Digital Marketing Blog
Gifts and gadgets e-tailer Firebox recently underwent a major site redesign as it joined the steady trickle of ecommerce players that have adopted responsive design.
Responsive design is generally seen as the best way of delivering a consistent user experience as the size and usability of internet enabled devices becomes ever more diverse, yet it’s notable that smaller retailers have been much quicker to embrace the technology than big name brands.
So to find out more about why Firebox went responsive and the processes involved in making the move, I spoke to creative director Aaron Buckley...
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by David Moth
15 May 2013 11:04am
6 comments
Are you being a creep? If you're a digital marketer working with mobile then unless you've got your privacy plans sussed there's a good chance that your customers will think you are.
As awareness of location data use increases (alongside the revelation that data might not be as anonymous as previously thought), consumers are becoming more and more wary about being tracked over their phones and other mobile devices. They also want to be reassured that any personal and financial data they input will be kept safely and securely.
Research earlier this year found that 66% of smartphone users are more concerned about their privacy on their phones than they were a year ago, while 79% avoid using apps that they don't believe protect their privacy online.
Regulators are also taking a stand on mobile creeps. The European Union's privacy watchdogs have warned that users "must be in control of their own personal data" and those involved in developing mobile apps have a responsibility "to create a safe, secure and data-protection-compliant app environment".
Certain data protection bodies, who are authorised by their national laws to take action, can even impose fines on organisations that they believe are not fulfilling their mobile privacy responsibilities.
Faced with this consumer and regulatory climate, how can you avoid being a mobile privacy creep?
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by Danilo Labovic
15 May 2013 10:23am
0 comments
As a content marketing agency, we are always telling people what a vital role content plays in driving all elements of your digital marketing, be it social media, email marketing, SEO etc.
The good thing is that most people get this now. We seem to have moved past the educational phase with more and more companies publishing fresh content on their websites on a regular basis.
What we wanted to demonstrate, however, was the significant impact that an increase in content output (that is still high quality and original) can have on some of the key digital marketing metrics, such as website traffic, search engine rankings and social media reach.
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by Michelle Hill
15 May 2013 09:03am
13 comments
Capitalising on 2012's success, mobile commerce is finally reaching its stride, and all the signs suggest that 2013 is a banner year for mobile.
Data shows that more and more consumers shop and buy through their mobile devices. In fact, a quick recap of 2012 shows that online shopping reached an all-time high during the 2012 Christmas period, with 30% growth on Cyber Monday alone. Sales soared and consumers flocked to their tablets, smartphones, and other mobile devices to make purchases.
What this also asserts is that marketers, ecommerce executives and retailers must examine the customer experience and eliminate customer pain points that block successful conversions for the retailer.
If a customer voices issues with mobile transactions, retailers must identify the issue and why it causes customers to react negatively, then they must resolve the issue immediately.
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by Geoff Galat
14 May 2013 18:55pm
1 comment
The rise of smartphones and tablets has ushered in a huge shift in how consumers engage with brands.
These changes have fundamentally altered the path to purchase, which used to be a linear process, into a much broader mix of browsing and discovery, with social recommendations and easier access to information driving the online buying process.
Most notably, this shift is changing the way IT and Marketing, two divisions that have often worked in silos, must operate in response.
Underscoring the importance of these changes, Gartner recently reported that future ecommerce success depends on improving the customer experience, with top CIOs now ranking it as the largest opportunity to implement technology in driving business innovation.
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by Carin van Vuuren
14 May 2013 18:01pm
2 comments
In this Q&A, Brian gives us a preview of what to expect for his Integrated Marketing Week keynote, as well as insights into his writing/publishing process and where the future of marketing is headed.
Very few names carry global cache across a multitude of segments in digital and their overall digital transformation of business.
Our own CEO Ashley Friedlein and his latest work with the Modern Marketing Manifesto has worked tirelessly over the last decade to fit this mould.
Another pioneer, who recognized the significance of social and multi-channel convergence from the earliest stages is Brian Solis, Principal at Altimeter Group.
In the below Q&A, Brian and I chat about what to expect around his presentation, how data analytics and good design impacted the writing and delivery of his latest book: What's The Future of Business, and the latest trends in convergence and multichannel marketing.
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by Ryan Sommer
14 May 2013 17:13pm
1 comment
Online price discrimination has attracted immense popularity and heat in the last few months when the Wall Street Journal revealed some websites that used variable prices based on users’ location and other statistics.
This came as breaking news for those who used to think of the ecommerce market as a reliable and fair shopping arcade.
So, let’s see how this thing works, and how you can save yourself from this manipulation.
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by Arie Shpanya
14 May 2013 16:52pm
7 comments
Last Wednesday, Stefan Tornquist (VP Research, US at Econsultancy) moderated a lively discussion on Measurement, Analytics, and Attribution that quickly maxed out the attendance capacity of the Hangout.
I was joined by digital analytics gurus Jim Sterne (founder of eMetrics Summit & Digital Analytics Association) and Tom Cunniff (founder of Cunniff Consulting) to discuss what marketers need to do beyond gathering information, and how to apply measurement and analytics to strategy across the business.
A lot of important points on the current state of attribution and what’s in store for the future were discussed during the first half of the hangout, which are summarized here...
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by Jon Baron
14 May 2013 15:04pm
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Two of the major digital trends of 2013 have been content and inbound marketing, both of which rely to an extent on having an effective content management system (CMS).
New research from Econsultancy and Adobe shows that although organisations are very aware that their ability to implement an effective content strategy is tied to the integration of their CMS with the other technologies, the promise of the technology far outstrips their current reality.
The data shows that 94% of businesses believe that it’s “quite” or “very important” to tie content management together with the ability to measure its performance on site (i.e. web / mobile analytics).
Digital asset management (91%) and personalisation (88%) are also seen as key areas that need to be integrated with the business’ CMS.
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by David Moth
14 May 2013 14:07pm
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Just what exactly, in plain English, is digital transformation? Which companies have already undergone it, and which need to? Have some already missed the boat?
If you trawl the web for stories of large organisations being hauled about-face until they are pointed ‘Due Digital’, you’ll find a mix of stuff.
Google ‘digital transformation’ and you’ll see companies like Deloitte, Capgemini, IBM, all providing services for the burgeoning market needing to quickly start thinking digital.
Some of this content is great, and some is still not quite transparent. Whilst white papers detailing change and success in specific sectors are welcome, videos of consultants talking in generalities and marketing speak are less so.
The problem is, of course, that much of any organisation’s digital strategy is unique, and it’s difficult to define what excellence is, or how it can be reached, without first knowing who one is writing for.
This creates one of the challenges for organisations seeking to understand digital; starting the journey is often the hardest step. It’s difficult to know what needs to be looked at first, especially if you have the erroneous and sinking feeling that ‘everything’ needs to be changed.
You might also be trying to articulate to the board why change is needed, and to do this you need to be able to make clear points.
Over the next few months I’m going to look at how ‘digitally mature’ various sectors and organisations are and what the process of digital transformation entails, not least because Econsultancy is actively helping companies in this area (contact our digital transformation consultants if you need help).
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by Ben Davis
14 May 2013 12:53pm
9 comments
