Econsultancy’s Best Practice Guides are extensive how-to reports authored by and featuring industry specialists from brands, agencies and technology companies.
1. Introduction This guide has been written to complement Econsultancy’s Social Media Strategy Best Practice Guide, Social Media Platforms Overview, B2B Social Media Best Practice Guide and Paid Search Best Practice Guide. The purpose of this guide is to provide an overview of the opportunities, risks and the required investment of time, effort and budget […]
1. Introduction Over the last two decades a swathe of price comparison websites (PCW) have emerged, offering consumers a one-stop-shop for comparing the prices of a product or service. PCWs act as vertical search engines, aggregating product listings from multiple retailers. PCWs such as uSwitch, Confused.com, MoneySuperMarket and GoCompare are an important part of the marketing […]
1. Introduction This guide has been written to complement Econsultancy’s Social Media Strategy Best Practice Guide, and Content Strategy Best Practice Guide. Its purpose is to provide a snapshot of some of the major social media platforms and the most pressing considerations for marketers looking to generate the most value from social media. It provides […]
1. Introduction Social media has grown exponentially. In January 2020, there were 3.80 billion social media users, with this number increasing by more than 9% (with 321 million new users) since January 2019.[1] But the term is misleading: social media has become as important for business as it has for social interaction, reflecting the changing […]
1. Introduction ‘Content shock’[1] is real: the volume of B2B (and B2C) content is now outweighing our human capacity to consume it. However, content marketing can still present an immense opportunity for B2B businesses. When executed effectively, it can be a powerful engagement tool for fostering loyalty, lead generation and sales, and for conveying the […]
Introduction Digitisation is rapidly changing B2B businesses and it is crucial that companies transform and respond to these challenges. According to McKinsey,[1] “Turning your company into a top quartile B2B digital player can increase revenue by 3.5%.” Econsultancy’s Digital Outlook report for 2019 explains that the next five years will be challenging for B2B marketers. […]
1. Introduction This report is designed to provide marketers with practical and essential guidance into all aspects of content strategy. The role of content within marketing and digital marketing practice has never been more important than it is now, but it remains an area of constantly changing practice, with evolving dynamics around technology, content production […]
1. Introduction Customer centricity is at the heart of any successful business today. Digital has empowered consumers in numerous ways, giving them greater choice and convenience when they shop, but also offering a platform for them to share their views at the touch of a button. There are a host of platforms enabling consumers to […]
1. Introduction 1.1 Executive summary This report identifies best practice approaches, techniques, challenges and opportunities around storytelling in the context of marketing. It explores how marketers perceive the importance of storytelling to the practice of marketing and the best practice application of storytelling principles to support marketing objectives and activity. The following topics are covered […]
1. Introduction Customer retention refers to the ability of an organisation to retain the same customer over a period of time. Companies that enjoy high levels of retention benefit from more reliable revenue streams and a high degree of brand equity. Although there is a strong business rationale for focusing on customer retention, many marketers […]
Acknowledgements John Bernard Dexcom Marketing DirectorSteve Challouma Birds Eye Marketing DirectorRadha Davies Virgin UK Brand Development DirectorMark Evans Direct Line Managing Director, Marketing & DigitalKate Ghandi UKTV Marketing DirectorMargaret Jobling Centrica Chief Marketing OfficerAlison Jones Co-Op Chief Customer OfficerPeter Markey TSB Chief Marketing OfficerCiaran Nelson Anglian Water Director of Brand CommunicationsEllie Norman F1 Director of […]
1. Introduction The purpose of this guide is to provide an overview of customer journey mapping. It provides a simple starting point for anyone yet to map out their customer journeys. It is also a reference for those for whom the process is underway. This guide draws insights from those who have developed complex journeys […]
1. Introduction In recent years, there have been industry changes in two major areas, technical and regulatory, which have both made an impact on the way marketers can, and should, measure digital marketing effectiveness. Technical industry changes Apple, Google and Mozilla, which each own very popular web browsers, have implemented technical changes to the way […]
1. Introduction Marketers have always sought to find the most relevant buyers for their products. In the 1950s, this concept took a step forward when Wendell Smith published an award-winning article in the Journal of Marketing on product differentiation and market segmentation.[1] This article put segmentations on the map for marketers, and soon market segmentations […]
1. Introduction The modern marketer’s dilemma “After several years of long Christmas lists to Santa, this year my girls could not think of anything they wanted. It dawned on me; my kids are not seeing marketing encouraging them to want things. My job and the jobs of future global marketers are getting more challenging. We […]
1. Introduction The question of how leadership is changing in a digitally empowered world is a consistent theme in subscriber feedback and the digital transformation work that Econsultancy does with clients. 2015 saw the publication of Econsultancy’s initial research and report into Effective Leadership in the Digital Age, which was designed to provide insight into […]
1. Introduction This report is designed to provide marketers with practical guidance and advice on how best to manage change in the context of rapidly shifting technology, consumer behaviour and market dynamics. It is written for senior and mid-level marketers who want to understand how to navigate change within their own teams or the most […]
1. Introduction When compared with other sectors, such as financial services, retail and travel, pharma and healthcare has been relatively slow in its digital transformation journey. However, in recent years, organisations in the sector have made impressive strides when it comes to using digital to improve the customer experience. This is due to a convergence […]
1. Executive Summary The State of Social Commerce in Southeast Asia report, produced by Econsultancy in collaboration with Hootsuite and Magento, is based on a survey of 271 ecommerce marketers and 277 consumers across the region. All consumers surveyed used social media and are online shoppers. The study looks to examine how consumers shop online […]
1. Introduction 1.1 About this report Econsultancy’s series of Best Practice Guides have been created for modern marketing professionals who typically work in marketing or ecommerce roles. Given the ongoing significance of email, this guide will be relevant to CEOs to understand the business case for email, as well as anyone working in a marketing […]
Executive Summary The 13th annual Email Marketing Industry Census, published by Econsultancy in partnership with Upland Adestra, is based on an online survey of more than 400 marketers carried out in June and July 2019. The report contains comprehensive analysis of survey data and a comparison with results from previous years, as well as insights from […]
1. Introduction In response to the exponential growth in marketing technology solutions available over the past few years (Figure 1), this report aims to provide a practical overview of 60 popular and peer-recommended tools in four main categories. Figure 1: Number of martech solutions globally Source: Chiefmartech.com Chiefmartech’s Marketing Technology Landscape Supergraphic 2018 lists more […]
1. Introduction Augmented reality (AR) is quickly becoming one of the most interesting technologies in the digital space. Although often overshadowed by virtual reality (VR), AR is expected to take the lion’s share of the market. According to one estimate, the AR market will be worth $70bn to $75bn by 2023 while VR will account […]
Introduction This guide highlights three key themes which will help marketers deliver better mobile experiences for their customers and improve the performance of their mobile marketing activity. These three themes are: personalising the customer experience, mapping the customer journey and planning for the age of assistance. The guide draws from Econsultancy’s Mobile Marketing report which […]
1. Introduction In a July 2018 survey by Reflect Digital, 58% of consumers said that online ads and marketing have little or no influence on their buying behaviour, while 27% said they were somewhat influenced. Only 5% said they were extremely influenced. Brands need to continue to find new ways to not only be heard […]
1. Introduction Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, an increasing number of organisations is ordering their workforces to work from home for the foreseeable future, meaning many businesses and teams are facing new and unprecedented challenges. Econsultancy has created this Best Practice Guide to provide marketers with the essential techniques to empower successful and powerful remote […]
1. Introduction Econsultancy has been conducting research into digital marketing resourcing and structures for almost 10 years. This report is the fourth iteration of this research and represents a major update on the 2015 Digital Marketing: Organisational Structures and Resourcing Best Practice Guide. There have been some fundamental shifts in approaches to resourcing since then […]
1. Introduction Modern marketing requires new skills for the digital age. As new technologies and channels have emerged and digital transformation has become a priority for organisations across all locations, sizes and industries, the demand for expertise in the likes of data, analytics, customer experience, content and personalisation has increased. With this demand often outstripping […]
1. Introduction Shopping campaigns operate on the same cost-per-click (CPC) model as their Search ad counterparts. The main difference between the ad types is that Shopping ads provide an image and price of each product, making these results highly appealing to consumers. In recent years, Google Shopping has continued to experience sustained growth and is […]
1. Introduction Video advertising can be an effective, eye-catching medium for building brand awareness when done properly. As more video content is consumed online, it makes sense that brands will want to follow suit with rich media video adverts promoting their brands. Unlike text ads in traditional paid search, video ads open up a whole […]
1. Introduction This report explores some of the worldwide opportunities for expansion across a range of territories and languages, before moving on to some of the practical considerations that must be kept in mind when planning to launch a PPC campaign in a new market. Although it is relatively straightforward to target new countries in […]
1. Introduction The global coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has had an unprecedented impact, affecting almost every aspect of daily life. Measures taken to slow the spread of the virus around the world have brought with them remarkable economic losses. The full economic impact of the crisis is at this stage unknown, but projections of the cost […]
1. Introduction We live in times of ‘agile’, ‘fail fast’, ‘beta testing’ and ‘lean startups’. The doubling of computer processing power every two years, as predicted by Moore’s law, has delivered exponentially increasing computational abilities. Vast data sets are now available to marketers, enabling them to respond to customer demands in real time or even […]
1. Foreword by TAP London Too often we see businesses rush out to invest in the latest technology, only to end up disappointed when they don’t get the results they expect. Purchasing new technology might be helpful, but it may not be as helpful as if you had just got your act together in the […]
1. Introduction This guide has been written to complement Econsultancy’s Social Media Platforms Overview. Its purpose is to provide a framework for developing a social media strategy, as well as a summary of the main considerations for marketers when developing a strategic approach to social media marketing and communications. 1.1 About this report Over the […]
1. Introduction This guide has been written to complement Econsultancy’s Social Media Strategy Best Practice Guide, Social Media Platforms Overview, B2B Social Media Best Practice Guide and Paid Search Best Practice Guide. The purpose of this guide is to provide an overview of the opportunities, risks and the required investment of time, effort and budget […]
Econsultancy’s Trends Reports are based on in-depth surveys of senior marketers and digital professionals, and cover topics from customer experience to digital transformation.
1. Introduction Almost four-fifths of businesses (79%) saw digital transformation budgets grow as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic, with more than a quarter (26%) saying that their budgets grew “dramatically”. This is a finding from a survey of 2,569 global enterprise leaders recently published by Twilio[1] – and it neatly demonstrates the catalytic […]
1. Introduction This month’s edition of our Digital Transformation Monthly report series focuses in on the retail sector at a time of reckoning. In the UK, non-essential retail shops have begun to reopen their doors and cautiously welcome consumers back in. This revival has come too late, however, for the many retail brands who have […]
1. Introduction Social media is a rapidly evolving and fast-moving area of digital marketing and communications. There are feature updates across the major platforms almost daily. To keep track of key changes, please check Econsultancy’s blog and Social Media Hub and other regular subscriber updates, as well as updates from the platforms themselves (covered in […]
Introduction Voice assistants and voice interfaces are becoming increasingly embedded into our everyday lives. Each new wave of technology brings new ways for us to talk to our devices. From smartphones, which brought us the first modern digital voice assistant Siri, to smart speakers such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, to the emerging generation […]
Introduction Welcome to the first Digital Outlook report published by Econsultancy. This hype-free report draws on expert opinion in industry, as well as our research, to pick out topics that marketers may not have engaged with in 2018, but perhaps should do in 2019. The topics discussed are mostly tactical, highlighting emerging technology and processes […]
1. Executive Summary Digitisation is rapidly changing B2B businesses and it is crucial that companies transform and respond to these challenges. According to McKinsey, turning your company into a top-quartile B2B digital player can increase revenue by 3.5%.[1] Rising expectations from customers and prospects is also driving digital transformation as B2B buyers increasingly expect the […]
1. Executive Summary The 2017 Digital Trends in B2B report is based on a sample of almost 2,400 B2B respondents[1] who were among more than 14,000 digital professionals taking part in the annual Digital Trends survey carried out in November and December 2016. The research, conducted by Econsultancy in partnership with Adobe, demonstrates the priorities and progress being made […]
1. Foreword by Movable Ink In today’s era, visual is the language that moves people. But for brands, the process of generating visual content is complex. As digital marketers strive to deliver more creative, for more campaigns, delivered in more channels, and optimised for more devices, the process breaks. You can’t possibly solve this problem […]
1. Executive Summary The first Consumerization of Healthcare report, published in 2019, examined the industry through the lens of modern customer experience (CX). The study explored consumers’ relationships with their healthcare providers, their changing views on loyalty and their desire for more and digital services. In parallel with consumer opinion is corporate priority, and customer […]
Foreword Welcome to Adobe’s Digital Trends report, our annual survey of marketing, advertising, ecommerce, creative and technology professionals around the world. Now in its 10th year, Digital Trends continues to reveal the most significant shifts in the industry that are driving marketing strategies, company investment and consumer behaviour. This tenth edition of the report gives […]
1. Introduction For the sixth year, Econsultancy has collaborated with sister brand Marketing Week for its annual Career and Salary Survey. Launched in 2015, this is the industry’s most in-depth census of marketing careers and salaries in the UK, presenting a robust look at workplace trends and the experiences of marketers. Offering a snapshot of […]
2. Executive Summary Marketing operations (MOPS) has developed to balance the instability, complexity and rapid change that define modern marketing. High performing companies rely on their operations function to provide the foundation from which the rest of the marketing division can operate. The 2019 Marketing Operations Maturity Benchmarking Report looks at what businesses have achieved […]
2. Executive Summary Reinventing Commerce, produced by Econsultancy in partnership with Sitecore, explores the path to growth through a landscape defined by rapidly changing consumer behavior, a demand for personalization and the influence of macro-players with international reach and enormous scale. This report is based on a quantitative study of over 1,200 merchandising, ecommerce and […]
