field notes

Each day it's getting harder to keep up with the latest trends in digital consumer engagement – not to mention the complex privacy risks that come with it. Take for instance the concept of digital twins, which has secured a spot in Gartner's latest hype cycle for emerging technologies. These virtual representations of a customer are intended to simulate, emulate and anticipate consumer behavior to help modify and enhance the customer experience.

While even Gartner predicts true market adoption is still at least 5 years away, it's imperative that companies start setting the right ethical foundation now. 

With trade shows cancelled, sales teams across B2B are scrambling to find new ways to engage prospects and replenish their pipeline.

In 2017, Marketo announced that we are in living in a new era: the Engagement Economy. “Today’s consumer craves brands that share their values and demonstrate that they understand “me” at a personal level.”

No matter if your hear "Yanny" or "Laurel", one thing we all can learn from this week's social debate is that the human brain has a magical way of constructing what we hear, see, and even feel. And this has huge implications for marketing.

I hear it often in B2B, “we have the hardest time explaining what we do, but as soon as our prospects SEE it, they’re blown away.” The immediate instinct is to push prospects straight to a demo or an in-person meeting. But when 73% of B2B leads are not sales-ready, that’s like going “all-in” before the flop in Texas Hold’em. Your prospects will fold immediately.

By nature, social media sites are, well…social. That means that people use them for very personal and emotional reasons. Likewise, brands should have very different strategies for each channel. Especially at a time when Facebook is emphasizing more meaningful interactions, you should pause before posting the same exact content across all social channels. 

While the the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new law coming out of the European Union (EU), it will impact marketers worldwide. Starting May 25, 2018, if you send an email to a person residing in the EU without their consent, there is serious money on the line. To the tune of €20 million or 4% of your company’s total global annual turnover (whichever is higher).

In a recent Webcast, we teamed up with Citrix's global strategy lead for audience & content marketing to discuss a modern approach to journey mapping that considers customers' psychological drivers.