delivering a “better understanding of what consumers did after they saw the ad”, on 43%.

Cross-channel campaign impact results wanted

Cheaper prices secured 34%, ahead of yielding data about about the audience on 33%, and detailed information about where the ad was viewed, with 29%.  Exactly 25% of respondents wanted insights showing the cross-channel impact of campaigns, for example relating to search, social, mobile and emai

“Advertisers want better ways to measure how their investments will pay off before sinking more dollars into display advertising,” said Paul Pellman, CEO of Adometry. “Improved ad targeting and technologies like cross-channel attribution measurement will play an important role as interest in display advertising continues to grow.”

Nearly 30% of respondents are employing campaign verification tools, confirming ads were delivered as promised.

Adoption still remains at a nascent stage, and skews towards companies spending at least $1m on display per year. In rating their media partners, two-thirds of marketers handed out favourable reports regarding adherence to frequency limits and supplying evidence that the purchased inventory was served and viewed.

Only 36% of message content reached target audience

Figures fell to 48% for proving consumers had engaged with this material, and just 36% for establishing content had reached the target audience. Just 27% assumed equally complimentary positions for media firms’ ability to assess the value of display advertising in relation to the rest of their communications.

Another 18% are utilising attribution analysis systems helping identify which medium has fuelled certain behaviours among customers.  A quarter of participants saw these services as attractive but did not have the required budget, while 24% are investigating this area, and 19% expressed a wish to do so going forward.

“Users do not make decisions in channel silos – a fact that marketers intrinsically understand,” the study said.

“Multichannel attribution tools and services are a necessary part of every marketer’s measurement strategy; however, they often fall low in the priority chain due to lack of time and money.”

Data sourced from Adometry; additional content by Warc staff, 17 June 2011

From: World Advertising Research Center (WARC)

Marketers are focusing on customer retention, digital media and data collection as they attempt to cope with “light speed” changes in the industry, an international survey has revealed. Forbes Insights and Coremetrics surveyed 321 marketing and corporate management executives in the US and UK for the report, finding that many companies are adopting defensive marketing tactics. A majority (52%) listed retaining existing customers as their “top current priority”. Over one third (39%) were dedicating the “largest chunk” of their budgets towards such moves. Attempts to attract new buyers have taken a back seat, with customer acquisition the top priority of 38%. All of the executives questioned for the report worked for companies that generated at least $250m in annual revenues. Over three-quarters (77%) worked for a firm with $1bn-plus revenues. Elsewhere, the study suggested digital is becoming increasingly important to marketers, with 56% of respondents planning to increase their online marketing spend. Only 9% of companies monitoring their campaigns in real time But many companies are yet to take full advantage of the web, as just 9% are monitoring or adjusting their campaigns in real time. Forbes Insights conceded that keeping up with these rapid changes would prove challenging to advertisers. “Marketing’s biggest challenge appears to be presenting a consistent, unified brand across multiple customer touchpoints – on the web, on social media, via mobile devices, and through traditional bricks-and-mortar,” the report added. “Marketing is moving at light speed, but few executives are watching or adjusting their campaigns and content accordingly.” Almost half of the survey’s respondents are planning to increase their spending on business intelligence. Just 8% plan to cut spending in this area. Data now driving decisions The report said: “Data has always had its place in the marketing department, but the numbers are no longer being used to just confirm (or refute) decisions. Instead, data is increasingly driving those decisions.” This chimes with a recent survey from GIA reported on Warc News last week, which found 76% of firms currently have “systematic” marketing intelligence capabilities – up from 63% two years ago. The report also showed that one in three companies currently lacking these capabilities planned to develop them over the next year. Data sourced from Forbes Insights/GIA; additional content by Warc staff, 23 May 2011

For complete data charts and story, go to e-Marketer.com

From: World Advertising Research Center (WARC)

Many consumers now spend “near equal amounts of time” reading traditional printed content and the digital equivalent, a multimarket study has found.

Research firm Gartner surveyed 1,569 people in six nations – China, India, Italy, Japan, the UK and US – and the company reported print and digital media consumption are “virtually on a par”.

Younger age groups proved particularly keen when it came to reading on a screen, while 40-54 year olds exhibited the lowest degree of enthusiasm. Men also typically displayed higher levels of favourability towards the former activity than women, according to Gartner.

“Multichannel content distribution is essential for reaching consumers who are consuming near equal amounts of print and digital text,” said Nick Ingelbrecht, research director at Gartner.
“Content, publishing, and media organizations should market the synergies of multichannel products to consumers, stressing the benefits of having both print and online access, rather than selling competing stand-alone products.”

Ease of reading about the same

Overall, 52% of participants owning devices like the iPad and Galaxy Tab thought digesting material on a tablet was easier than reading printed text, and another 42% agreed it was “about the same”.

Elsewhere, 47% of laptop users suggested it was more difficult to read print via this route than when enjoying the traditional format, and 33% afforded the two channels an equal status.

“There are concerns that digital media will cannibalise print media,” said Ingelbrecht.
“The evidence from our research is that print and online are not generally regarded as direct substitutes by consumers.

“Something more complicated than a straightforward substitution of print to digital media is taking place.”

Chinese have greatest familiarity with digital reading

Approximately 40% of interviewees had not used an ebook reader such as Amazon’s Kindle or Barnes & Noble’s Nook, hitting 75% for Indian respondents, 57% across the US, and 56% in the UK. Panellists in China, who were mostly affluent and educated, lodged the greatest familiarity with this medium and the strongest ratings when perceiving these appliances as offering a better experience than print.

Data sourced from Gartner; additional content by Warc staff, 11 May 2011

From World Advertising Research Center (WARC)

Tablet PCs are beginning to exert an influence on US consumers’ usage of devices such as smartphones and desktop computers.

The Nielsen Company, the research firm, surveyed shoppers possessing products like Apple’s iPad, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and the Motorola Xoom, to gain an insight into this increasingly competitive category.

Roughly half of the panel said they are the only person in their household to use this item, while 43% shared it with others.

A further 8% had bought a tablet but did not use it themselves, as other people in their home constituted the primary audience.

Having been asked how owning a slate impacted different channels, 35% of participants had reduced activity levels or simply no longer accessed a desktop PC.

Laptop computer activity significantly declined

This total stood at 32% for laptop computers, 28% for netbooks and 27% for ebook readers and portable media players.

Figures hit 20% relating to games consoles, 14% for geo-positioning services, 11% for internet-to-television players, 13% for smartphones and 11% for web-connected TV.

But only 5% had ceased employing netbooks altogether, the highest rating on this metric overall, with nearly every medium tracked scoring either 2% or 3%.

These numbers fell to 1% in assessing TVs that can link to the net, and effectively zero on the part of smartphones and internet-to-TV players.

Use of  Tablets has not affected time dedicated to  alternate platforms
Between half and three-quarters of those polled stated purchasing a tablet had not affected the time dedicated to alternative platforms – peaking at 72% for GPS and the 66% lodged by online-enabled TV sets.

A quarter of contributors were actually now more engaged with the latter appliance, handheld games machines and web-to-TV players.

Over a fifth adopted the same view in analysing the extent to which they leveraged smartphones, netbooks and internet-to-television tools.

Indeed, apart from desktop PCs, on 9%, all of the other options registered an improvement here, Nielsen’s study found.

Portability is the reason

When identifying the reasons to use tablets instead of PCs or laptops, 31% of the sample cited portability, 21% referenced the simplicity provided by its interface or operating system.

Elsewhere, 15% prioritised the comparative rapidity of starting and switching off the iPad and similar offerings, and 12% emphasised convenience, size and the ability to utilise tablets in various locations.

Fast speed recorded 11%, beating features such as calendars and apps on 10%, and the lightweight character of tablets, posting 7%.

Data sourced from The Nielsen Company; additional content by Warc staff9 May 2011

From: e-Marketer

Psychographic breakdown indicates best targets for marketers

Content-sharing is a common currency for women online, and most use the internet to some extent for word-of-mouth. Some key influencer groups rely on online communication more than others, and some subgroups are power users of social networking sites who use them as a major communication tool to get the word out about brands—and anything else—they love.

AOL and Bovitz Research Group broke the online female population down into several identity segments based on their values, habits and characteristics.

The research found that the smallest groups overall were the most active online and contributed the most to online word-of-mouth. Social expressionistas, which make up just 8% of the online female population, were overwhelmingly the most likely to say that they use the internet as a way to express their views and that they interact online with people like themselves.

According to AOL, the social expressionista “defines herself as using the web to connect with others and to express her views, her art, and her projects.”

Other groups, like shopsessives (7%), businesswireds (15%) and alpha trendsetters (13%) liked spreading the word about brands more, but the research suggested they were somewhat less likely to do so on the web.

Social expressionistas’ love of spreading the word online translates to a love of social networking sites. Nearly nine in 10 social expressionistas said social networks were their favorite type of site, 13 percentage points above the next group, alpha trendsetters. Social networks are vital to them as the location where they interact with like-minded people and express their views.

 According to the report, the best way for marketers to encourage buzz among social expressionistas is to make them part of a dialogue and give them the opportunity to play with brand assets and use them to create their own content.

Alpha trendsetters participate online at less discussion-oriented sites, but still like to spread the word about products and ideas—and be the first one to know about them. Early access to new items and information is a powerful currency among this group.

For complete data charts and story, go to www.emarketer.com